(EnergyAsia, March 12 2012, Monday) — A consortium comprising Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, PT Supreme Energy and International Power – GDF SUEZ has agreed to jointly develop as well as purchase electricity from two world-scale geothermal power projects on Sumatra Island in Indonesia. The consortium signed power purchase agreements (PPA) with Indonesian state utility PLN through (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2012, Monday) — Canada’s Talisman Energy Inc said it has agreed to sell “certain non-producing, non-core coal properties” in northeastern British Columbia province to Xstrata Coal for US$500 million in cash. The deal for the Sukunka property located 60 km south of Chetwynd along the Peace River coalfield is expected to close (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2012, Monday) — UNESCO, the UN’s environmental unit, said it will not be able to protect the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s oldest and most important eco-systems, from potential long-term damage arising from Australia’s growing trade of oil, gas and minerals with Asia. A UNESCO team, now on a study (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2012, Monday) — Australia’s coal industry wants the New South Wales (NSW) state government to establish a clear strategy for energy generation that includes developing low emissions technology to provide certainty for industry investment and long-term government planning. Coal-fired power, the principal source of base-load electricity in Australia’s national energy market, accounts (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2012, Friday) — Australia’s Altona Energy said it has completed the acquisition of a 95% interest in two advanced coal exploration licences in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The AIM, England-listed energy company said it has agreed to pay a total of £13 million in tranches conditional on the achievement of development (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2012, Friday) — US coal miner Peabody Energy has announced a new global organisational structure by creating geographic business units in the Americas, Australia and Asia to reflect the growing size and scope of the company’s global footprint. The St Louis, Missouri-based company said the new organisation positions will handle amid unique (more…)

EnergyAsia, March 9 2012, Friday) — Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jero Wacik, recently launched two newly completed units of the expanded Tanjung Jati B coal-fired power plant in Central Java. Built by a Sumitomo Corporation-led consortium and operated by PT PLN, Indonesia’s state-owned power utility, the plant’s units 3 and 4 will (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2012, Friday) — The World Coal Association (WCA) has called for European Union (EU) to drive down the costs of low-carbon technologies and incentivise the improvement of power generation efficiency, especially at coal-fired power plants. Participants at last week’s industry roundtable at the European Parliament, jointly held by WCA and Member of (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2012, Thursday) — German specialty chemicals firm LANXESS has announced that it will proceed to invest another 200-million-euro to build a second new neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore on September 11 this year. LANXESS is targeting the 140,000-metric ton/year plant on Jurong Island to start up in the first half (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2012, Thursday) — Canada’s Prophecy Coal Corp, which is developing coal and power projects in Mongolia, said it has raised US$9 million from the sale of 20 million shares at US$0.45 through a non-brokered private placement. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said it paid a finder’s fee for the deals in accordance (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2012, Thursday) — Online trading platform operator globalCoal said it has signed up another three companies to its international thermal coal network. Ankor Holding Ltd, Avalon Coal and Enegra Pte Ltd are all involved in the international energy trade including coal. Ankor Holdings is a commodities trading company focusing on coal, crude (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2012, Thursday) — Australia’s WestSide Corporation Limited has revealed LNG Limited as the party that had offered to acquire all its shares for A$0.65 each for a total of A$165 million in cash. (US$1=A$0.94). The proposed takeover came to light when Westside issued a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2012, Wednesday) — Mechel OAO, a leading Russian mining and metals companies, said a subsidiary has suspended operations at the New-Olzherassk underground mine in Siberia for the second time in less than a month. Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO stopped work after detecting high levels of carbon monoxide at the mine’s long (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2012, Wednesday) — German chemicals giant BASF has announced that it has established “new ambitious environmental, health and safety goals.” The company wants to increase its energy efficiency – defined as the amount of sales products in relation to the primary energy demand – worldwide by 35% by 2020, compared to the (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2012, Wednesday) — US-based Duke Energy said it and China Huaneng Group have signed a three-year agreement expanding their research cooperation in the areas of advanced coal and carbon capture and sequestration technologies. The agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding the companies signed in 2009 to pursue high-level discussions and information (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 6 2012, Tuesday) — Australia’s AGL Energy said it has agreed to acquire the remaining 67.46% stake in Victoria state’s largest power station, Loy Yang A, and an adjacent coal mine for a total of A$448 million that it does not own. (US$1=A$0.94). Subject to regulators’ approval, AGL expects to complete the acquisition (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 6 2012, Tuesday) — Adani Enterprises, a member of India’s privately owned Adani Group, said it has signed five agreements to supply a total of four million tonnes of imported coal to NTPC, the country’s largest power generation company. Adani Enterprises will supply the coal to NTPC’s 14 power stations across India between (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 6 2012, Tuesday) — Mongolian Mining Corp (MMC) said it has doubled its coal production capacity after receiving approval from the State Commission to start up the second five-million-ton/year module of a coal handling and preparation plant.  The US$91 million plant at its Ukhaa Khudag coking coal mine in Mongolia’s South Gobi desert (more…)