(EnergyAsia, September 23 2014, Tuesday) — The statement at the end of a hurriedly concluded energy summit of the world’s biggest economic bloc on September 2 was conspicuous by what was not mentioned: the growing threats to global oil supplies from the expanding conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Nigeria, the emergence of the...
(EnergyAsia, September 18 2014, Thursday) — Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc has announced that it will build a jet fuel storage depot in Cebu province to serve Cebu Pacific Air, the country’s largest domestic airline. In its statement, the company did not provide details like the project’s estimated cost and storage capacity, and when it expects...
(EnergyAsia, September 15 2014, Monday) — Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and his visiting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were in Dushanbe city last Saturday to jointly launch two major energy projects to further integrate Central Asia with the world’s second largest economy. The leaders officially marked the start of construction of the Tajikistan section of Line...
(EnergyAsia, September 12 2014, Friday) — Brent crude prices hit a new 15-month low of US$96.72 a barrel hours after US President Barack Obama ordered the start of a new protracted war campaign in the Middle East with air strikes in Syria and Iraq to try stop the advance of the Islamic State (ISIS) military....
(EnergyAsia, September 10 2014, Wednesday) — India’s Adani Group is expected to soon begin work on Australia’s largest coal project which the UN, environmentalists and marine scientists say poses a long-term threat to the health of the Great Barrier Reef and its marine life. Speaking to India’s leading business executives in New Delhi last week,...
(EnergyAsia, September 5 2014, Friday) — With the drastic cutback in its ambitious shale production plans, China will have to revert to relying on oil and gas imports to meet its growing energy demand. In 2013, China produced just 200 million cubic metres of its vast shale reserves, which the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)...
(EnergyAsia, September 3 2014, Wednesday) — Russia has started construction of the world’s largest natural gas pipeline to deliver an estimated US$400 billion worth of the fuel to China over 30 years from early 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli jointly launched the construction of the 3,978-km pipeline on Russian...
(EnergyAsia, September 1 2014, Monday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has scaled back its forecast for next year’s global oil demand to 94 million b/d while keeping it little changed at 92.68 million b/d for 2014. The agency detected a slowdown in oil demand growth in the second quarter on account of a weaker...
(EnergyAsia, August 29 2014, Friday) — Three months after sensationally announcing their world-record US$400 billion gas supply agreement in Shanghai, Russia and China are facing a raft of challenges to meet the ambitious project’s targeted start-up from 2018. Under pressure from both governments, state-owned firms Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) hurriedly set aside...
(EnergyAsia, August 28 2014, Thursday) — Russia could supply about 10% of China’s natural gas demand in 2018 if the two governments are able to implement their ambitious plan to develop and pipe reserves from Siberia to the northern and eastern provinces of Asia’s largest economy. Both governments are hugely motivated to meet the 2018...
(EnergyAsia, August 28 2014, Wednesday) — Citing slightly slower economic growth, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has lowered its forecast for global oil demand for 2014 and 2015, with the possibility of further reduction later in the year. In its August report, the cartel said it expects the world to consume 91.11 million...
(EnergyAsia, August 27 2014, Wednesday) — India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has launched the country’s newest major oil storage depot in the country’s northeastern industrialising state of Jharkhand. Indian Oil Corp invested 1.1-billion rupees to develop the 31,600-cubic metre terminal on a 10.5-hectare site at Jasidih in Deoghar district. (US$1=60 rupees). India’s largest downstream firm...
(EnergyAsia, August 18 2014, Monday) — Helped by a 6.3% rise in production, Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas said its second quarter net profit surged 46.6% over the same period last year. The company said it earned a net profit of RM18.33 billion on revenue of RM85.36 billion in the April-June quarter compared with RM12.51...
(EnergyAsia, August 13 2014, Wednesday) — To keep up with the pace of its domestic oil markets growth, China has greatly expanded its supply infrastructure over the past decade. There are plans for further investments, focusing mostly on the country’s storage and pipeline networks to enhance energy security. The following is a summary of an...
(EnergyAsia, August 11 2014, Monday) — Fast-spreading deadly Ebola could outrank terrorism and political unrest as the biggest threat to Africa’s fast growing economies this year. Projected to grow by 7.2% this year, oil-powered West Africa, the centre of the epidemic, was slated to lead the continent’s emergence as the world’s fastest-growing to outpace Asia...
(EnergyAsia, August 8 2014, Friday) — Any hope for Libya’s oil industry to make a slow recovery after last month’s truce between government and rebel forces over two oil-exporting terminals has been extinguished by the latest round of fighting between rival militia groups that has sent thousands of foreign workers and diplomats fleeing. More than...
(EnergyAsia, August 7 2014, Thursday) — Trailing in second place to China, the US is targeting to raise its trade and economic ties with Africa with President Barack Obama announcing US$33 billion in new commitments from the Federal government and private companies at this week’s US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. Obama’s Power Africa initiative...
(EnergyAsia, August 4 2014, Monday) — Forget geopolitics, crude oil prices fell through July as the world experienced one of its worst months of escalating conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza to add to the spreading religious, separatist, ethnic and resource wars in hydrocarbon-rich Iraq, Syria, Libya and Nigeria. North Sea Brent fell below US$105 a...
(EnergyAsia, August 1 2014, Friday) — Regulatory uncertainty leads a host of factors standing in the way of Africa developing its estimated reserves of 130.3 billion barrels of crude oil and 501.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, said consultant PwC. In its latest annual survey of the continent’s hydrocarbon potential, PwC also mentioned...
(EnergyAsia, July 31 2014, Thursday) — Amid signs that the global economy could be slowing again, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has scaled back its forecasts for global oil demand growth for 2014 and 2015 in its July report. The agency now expects the world to consume 91.62 million this year and 93.08 million...
(EnergyAsia, July 30 2014, Wednesday) — Angola officials believe their country could soon overtake Nigeria to become Africa’s leading oil producer although analysts expect both to experience declines over the next few years. Angola’s petroleum ministry and state energy firm Sonangol have variously been stating that the country’s oil production could exceed two million b/d...
(EnergyAsia, July 29 2014, Tuesday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has valued the combined 30 years of oil stockpiles of its 29 member countries at more than US$3.5 trillion due mainly to their ability to limit the impact of supply disruptions on the world economy. Up to end-March 2014, the IEA said its members...
(EnergyAsia, July 24 2014, Thursday) — Nigeria’s state oil and gas firm Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) has affirmed its targets to boost the nation’s crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and production to rise to four million b/d. But group managing director Andrew Yakubu did not mention a deadline to achieve those goals...
(EnergyAsia, July 23 2014, Wednesday) — China has become the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil with imports for the first half of this year surging 48% to a record 628,000 b/d compared with 425,000 b/d over the same period last year. According to Chinese Customs data, China’s intake of Iranian crude oil reached their...
(EnergyAsia, July 22 2014, Tuesday) — Thanks to its expanding non-oil sector, Saudi Arabia’s economic growth will accelerate to 4.6% in 2014 to build on last year’s 4% increase, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Saudi Arabia’s economic growth, % 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (projected) Real GDP 7.4 8.6 5.8 ...