(EnergyAsia, November 15 2010, Monday) — Sooner rather than later, crude oil prices could return to hit $100 a barrel and threaten to send the US economy and others into recession. The threat has been reignited after the US Federal Reserves announced early this month that it plans to buy an additional $600 billion of...
(EnergyAsia, November 15 2010, Monday) – Indian companies are aiming to acquire coal miners in Indonesia as well as in Australia. Coal India, fresh from raising more than US$3.5 billion in its stock offering, is awaiting the outcome of non-binding bids it recently submitted for up to three coal mining companies in Indonesia and Australia....
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — Two Canadian ports in the western province of British Columbia (BC) are forecast to handle record volumes of coal exports to Asia this year on its way to eventually doubling export sales to the region. Port Metro Vancouver is expected to surpass its previous record of 28.5 million metric...
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — Caving into pressure from the state power utility PLN, Indonesia has told its coal miners to allocate nearly a quarter of their production for domestic consumers next year.\ The energy ministry has set a quota for at least 24.17% of the country’s coal production for the power industry, the...
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — Australia’s MetroCoal Limited (ASX-MTE) is pleased to announce that its joint venture partner, SinoCoal Resources Pty Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of a major Chinese coal firm, has signed an agreement to hire Dynamic Drilling Pty Ltd to provide drilling services for the EPC 1165 Columboola permit area in Queensland...
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — Boosted by gains from the sale of a stake in an Indonesian subsidiary, Banpu Public Company Ltd, Thailand’s top coal miner, has reported a sharp rise in its third quarter profit to a record 13.293 billion baht. (US$1=30 baht). Banpu, which also operates in Indonesia, made 3.8 billion baht...
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — China and Mongolia have agreed to jointly invest a total of 2.51 billion yuan to build a new highway mostly to serve the growing coal trade between the two countries. (US1=6.6 yuan). When completed in 2012, the 245-km highway will link Mongolia’s coal mines in southwest Omnogovi Aymag Province...
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — Coal India’s initial public offering, the country’s largest, was oversubscribed by 15 times, as investors clamoured to profit from one of the world’s fastest growing major economies. The IPO, equivalent to 10% of the company’s total shares, is expected to raise up to US$3.5 billion, based on a price...
(EnergyAsia, November 12 2010, Friday) — Vietnam’s cement factoris have warned that they may be forced to stop production if they run out of coal supplies. Le Van Chung, chairman of Nam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), said some cement factories have been operating below capacity while others will completely shut down if they cannot obtain...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — GE said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesia’s leading coal bed methane (CBM) company, Ephindo, to develop a pilot power plant that will tap the country’s vast coal methane gas reserves to produce electricity. If successful, the one-MW CBM-to-power plant in the Sangata field in...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — Hong Kong’s Noble Group Limited said it has been appointed the exclusive long-term agent to market the coal production of Indonesia’s PT Berau Coal to international destinations excluding Japan and Malaysia. Berau Coal, Indonesia’s fifth-largest miner, expects to produces30 million metric tonnes of coal at its East Kalimantan mine...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — Canadian miner SouthGobi Resources Ltd said it has awarded a US$48 million contract to build a paved 45-km highway specially for the delivery of coal from its Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia to Shivee Khuren-Ceke inside the Chinese border. The contract was awarded to Leighton Asia, a division...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — Singapore’s bunker sales volume is expected to hit a record high of around 40 million tonnes this year. According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), bunker sales through the port rose 12% in the nine months to September, and are on course to break last year’s...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — US-based Energy Report Alert has announced the release of the annual World Coal Outlook for 2010. The book has the following observation of the world coal markets: Coal is the fuel for generating over 41% of world electricity supply. The generation technologies are well established, fuel is abundant, and...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — Conal Holdings Corp. expects to begin building its $450 million coal-fired power plant in General Santos city in southern Philippines early next year. It has just launched the detailed design and engineering phase for the 200MW coal-fired power plant in time for it to be completed and operational in...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — Indonesian IT mobile infrastructure company Inovisi Infracom has announced plans to provide e-commerce services to coal traders and mine operators. The global coal trade is conducted mostly through phone, fax, e-mail, face-to-face meetings or networking events. In recent years, major e-commerce sites such as Hong Kong-based Alibaba.com and NASDAQ-listed...
(EnergyAsia, November 11 2010, Thursday) — Never mind that it doesn’t have guaranteed coal supplies, Aboitiz Power Corp is pushing ahead with plans to invest in a US$400 million 200MW coal-fired power plant in the southern Philippine city of Davao. CEO Erramon Aboitiz is convinced his company will secure the coal as he focuses on...
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — Singapore Exchange (SGX) said it has successfully launched clearing of its over-the-counter (OTC) Indonesian sub-bituminous coal swap contract on November 3. Brokered by Ginga Petroleum, the first trade worth US$1.2 million was concluded between Mercuria Energy Trading and RWE Supply & Trading. Each contract offers the equivalent exposure of...
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — Work on Mongolia’s giant copper-gold project Oyu Tolgoi could be delayed if its two foreign stakeholders are unable to resolve their differences over how it should be financed and developed. Vancouver, Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd has a 66% stake in Oyu Tolgoi in a joint venture with the...
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — The rapid growth of Vancouver, Canada-based SouthGobi Resources Ltd over the last two years underlines the potential of Mongolia’s coal industry. Thanks to its production of 1.3 million tonnes of coal in southern Mongolia, the company reported revenues of C$36 million last year, up from only C$3 million in...
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — A further rise in coal prices could threaten the profitability of Malaysia’s main electricity company Tenaga Nasional Bhd. The company’s operating margins tend to thin on higher coal prices. For the fourth quarter to August 31, it posted a net profit of RM388.4 million on revenue of RM7.87 billion....
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — Malaysia’s largest power company, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), is looking to raise up to RM4 billion by the middle of next year to help fund the construction of a 1,000MW coal-fired power plant. (US$1=RM3.08). It plans to award the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction works for the...
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — Two Chinese coal miners reported increases in their third-quarter profits amid higher production as the world’s fastest-growing major economy continues to expand. China Shenhua Energy Co said its net income for the quarter rose 11% on year to 9.7 billion yuan. (US$1=6.65 yuan). Its sales rose 30% on year...
(EnergyAsia, November 10 2010, Wednesday) — China National Coal Group said it planning to raise its coal production by 20% to 150 million tonnes this year. It will look to produce 38 million tonnes of raw coal this quarter. The increase corresponds with plans by the Chinese coal industry to raise output by 200...
(EnergyAsia, November 9 2010, Tuesday) — Australia produced a record 142.9 billion cubic feet of coal-seam gas or coalbed methane, up 39% from a year earlier. It now accounts for 13% of total gas supply in the country, said the Canberra-based Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA). Thanks to increased investment, conventional gas sold...