(EnergyAsia, May 5, Tuesday) — The Maldives government has launched an ambitious programme to boost power generation from solar panels and wind turbines. The renewable energy projects are aimed at replacing oil, with the objective of making the country “carbon-neutral” by 2019. President Mohamed Nasheed said he wants the Maldives to become the world’s first...

(EnergyAsia, May 5, Tuesday) — Hong Kong-listed China WindPower Group (CWG) Limited said it recently signed separate joint venture agreements with Liaoning Energy and the CLP Group to establish windfarm projects in China. CWG’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Concord WP, signed two separate joint venture agreements with Liaoning Energy to establish wind farm projects in Zhangwu...

(EnergyAsia, May 5, Tuesday) — The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has taken a major step forward to promote a low pollution future for the country. It has endorsed the design of the expanded Renewable Energy Target, has agreed to the introduction of new 6-star standards for houses and strengthened energy efficiency standards for commercial...

 (EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — Philippine energy firm Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp said it is looking to develop a total of 37 wind power projects.The proposed projects are located in Guimaras province, Cagayan province, Panay Island and the Bicol region.A recent feasibility study for a project in Guimaras province showed a wind power...

(EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), the country’s state energy major, plans to set up an energy services company.The new subsidiary will plan and develop PNOC’s own projects, but it will also cooperate with other companies when it is more feasible.Its services include conducting feasibility studies and audits, designing energy-efficiency options...

(EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — Philippine renewable fuels firm San Carlos Bioenergy Inc (SCBI) has delivered its first fuel ethanol cargo to oil refiner Petron.Petron will use the 1.6 million-litre cargo to make E10 blended gasoline, which has a 10% ethanol component.The delivery helps fulfil part of a 2006 agreement binding Petron to lift all...

(EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — Myanmar is planning a new hydropower project to supply electricity to the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw from next year.The project at Nancho, about 26 km outside the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw, will include two 20-megawatt turbines capable of generating 152 million kilowatt-hours per year.Myanmar’s six hydropower...

(EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — Russia’s relations with the rest of the world are starkly coloured black or white these days, with no gray or neutral permitted. In the current peculiar Jekyll-Hyde phase of its history, Russia appears at odds, even engaging in the occasional indirect bout of conflict with the West, while its ties...

(EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — Japan’s Chiyoda and France’s Technip last month joined Qatari officials in celebrating the inauguration of the Qatargas 2 project in the Ras Laffan industrial city. Trains 4 and 5 are the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, each with a capacity of 7.8 million-tons per year.Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Hamad...

(EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has again lowered its forecast for world oil demand this year by another one million b/d to 83.4 million b/d.With the world economy in freefall, the Paris-based energy watchdog for consuming countries said its latest forecast is based on a further downward assessment for weaker...

 (EnergyAsia, May 4, Monday) — American Superconductor Corp (AMSC), a Nasdaq-listed energy technologies company, said it has received an order from South Korea’s LS Cable Ltd for 80 km of 344 its proprietary brand of second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire.LS Cable will utilise the wire to manufacture a 22.9 kilovolt (kV) cable...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — Cavico Corp, a leading infrastructure development company in Vietnam, said it has signed an additional contract valued at $3 million with the Projectx Management of Industrial and Urban Development Corporation (IDICO) for the Dak Mi 4 hydropower plant. Cavico said it will be responsible for construction of a surge tank,...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — Iran has laid out the red carpet for oil and gas investments from China. Iranian vice president Parviz Davoudi extended the invitation during a recent visit to China, which has long coveted the vast oil and gas reserves of the Islamic regime. As a regional power house opposed to Western...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — Shipbuilders and engineers in China are planning to build huge tankers to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG). The tankers being designed by the Marine Design and Research Institute of China would have a minimum capacity of 200,000 cubic metres. Most LNG vessels today have a capacity of about 145,000 cubic...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil refiner, said it will delay the proposed expansion of its refinery in Panipat by four months to April 2010. The 12-million-tonne-per-year plant in Haryana state was to have been largely shut down later this year to facilitate work on expanding it to...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — Ecospec Global Technology Pte Ltd, a Singapore research and technology company specialising in advanced water and oil treatment technologies, said it has built a demonstration plant to show how its CSNOx technology removes greenhouse gases from shipping fuel. Located at a local shipyard in Pandan Crescent in Singapore, the plant...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — Pertamina’s proposed US$1.5 billion refinery joint venture with Japan’s Mitsui & Co has run into difficulty after the Indonesian government demanded that the state oil company be given a higher stake from the original 20%. Earlier, it was agreed that Pertamina would have a 20% stake in the 60,000 b/d...

(EnergyAsia, April 30, Thursday) — AEG Power Solutions, a global leader in end-to-end power supply systems and solutions, said it is building up its Asia-Pacific operations following the global company name change from Saft Power Systems last November. AEG Power Solutions has consolidated its former Saft Power Systems and AEG Power Supply Systems activities under...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Chinese oil giant Sinopec is looking at plans to add eight million tonnes of new capacity to store refined oil products. To be built in four separate locations in China, the tanks would stockpile the equivalent of 10 days of China’s domestic  demand for gasoline, kerosene and diesel. China recently...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Russia and China said they are working on plans to eventually replace the US dollar as a reserve and trading currency. The move would help avoid a recurrence of the global economic crisis which Russia and China said was caused by problems in the US housing and financial markets. Moscow...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Facing its most severe recession since World War II, the world economy will likely begin a slow recovery next year after contracting by a projected 1.3% this year, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The report was issued just days before this week’s warnings by health authorities around the world...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Dutch storage giant Royal Vopak and its Chinese partner, State Development & Investment Communication Corp, are planning to build and manage a large tank farm with the capacity to store 32 million barrels of crude and product. State Development & Investment Communication Corp is an infrastructure builder. Work on the...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — India’s Essar Oil is poised to acquire a 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refinery, which operates the African country’s only refinery. Kenyan Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi said Essar would buy the stake in the four million-tonne-per-year plant at Mombasa from Shell, Chevron and BP. The refinery supplies liquefied petroleum gas...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Energy consultant Douglas-Westwood said it expects world oil consumption will bottom out in the next two months and that pricing power will return to OPEC by early autumn. The forecast was made before this week’s warnings by health authorities around the world of a possible global pandemic of swine flu...

(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Dutch oil and chemicals storage company Royal Vopak NV said its first quarter profit rose 8% to 85.6 million euro on continued demand for its storage tanks and services around the world. The world’s largest independent storage operator affirmed its 2009 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of...