(EnergyAsia, April 17 2013, Wednesday) — European commodities group Gunvor Group said it has recently secured a total of US$950 million in credit to support its fast-growing oil and gas business in Asia and the Middle East. Last week, a wholly owned subsidiary, Gunvor Singapore Pte Ltd, launched US$650 million in syndicated revolving credit facilities (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 17 2013, Wednesday) — The Sri Lankan government intends to seize a strategic oil storage depot in the northeastern port of Trincomalee from the Indian Oil Corp (IOC) after New Delhi voted in favour of a UN Human Rights Council resolution to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Colombo in the recently ended...
(EnergyAsia, April 17 2013, Wednesday) — The US has made its first direct crude oil sales to China since November 2005, but it is far from certain if this heralds the start of a trend amid the growing clamour for American companies to export oil and gas in the face of rising domestic production. Without (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 17 2013, Wednesday) — Bangladesh is seeking funding to develop a proposed US$327 million offshore oil storage and handling terminal in the Bay of Bengal. The government has approached the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to support the project which has been hit by rising cost since the completion of a feasibility study in...
(EnergyAsia, April 16 2013, Tuesday) —Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Limited said its chairman and CEO Sit Kwong Lam has raised his shareholding in the company from 74.49% to 74.8%. Dr Sit’s wholly owned Canada Foundation Limited bought 27,077,000 shares of Brightoil Petroleum on the open market between March 11 and April 11 2013, the (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 16 2013, Tuesday) — State upstream firm Oil India Ltd (OIL) has announced plans to set up an international subsidiary to acquire and develop oil and gas assets abroad. India’s second largest state-owned explorer after ONGC said its board approved the proposal for the wholly owned subsidiary at a meeting on April 10...
(EnergyAsia, April 16 2013, Tuesday) — Oil prices sank to nine-month lows as global crude benchmark Brent and US WTI crude joined other commodities in a mass sell-off triggered by panic over spreading economic worries in North America, Europe and Asia. Brent could soon break US$100 support after touching US$100.02 early in New York trading (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 16 2013, Tuesday) — Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, is venturing into the fast-growing global liquefied natural gas (LNG) business with an initial investment of S$1 billion to launch new subsidiary Pavilion Energy Pte Ltd. (US$1=S$1.25). Seah Moon Ming, a former deputy CEO of another Temasek company ST Engineering, will...
(EnergyAsia, April 15 2013, Monday) — Canada’s Erdene Resource Development Corp said it has recruited Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd after terminating its seven-year-old alliance with the local subsidiary of Swiss firm Xstrata to develop coal mining projects in Mongolia. Teck, one of Canada’s largest mining companies, will start fieldwork in Mongolia with its new partner (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 15 2013, Monday) — US domestic coal production is expected to rise 0.5% to 1,025.4 million short tons (mmst) this year and by a further 2% to 1,045.9 mmst in 2014, predicts the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). US coal consumption is seen rising from 889 mmst in 2012 to 948 mmst in...
(EnergyAsia, April 15 2013, Monday) — Asia’s gasoline prices will be supported by a 100,000 b/d decline in China’s exportable surplus of the fuel in 2013, about the same as last year, predicts US consultant ESAI Energy. The bulk of that decline is down to a production shortfall at Sinopec’s refineries which are struggling to (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 15 2013, Monday) — India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports could surge by as much as 19% this year, thanks to new short-term contracts, added capacity and increased throughput at existing terminals, predicts US consultant Bentek Energy. In a new report, the company, a unit of energy media Platts, said the same factors...
(EnergyAsia, April 12 2013, Friday) — About 40 officials representing the Indonesian and Japanese governments held a one-day meeting in Tokyo last month to discuss issues affecting the coal industry and their countries’ trade in the fuel. The Indonesian delegation, led by Edi Prasodjo, coal director in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, met (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 12 2013, Friday) — Heavily indebted Russian coal mining and steel company Mechel OAO said it has secured a 40-billion ruble loan from Moscow-based VTB Bank amid reports that it is in talks to sell off a sizeable stake to China’s Baosteel. (US$1=30 rubles). Mechel said it plans to use 25-billion rubles of...
(EnergyAsia, April 12 2013, Friday) — Asia’s latest major oil storage and distribution hub started up in South Korea’s Yeosu port city early this month amid rising concerns over the unpredictable regime in the neighbouring North. State-owned Korean National Oil Corp (KNOC), the largest shareholder of Oilhub Korea Yeosu Co Ltd (OKYC) with a 29% (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 12 2013, Friday) — The continued weak outlook for Australia’s coal sector has led to the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance prematurely terminating a top soil-removal contract at its Queensland mine, and Newcastle Port delaying expansion of a coal terminal. Having ended its contract with Australia’s Leighton Holdings to clear the Peak Downs metallurgical coal...
(EnergyAsia, April 11 2013, Thursday) — Rising water shortages are threatening China’s ability to expand its coal-fired electricity capacity to meet the economy’s growing energy demand, according to a study by Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance (NEF) unit. China’s coal industry, which consumes around 15% to 20% of the country’s water supplies, provides the fuel to...
(EnergyAsia, April 11 2013, Thursday) — The Australian economy is getting a lift from a resurgence in its mining sector which boosted the nation’s net exports in the October-December quarter by 3.3%. With the economy on course to expand by 3.1% for the year ending June 30, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the latest figures showed...
(EnergyAsia, April 11 2013, Thursday) — Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp said it has signed two 20-year deals to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Cove Point project in the US to two major utilities in Japan. Subject to approval from the US government, Tokyo Gas Co, Japan’s biggest city gas supplier, will import (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 11 2013, Thursday) — Countries around the world would realise major economic and environmental gains if they took the bold steps of reducing energy subsidies which amount to a “staggering” US$1.9 trillion a year, equal to about 2.5% of global GDP or 8% of government revenues, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In...
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2013, Wednesday) — India must implement reforms to counter the country’s structural bottlenecks, declining investment inflows and worsening current account deficit to restore the economy to high growth, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In its flagship annual Asian Development Outlook 2013 (ADO 2013) report, the bank projects India’s GDP to grow (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2013, Wednesday) — A public listing of state-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) could help the Indian government raise as much as 200-billion rupees and pave the way for the company to eventually raise prices and reduce fuel subsidies to the public. (US$1=55 rupees). The share offer is the latest, and probably most...
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2013, Wednesday) — Canada’s Corsa Coal Corp said it has secured a long-term agreement to supply coal to South Korea’s Hyundai Steel Company. This followed the successful trial shipments of a total of 40,000 tons of low-volatile coal by Corsa’s US subsidiary, Wilson Creek Energy to the Korean steel maker. Don Charter, (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2013, Wednesday) — Asia must reduce consumption as it is moving along “a dangerously unsustainable energy path that will result in environmental disaster and a gaping divide in energy access between rich and poor unless the region dramatically changes course,” said a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report. In releasing the report,...
(EnergyAsia, April 9 2013, Tuesday) — Two Russian firms, En+ Group and Mechel, recently secured separate coal agreements with Chinese firms. En+ Group has signed a US$2 billion deal with China’s Shenhua Group and China Development Bank to develop coal resources in Siberia and the far eastern region of Russia. The agreement was part of...