(EnergyAsia, April 29, Wednesday) — Oiltanking Nanjing Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Oiltanking group, said it has received and discharged the first vessel to call at its newly-built terminal located in Nanjing city in China’s Jiangsu province. MT Borneo Pioneer’s discharge of a methanol cargo at the jetty officially marks the start-up of the...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — US crude oil stockpiles now stand at their highest level since September 1990 as demand continues to falter under the weight of the global economic downturn. The official Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that crude stockpiles rose by 5.6 million barrels to 366.7 million barrels for the week ended...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — Russia’s state gas major Gazprom may have boosted its natural reserves by 11% to 33.1 trillion cubic metres last year, according to private estimates. The reserves estimate came in at 217 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), up from 196 billion BOE per end 2007. Analysts said the firm held...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) plans to buy an oil refinery in Japan, Chinese industry reports said. The seller is said to be Nippon Oil which has been supplying CNPC with refined products for the past five years. It is not known if CNPC plans to buy a stake or...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — Kuwait and Japan are committed to jointly investing in an integrated oil refining-petrochemical project in Vietnam, said Kuwaiti oil minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah. In an interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), he said that the joint venture partners have started basic equipment design and engineering plan work on the...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — Russia’s crude oil production is projected to rise to 10.61 million b/d in 2013 and to 11.3 million b/d by 2018, up from 9.98 million b/d in 2007, said consultant BMI. The group expects Russian oil exports to rise to 7.86 million b/d by 2018. The production increase of 13%...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — Russia’s unemployed ranks now exceed seven million people pushing the jobless rate to 9.5% after the loss of another 1.8 million jobs in the first quarter. Amid the worsening global economic crisis, these numbers could climb from an already eight-year low. However, officials said the worst may be over as...
(EnergyAsia, April 28, Tuesday) — China needs to expand its storage capacities to stockpile key natural resources including oil, the country’s top planning agency has urged. The stockpiles would help China hedge against volatility in commodity prices and also enable it to use up its large US dollar holdings, said the National Development and Reform...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — China’s Ministry of Finance has begun offering subsidies for solar photovoltaic building applications in the country. A fixed subsidy will be granted for both urban BIPV applications and for photovoltaic building systems in rural and remote areas. Technical standards will apply to their installation. The installed capacity for individual projects...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — Hong Kong-listed Strong Petrochemical said it has agreed to pay US$24 million for an oil tanker that is now used as a floating terminal for storing oil products off the waters of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia’s Johor state. With a gross tonnage of about 142,639 metric tons and a deadweight...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — Indian Oil Corp said it plans to expand its 120,000 b/d refinery in Haldia in West Bengal state by 25% in the fourth quarter. The company will shut a 50,000 b/d crude unit at the plant for about two months to undertake the project. Haldia Refinery, one of IOC’s seven...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — The Russian economy will grow by 0.5% next year after contracting by as much as 6%, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF holds a much more bearish view of the Russian economy than the World Bank which expects a 4.5% drop, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction has been awarded the main S$890 million ‘design and build’ contract for Singapore’s underground oil storage cavern by state agency JTC Corporation. (US$1=S$1.5). JTC said it has nearly completed the S$50 million construction of two access shafts and the start-up galleries, and will soon...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — Australia’s largest downstream company said its first quarter operating profit rose nearly 11.5% to A$97 million from the same period last year. (US$1=A$1.45). Caltex Australia Limited said it boosted sales volumes and refinery output while declines in the local currency against the US dollar and oil prices helped boost its...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — Puda Coal Inc, a US-listed supplier of China’s high grade metallurgical coking coal, said it has received approval from the Yuncheng municipal government to restructure six coal mines in Shanxi province. The coal is used to produce coke for steel manufacturing. Puda said it will acquire and merge the six...
(EnergyAsia, April 27, Monday) — PetroChina Xinjiang Oilfield Company, a subsidiary of the state oil company, said it is expanding its crude oil storage capacity to 1.2 million cubic metres. Work on the new tanks in the northwestern city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province will start in August. The company will develop the new capacity...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — The Sri Lankan government’s push to expand and improve its electricity services, especially to the poor and those living in conflict-affected areas, will receive support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The bank said its board has approved loans of US$135 million from its Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR) and a...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — Singapore-listed China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said it has agreed with China National Offshore Oil Corporation Marketing Company to jointly jet fuel to the world markets, expanding beyond its China focus. The Chinese firm is a subsidiary of CNOOC, one of the largest state-owned oil companies and the...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — Russia and Iraq are working to revive oil exploration and production contracts signed when the Middle Eastern country was ruled by former dictator Saddam Hussein. One of the most important deals involves Lukoil which signed a US$3.7 billion deal in 1996 to develop Iraq’s West Qurna oilfield. West Qurna could...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — The IEA’s oil demand forecast for this year is too “gloomy”, said a US consultant, citing “numerous signs” of a possible economic recovery around the end of 2009 to early 2010. In its latest Global Crude Oil Outlook, Energy Security Analysis Inc (ESAI) disagreed with the IEA’s prediction that global...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) said lower oil prices and impairment charges for its Indonesian oil field caused its first-quarter net profit to fall by 43.5% to S$55.6 million from a year earlier, while revenue plunged 46.8% to S$1.4 billion. (US$1=S$1.5). Its earnings per share were down to S10.8 cents from...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — Turkmenistan’s gas supplies to Russia have been halted following an explosion on its main export pipeline to Russia. Turkmenistan blamed Russian state gas major Gazprom for the incident, stating that the incident was deliberately caused by Gazprom which sharply cut its gas imports from the Central Asian state. The sudden...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — A new cross-border oil pipeline linking Russia to China could soon start up as it is due for completion next month. The 67-km link is set to supply 15 million tonnes of crude per year from Russia to China from 2010. This volume could meet up to 7% of China’s...
(EnergyAsia, April 24, Friday) — Finland’s Wartsila, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have inaugurated their new, jointly owned, low-speed marine engine factory QMD in Qingdao in Shandong province. The joint venture company Qingdao Qiyao Wartsila MHI Linshan Marine Diesel Co Ltd (QMD) is owned jointly by China Shipbuilding Industry...
(EnergyAsia, April 23, Thursday) — Russia could become China’s single biggest oil supplier within 15 years or so as the two countries build on existing ties and step up infrastructure investments. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov made this prediction at a recent top-level visit to Beijing. At the same time, Russia is looking for...