(EnergyAsia, October 5 2012, Friday) — Greenpeace said Australia’s rising coal production and exports are contributing to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s largest eco-systems, that will harm the world’s stock of fish and other marine life. Earlier this year, Greenpeace published a report on what it calls is the...
(EnergyAsia, October 4 2012, Thursday) — As a result of weaker commodity prices, Australia’s resources and energy commodity export earnings are expected to decline 2% to A$189 billion for the year to June 30 2013, according to the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE). The sector’s export earnings hit a record high of A$193 (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 4 2012, Thursday) — UK’s BG Group said it has secured the support of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the long-term supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan as well as create opportunities for Japanese companies to participate in energy projects around the world. Under the cooperation agreement, BG (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 4 2012, Thursday) — Three Singapore-listed companies involved in the upstream oil and gas industry have provided updates on their recent activities. Loyz Energy has agreed to sell off its non-core sanitary ware division to focus on becoming an independent upstream player in the Asia Pacific region while Interra Resources has completed drilling (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 4 2012, Thursday) — State-owned China Petroleum Corp (Sinopec Group) has established Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical Co as a fully-owned coal-to-chemical subsidiary. Sinopec senior vice president Dai Houliang has been named chairman of the new Beijing-headquartered company with responsibility for developing and operating the group’s coal-to-chemical businesses. Sinopec is in the midst...
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2012, Wednesday) — Mechel OAO, a leading Russian mining and metals company, said it has started up a seasonal washing plant to process coking coal mined at the Elga deposit. Equipped with the latest technology, the 2-billion-ruble plant has the capacity to produce up to three million tonnes of coking coal concentrate (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2012, Wednesday) — Offshore and marine services provider Atlantic Navigation Holdings has listed on Singapore’s Catalist exchange under the stock code of “5UL” with a market value of just under S$165 million (US$1=S$1.23). The company was acquired by Fastube Limited for S$146 million through a shares issue, and renamed Atlantic Navigation, said (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2012, Wednesday) — Gazprom Marketing and Trading (GM&T), the fully-owned subsidiary of the Russian gas giant, has signed an agreement for the annual supply of 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India’s GAIL for 20 years, the companies announced. The deal follows through on the Basic Framework Agreement (BFA) (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2012, Wednesday) — Canada is the world’s most attractive destination for mining investments, easily beating Australia which is increasingly burdened by fiscal, regulatory, tax and royalty uncertainties, according to an international survey conducted by law firm Baker & Mckenzie. The firm interviewed more than 300 senior industry leaders in Australia, Canada, Brazil,...
(EnergyAsia, October 2 2012, Tuesday) — Australia and Canada are providing an interesting case study in their contrasting responses to the influx of China’s massive investments in their oil and gas sectors. Similar in their profiles as mid-power First World countries blessed with large reserves of natural resources and relatively small populations, they both need...
(EnergyAsia, October 2 2012, Tuesday) — Indonesia will produce 340 to 350 million tonnes of coal this year instead of an earlier forecast for 360 million tonnes, said the country’s coal mining association as it acknowledged the impact of the global economic slowdown on the industry’s performance. Indonesian miners have begun reducing production in response...
(EnergyAsia, October 2 2012, Tuesday) — Crew costs are once again the main factor driving up the operating expenses of shipping companies, said international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens. In its latest survey covering more than 2,700 vessels, the firm said the industry’s total annual operating costs rose by an average 2.1% last year (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 2 2012, Tuesday) —- The world’s three leading energy agencies have issued slightly different outlooks on global oil demand for this and next year. The International Energy Agency, which represents the world’s leading oil consuming nations, holds the most bullish outlook for global demand to reach 89.8 million b/d in 2012 and 90.6...
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2012, Friday) — Indonesia’s economy will grow at a slower rate of 6% this year from 6.5% in 2011, but inflation will rise to 5% on account of stronger domestic demand and the effects of a moderate fiscal stimulus, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The fund recently issued this report following (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2012, Friday) — From next January, Qatargas, the world’s leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer, will supply Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power Co (KEPCO) 500,000 tonnes of the fuel a year for 15 years. In separate statements, the two companies announced the conclusion of the new agreement to add to an existing (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2012, Friday) — International marine lubricant supplier TOTAL Lubmarine has launched three new barges at the port of Singapore, strengthening its global service offering to the shipping industry. The 700 dwt double-hulled barges – Marine Champion, Marine Prosper, and Marine Talent – have a cargo load capacity of 860 cubic metres for (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2012, Friday) — US President Obama faces a shale gas dilemma that threatens to damage his bid to secure a second term in the White House, according to the latest report from natural resources experts GBI Research. The US is currently endowed with a wealth of natural gas following years of overproduction,...
(EnergyAsia, September 27 2012, Thursday) — Norway’s DNV said it has launched a code of Recommended Practice (RP) to assess and manage risks involved in the entire life cycle of shale gas extraction. It said the code provides an independent reference document that hopefully could become the basis for a globally recognised standard for safe (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 27 2012, Thursday) — Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) expects to start up a new 80,000-cubic metre fuel depot complex at its Hambantota Magampura harbour from next month. According to SLPA chairman Priyath Bandu Wickrema, construction of the US$76 million complex on a 60-hectare site is now near completion. Hambantota is undergoing a...
(EnergyAsia, September 27 2012, Thursday) — Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas said it will invest RM10 billion to build a floating terminal with an annual capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG). (US$1=RM3.05). Known as the Train 9 project, the terminal will be located at the Petronas LNG Complex...
(EnergyAsia, September 27 2012, Thursday) — Schlumberger, the US-based supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions to the oil and gas industry, has opened its China Petroleum Institute in Beijing. Located in Schlumberger’s China headquarters office building in the city’s Chaoyang district, the institute provides “best-in-class” petro-technical services and will undertake joint R&D (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 26 2012, Wednesday) — Singapore Power said it is investing S$2 billion to build two tunnels to hold and protect cross-island extra-high voltage transmission cables to ensure the supply of reliable, secure and quality power to 1.3 million consumers. (US$1=S$1.23). To be constructed between 2012 and 2018, the North-South and East-West cable tunnels (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 26 2012, Wednesday) — China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), one of China’s biggest energy companies, and Europe’s Airbus said they are jointly developing and producing renewable aviation fuel for regular commercial use in China. Sinopec is helping the central government to establish a Chinese airworthiness certification for the new bio-aviation fuels that (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 26 2012, Wednesday) — ExxonMobil Corp said it has reached an agreement that will significantly increase its production acreage in the prolific Bakken oil shale region in the US states of North Dakota and Montana. ExxonMobil and its subsidiary, XTO Energy, signed an exchange agreement with Denbury Onshore LLC, a subsidiary of Denbury...
(EnergyAsia, September 26 2012, Wednesday) — Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd, a specialist in storing and distributing petroleum products in China, said it expects to complete the purchase of a 100,000-metri-ton fuel storage depot in northern Shanxi province by the end of this month. Longwei said it has agreed to pay Huajie Petroleum Co Ltd (more…)