(EnergyAsia, December 18 2012, Tuesday) — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd said it is planning to build a 15-million-tonne greenfield refinery at Paradip on the country’s west coast as part of a long-term programme to expand its refining business. India’s largest state-owned downstream company said it is aiming to raise its current 66-million tonne refining capacity...
(EnergyAsia, December 17 2012, Monday) — UK-based consultant GlobalData has named Russia’s OAO Gazprom the world’s largest oil and gas producer, with last year’s output of 3,340 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) almost trebling the levels of its nearest rival. In its latest report, GlobalData placed Venezuelan state-owned firm Petróleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 17 2012, Monday) — After several years of decline, US coal consumption for power generation is expected to recover next year to grow by 5%, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its latest short-term energy forecast, the EIA said it expects US coal consumption for electricity generation to reach 873.6 million...
(EnergyAsia, December 17 2012, Monday) — The world generated three percent more heat-trapping pollution last year, with China leading the charge while the US and Germany were the only major economies to report reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Global Carbon Project study, the world emitted a record of nearly 38.2 billion...
(EnergyAsia, December 17 2012, Monday) — Natural gas will surpass coal as the world’s second most popular fuel after oil by 2025, predicts ExxonMobil in its latest long-term forecast to 2040. Coal demand will start declining after peaking around 2025 while natural gas will continue to surge as more countries consume cleaner-burning fuels to curb (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 14 2012, Friday) — Indonesia has raised its benchmark coal price for December to US$81.75 per tonne, making this the first increase in three months to coincide with a recovery in winter demand. The benchmark price was US$81.44 in November, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. But the market is still...
(EnergyAsia, December 14 2012, Friday) — AMEC, the UK-based international engineering and project management company, said it has been awarded a US$528 million project management consultancy (PMC) contract by the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) for a new oil refinery at Al Zour in Kuwait. The 615,000 b/d refinery is expected to be the largest (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 14 2012, Friday) — China’s U & D Mining has been cleared by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to complete its A$71 million acquistion of Queensland-based coal explorer Endocoal. (US$1=A$0.94). Endocoal, whose board supports the takeover, said it was informed last week by FIRB that it had no objections to the Chinese (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 14 2012, Friday) — Australia’s largest independent coal miner is confident of obtaining Federal government clearance to develop its largest project located in New South Wales state to produce more than 10 million metric tons of high quality coking coal for steel making from 2016. It also produces thermal coal for power generation....
(EnergyAsia, December 13 2012, Thursday) — Australian national resources giant BHP Billiton Ltd said it has agreed to a US$1.63-billion cash sale of its stakes in the proposed Browse liquefied natural gas project (LNG) in Australia to PetroChina Co. According to BHP, China’s largest listed oil producer by market value will take over its 8.33% (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 13 2012, Thursday) — Qatargas Operating Company Limited said it has signed a 20-year contract for a jointly-owned subsidiary to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Thai state-owned PTT Public Company Limited starting 2015. Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited 3 or QatarGas will supply two million tonnes of LNG a year starting 2015, (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 13 2012, Thursday) — ExxonMobil thinks energy independence would be too modest a goal for North America. By 2025, the region will become a net energy exporter, radically altering the global energy landscape to create new opportunities for international trade and economic growth, predicts the US major in its latest “Outlook for Energy: (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 13 2012, Thursday) — Seaborne coal prices will continue to recover from this year’s plunge, but will run into strong resistance next year on account of rising supplies from China and elsewhere, said Goldman Sachs. In its latest forecast, Goldman Sachs said coal prices will rise about 15% from this year to trade...
(EnergyAsia, December 12 2012, Wednesday) — Indonesia’s MedcoEnergi and Switzerland’s Puma Energy have launched their new joint venture to build a major fuel trading and distribution business in Indonesia. In a joint statement, the companies said PT Puma Medco Petroleum started up early this month with around 60 staff to deliver high quality fuel products (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 12 2012, Wednesday) — Australia’s coal and gas exports are set to surge but will face serious constraints from labour shortages and infrastructure bottlenecks, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). In a review of the country’s energy policy, the Paris-based agency praised the government’s carbon price mechanism launched last July as a right...
(EnergyAsia, December 12 2012, Wednesday) — Rail operator Aurizon said it has secured a contract from Rio Tinto Coal Australia (RTCA) to haul coal from its Clermont mine to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT), both in Queensland state. Under the new 10-year contract which replaces an existing one due to expire in June 2013, (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 12 2012, Wednesday) — India’s proven coal reserves of 118 billion tonnes are sufficient to meet over a century of the country’s domestic demand, said Minister of State for Coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil. He provided this information in a written reply to questions raised in Parliament about the India’s declining coal self-sufficiency. He...
(EnergyAsia, December 11 2012, Tuesday) — South Korea’s K-Coal Co Ltd has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to become a 5% equity partner in a Coldry commercial demonstration plant (CDP) to be established by Australia-listed Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT) Limited. In a letter of intent (LOI) signed by the two companies, ECT said K-Coal (more…)
US electric power projections. Source: EIA (EnergyAsia, December 11 2012, Tuesday) — At least 49 GW of coal-fired power capacity in the US is at risk of being retired by 2020 if the current switch from coal to gas generation continues unabated, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its recent Annual Energy Outlook 2012,...
(EnergyAsia, December 11 2012, Tuesday) — With its successful C$5.9-billion capture of Canada-based Progress Energy, Malaysian state oil firm Petronas expects to complete the development of a natural gas project culminating in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a terminal off Prince Rupert by 2018. The project, costing between C$9 and C$11 billion, (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 11 2012, Tuesday) — South Korean conglomerate Daewoo International has secured a contract with Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) to build a US$1.3 billion coal-fired power plant in the African country. Comprising two 300MW units, the plant will be one of the largest in East Africa and will be part of the Kenyan...
(EnergyAsia, December 10 2012, Monday) — Against the tide of Canadian public opinion, the government has approved the separate purchases of two Calgary, Alberta-based upstream companies by China’s CNOOC Ltd and Malaysia’s Petronas for a total of more than C$20 billion. (US$1=C$0.99). After months of agonising debate, Prime Minister Stephen Harper surprised the market with (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 10 2012, Monday) — US coal consumption for power generation will break its four-year losing streak to rise by six percent in 2013, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). For 2012, it will fall to 825 million short tons (mmst), thus staying below one billion short tons for a fourth consecutive year as...
(EnergyAsia, December 10 2012, Monday) — Russian state oil giant OAO Rosneft and US major Exxon Mobil Corp have signed an agreement to launch a pilot programme to assess tight oil reserves in Western Siberia with plans to begin drilling in 2013, the companies said in a joint statement. Upon completion of the programme, they (more…)
(EnergyAsia, December 10 2012, Monday) — Essar Power Ltd, a subsidiary of LSE-listed Essar Energy plc, said it has commissioned the second of the two-unit coal-fired power plant in Vadinar in India’s Gujarat state. With the start-up, the 510MW Vadinar P2 plant is now in full operation to provide power and process steam to Essar...