(EnergyAsia, April 11 2012, Wednesday) — Australia’s Universal Coal Plc said it has secured A$12 million from Susquehanna Pacific Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of financier Susquehanna International Group LLP, to fund its general working capital and core programmes in South Africa. (US$1=A$0.96). The company said it will begin drawing down A$7 million from next month (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2012, Tuesday) — India is stunned by Qatar’s offer to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a new all-time high price of over US$16 per million BTU at the port of loading. The Indian government had previously indicated it might agree to pay around US$10, which already represents a sharp mark-up from...
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2012, Tuesday) — The economy of resource-rich Mongolia could expand by 20% in 2012, making it the world’s top performer, according to a CNBC report citing a fund manager. Alisher Ali, managing partner at Silk Road Management, told the financial news station that Mongolia’s economy will benefit from an increase in exports,...
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2012, Tuesday) — BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s biggest coking coal exporter, has declared force majeure on near-term supplies as it faces production disruptions from labour unrest and heavy rain at its mines. BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), the world’s biggest supplier of steelmaking coal, has been affected by ongoing and indefinite...
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2012, Tuesday) — As its currency rise in value against the US dollar, China’s coastal thermal coal supply will become less competitive against seaborne imports, predicts energy consultant Wood Mackenzie. The UK-based firm said that 857 million tonnes of coal imported into China by 2015 will fall below the 90th percentile of...
(EnergyAsia, April 10 2012, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical giant SABIC has reiterated its commitment to sustainable development to guide its growth and operations in Asia. The company’s top leadership team made this pledge at the recent Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in China themed “Asia in the Changing World: Moving towards Sound (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 9 2012, Monday) — Armed separatists bombed and set fire to a three-million-ton/year refinery in the northeastern Indian state of Assam last Saturday. Police said no one was injured and the blaze was put under control within 30 minutes, but the refinery will not be operating for at least a few days. A...
(EnergyAsia, April 9 2012, Monday) — As its next step in nationalising the country’s natural resources, the Indonesian government may “ask” to buy over the majority stakes in large mines from foreign owners. Investors in Indonesia’s massive mining and energy sector were caught off-guard when the country’s President signed a decree in late February barring...
(EnergyAsia, April 9 2012, Monday) — Australia’s Aquila Resources Limited said its wholly owned subsidiaries, Argos (QLD) Pty Ltd and Aquila Coal Pty Ltd, have agreed with Sumisho Coal Australia Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, to form a joint venture to explore Aquila’s significant portfolio of coal exploration permits in (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 9 2012, Monday) — Seattle, US-based L&L Energy said it has signed a long-term agreement to supply coal to a thermal coal-fired power plant in Guizhou province owned by Datang International Power Generation (Datang Utility). L&L said its DaXing subsidiary will provide 20,000 tons of thermal coal per month over 12 months to (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 9 2012, Monday) ––Indonesian coal miner PT Adaro Energy Tbk said its net income surged 124% to US$552 million for the financial year ended December 31 2011, boosting its basic earnings per share by 123% to US$0.01721. The Jakarta-listed company attributed the strong perfomance to a combination of production growth, high coal price and (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 5 2012, Thursday) — Honeywell said it has been selected for a US$5 million project to provide technology and expertise to ensure the timely, safe and efficient start-up of one of China’s largest methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and methanol-to-propylene (MTP) projects. Phase one of Pucheng Clean Energy Chemical Company Ltd (PCEC)’s coal-to-chemical project has an (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 5 2012, Thursday) — The following is an edited version of an interview with Tony Regan, principal consultant of Tri-Zen Asia, by IQPC’s Bryan Camoens. Mr Regan, who is chairman for the 8th Annual FLNG Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore, spoke about the recent emergence of floating LNG (FLNG) terminals as a viable (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 5 2012, Thursday) — SK Networks Co, the trading arm of South Korea’s SK Group, is on course to expand its 5.5% stake in Australia’s cash-strapped Cockatoo Coal Ltd to 40% by mid-year. Calling it a “strategic placement to support growth”, the Australia-listed coal explorer and mine developer has welcomed the A$313 million...
(EnergyAsia, April 5 2012, Thursday) — Asia’s influence on the global seaborne thermal coal trade will grow with China’s annual demand rising to one billion tonnes by 2030 and India’s to 400 million tonnes, said energy consultant Wood Mackenzie. As a result, thermal coal prices will stay high despite forecasts for supply to rise, said...
(EnergyAsia, April 5 2012, Thursday) — China’s Sinopec and Saudi Arabia’s SABIC have begun work on building a 260,000-tonne/year polycarbonate plant in China’s Tianjin city. Their equal joint venture firm, Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC), is investing RMB11 billion to develop a petrochemical complex on a 67-hectare plot in the Tianjin Binhai New Area. (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 4 2012, Wednesday) — Singapore will continue with its existing model of development emphasisng rapid economic growth, population increases and the use of modern management systems and technology to improve resource use despite charges that it has one of the most damaging impacts on the environment. In recent separate reports, the World Wide (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 4 2012, Wednesday) — US engineering firm Fluor Corp said it has secured a contract from Petronas Gas Berhad, a subsidiary of the Malaysian state oil and gas company, to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Malaysia. The regasification terminal will supply (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 4 2012, Wednesday) — Australia’s land and oceans have continued to warm in response to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, said the country’s leading science agency CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology. In their joint ‘State of the Climate 2012’ report, the two agencies said there was (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 4 2012, Wednesday) — Helped by higher coal prices, Canada’s SouthGobi Resources Ltd reported a net loss of C$18.9 million for 4Q2011, down from C$28.7 million for the same period a year ago. The Toronto-listed company, which is also developing new deposits in Soumber and Ovoot Tolgoi in Mongolia said revenue rose 23%...
(EnergyAsia, April 4 2012, Wednesday) — US coal miner and supplier Peabody Energy chairman and CEO Gregory H. Boyce said the global supercycle for coal is “alive and well” with strong market trends related to rising electricity generation and steel demand in China and India, along with constrained global coal supplies. Presenting at the recent...
(EnergyAsia, April 3 2012, Tuesday) — Australia’s MetroCoal Limited said it welcomes the “significant” progress made by Tenement to Terminal (3TL) in developing infrastructure and expanding port capacity vital to its Bundi and Columboola JV coal projects. MetroCoal said the availability of port capacity, 3TL’s proposed port construction and commissioning timetable are critical to the...
(EnergyAsia, April 3 2012, Tuesday) — Unable to proceed with its long awaited floatation to raise US$3 billion, Mongolia’s state-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi (ETT), which owns possibly the world’s largest coking coal deposits, will have to find an alternative to fund its expansion plans. Bickering among the country’s politicians has prevented ETT from proceeding with plans...
(EnergyAsia, April 3 2012, Tuesday) — The following is an edited version of an interview by IQPC’s Bryan Camoens with Jason Waldie, an associate director for energy consultant Douglas Westwood, on the role of floating LNG terminals in gas production from stranded fields. Mr Waldie will provide more details at the upcoming 8th Annual FLNG (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 3 2012, Tuesday) — Australia’s upstream oil and gas industry wants the Federal government to use a mix of “competitive markets” and specific “policy interventions” to protect the sector’s international competitiveness and ability to meet domestic energy demand. In its submission for consideration in the Federal government’s Energy White Paper, the Australian Petroleum Production (more…)