(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — Speaking at last week’s prestigious St Petersburg International Economic Forum in the presence of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, oil media Argus said a new Russian crude price benchmark based on Asia-Pacific spot sales could soon emerge. Argus said the completion of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline will enable exports of...

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — Seeking to expand its international operations and production, Thai coal producer Banpu is on the prowl for coal mines in Indonesia. The acquisitions will be executed by Banpu’s Indonesian subsidiary, PT Indo Tambangraya Megah, which is combing the Kalimantan region for opportunities. Banpu, the largest coal producer and distributor in...

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — International energy services company John Wood Group PLC said a subsidiary has agreed to purchase 51% of Regional and Northern Maintenance Service (RANms), a Darwin, Australia-based provider of operations support services to the oil and gas industry. Wood Group said it will also hold options to acquire the remaining 49%...

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — Platts, a leading global energy and metals information provider and a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, said it has launched a series of new oil price benchmarks for the Indian oil markets on June 1. The Mean of Platts West India Netbacks, or MOPWIN, will help meet a critical need...

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — The worst has passed for Singapore’s recessed economy, according to UOB Kay Hian’s latest research, which will be boosted by the start-up of the island’s first multi-billion-dollar integrated resort (IR) in the second half of the year. The economy shrank by a worse-than-expected 10.1% in the first quarter on the...

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — Malaysian power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) expects to benefit from relatively low coal prices this year, officials said. Coal prices have been harbouring around US$60 per tonne in recent months. Each US$1 per tonne change in coal prices translates into a RM29-million profit impact on TNB’s balance sheet. (US$1=RM...

(EnergyAsia, June 16, Tuesday) — US coal miner Peabody Energy is looking to expand its production and trading capacity of thermal coal in Asia, with Indonesia a primary target. At the recent Coaltrans conference in Bali, Indonesia, Peabody President Richard Navarre said he expected thermal coal demand to grow significantly in the region. Peabody and...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — A subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas firm PetroVietnam will lead an international consortium to start building a $60 million bio-ethanol plant in Tam Nong district in northern Phu Tho province later this month. PetroVietnam Biofuel Joint Stock Co (PVB) has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — Singapore’s marine and offshore industry has reported an 18% rise in its 2008 output to a record S$15.4 billion from S$13.05 billion in 2007. (US$1=S$1.45). The growth came largely from the offshore rig building sector, with the offshore sector surpassing the ship repair and conversion sector for the first time....

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — The spot price for Australian thermal coal for Asian buyers reached US$64 per tonne in May, up from a six-month low of US$58 per tonne in February. The key driver was resurgent demand from buyers in China and India. China’s coal imports rose to 9.16 million tonnes in April, up...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — Indian coal buyers are increasingly switching to suppliers from South Africa at the expense of those from Indonesia. South African coal costs an average of US$4 per tonne lower than Indonesian coal. India expects to increase its purchase of coal from South Africa to continue growing after reaching 10 million...

(EnergyAsia, Jun 15, Monday) — Japan Biofuels Supply LLP (JBSL) said it has signed short term contracts to buy between 8,000 and 13,000 kilolitres of bioethanol from two domestic suppliers for use as feedstock in making ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) to be blended with gasoline. Oenon Holdings Inc and Hokkaido Bioethanol Co, both based...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — Indonesian state electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has agreed to pay up to 25% more for term coal supplies for two of its South Sumatra power plants from local state coal miner PT Bukit Asam Tbk. PLN has agreed to purchase 1.1 million tonnes of 5,000 kcal per...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — Agricultural mitigation in developing countries is needed to make farming more resilient to the vagaries of climate change and countering hunger and poverty, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said in a policy brief for climate change negotiators who recently met in Bonn, Germany. “If agriculture in developing countries...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — The World Resources Institute has called on the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral development banks to “do more to integrate climate change and clean energy considerations as a core part of their development assistance.” WRI issued the call just before the ADB hosts this week’s 4th Asia Clean Energy...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — The Singapore government is investing a total of S$68 million in solar test-bedding projects in buildings and public housing around the island that will increase the country’s cumulative installed base of solar systems from 200kW last year to about 5MW over the next few years. (US$1=S$1.45). They include the S$31...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) said it has commissioned two grid-interactive solar power plants of 100 KWp each in Lakshadweep as part of the country’s solar-based electrification programme. To date, the company has commissioned 11 solar power plants in the Lakshadweep islands, adding over 1MW of solar power to...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — China’s Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a world leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said it is collaborating with two international organisations to develop the next generation of high efficiency solar cells. Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), a leading solar research centre in Europe, and Nasdaq-listed...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — The number of jobs in America’s emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007, according to a report released by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The agency said it developed a clear, data-driven definition of the clean energy economy and...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — Japanese utility Chugoku Electric Power said it is planning to build a 3MW solar PV system in Hiroshima prefecture. Located in Fukuyama, work on the project will start next year and be installed by 2012. The system is expected to generate 3.15 million kWh, equivalent to the electricity consumption of...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — The Chinese government has promised to defend the nation’s battered environment from further damage while injecting RMB4 trillion worth of investment spending to keep the economy growing. (US$1=RMB6.82). The Environment Ministry told reporters it has rejected or delayed the implementation of RMB147 billion worth of projects including 29 steel and...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — Hong Kong-listed China Power International Development Limited said hydropower will account for 32% of its total power capacity after it completes its acquisition of a 63% stake in Wu Ling Power from China Power International Holding Limited (CPI Holding). The company will pay CPI Holding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Global production and use of biofuels is set to grow sharply through 2030, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In the US, biofuels production is expected to rise to 1.9 million b/d in 2030 from 300,000 b/d in 2006. Europe, Asia, Central America and South America are also expected...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Two South Korean firms and their partners are considering investing as much as US$475 million to produce biofuels in the Philippines. Eco Solutions Co is planning a 100,000-litre-per-year biodiesel plant in General Santos in South Cotabato at a cost of $175 million, while Enviro Plasma Corporation may invest $300 million...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Philippine Alcantara Group has been given the greenlight to build a large coal-fired power plant in Sarangani province. Despite concerns about pollution, the company has been given the environmental clearance from Manila and Central Mindanao’s Environmental Management Bureau for the 200MW plant. The US$450 plant is due to start up...