(EnergyAsia, October 29 2013, Tuesday) — State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL), one of the world’s largest producers of the fuel, said it has signed supply agreements with companies operating 90% of the country’s 173 coal-fired power plants with a combined 78,000MW capacity. http://energycontents.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=301 While its officials claim they will soon close on the remaining 10%,...

(EnergyAsia, October 28 2013, Monday) — The jury is still out on the wisdom of Chinese state-owned companies’ push into Canada’s oil sector with CNOOC Ltd responding to its critics with a  surge in third quarter production and sales revenue while Sinopec is reportedly looking to reduce its presence to focus on profitability. Both companies,...

(EnergyAsia, October 25 2013, Friday) — China’s producers of power equipment and parts are expected to increase their presence and establish plants in India as the two countries look to expand bilateral ties and trade with each other. Amid its worst power supply crisis, India’s economy is slowing down and scaring off investors including many...

(EnergyAsia, October 24 2013, Thursday) — Desperate to reduce the country’s growing dependence on expensive fuel imports, Indian planners are considering a proposal for local miners to deposit their surplus coal with state Coal India Limited (CIL) for later use when their power plants start up. India’s rising imports of oil, coal and gas are...

(EnergyAsia, October 23 2013, Wednesday) — Switzerland-based Foster Wheeler AG said subsidiaries of its Global Engineering and Construction Group have been awarded contracts to boost the production of crude oil and natural gas in Saudi Arabia. The company will provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for Saudi Aramco to boost production of Arabian light crude...

(EnergyAsia, October 22 2013, Tuesday) — More than a year after federal investigators began looking into India’s largest corruption scandal the last decade, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remains firmly in power despite attempts to tie him to the loss of billions of dollars from the mis-allocation of the country’s coal mining concessions. Last week, Mr...

(EnergyAsia, October 22 2013, Tuesday) — At their recent joint press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak surprised his visiting Canadian counterpart by announcing that state-owned Petronas would be making a “gargantuan” C$36 billion investment to develop an export-oriented liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in British Columbia province. (US$1=C$1.03). Probably surprised by...

(EnergyAsia, October 21 2013, Monday) — Wison Group, the main contractor for state-owned PetroChina, said it has started fabrication work for the deep conversion upgrade of Venezuela’s 200,000 b/d Puerto la Cruz (RPLC) oil refinery in the northern state of Anzoátegui. http://energycontents.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=301 Subsidiary Wison Engineering Ltd secured the US$834 million procurement and construction contract from...

(EnergyAsia, October 17 2013, Thursday) — Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas said it has slowed down the decline rate in the country’s oil reserves to between two and three percent per year by uncovering and tapping marginal fields. CEO Shamsul Azhar Abbas said the company will apply enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods on 14 mature...

(EnergyAsia, October 16 2013, Wednesday) — Four years after venturing into Kenya’s oil refining sector, India’s Essar Energy plc said is exiting the business with the sale of its 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd to the government of the East African nation for US$5 million. Essar Energy, which is listed in London, said...

(EnergyAsia, October 14 2013, Monday) — Mechel OAO, a leading Russian mining and metals company, said its application for US$2.5 billion to finance the first-phase development of a coal project has been approved by the supervisory board of the Vnesheconombank’s (VEB). The loan, payable over 13.5 years with a grace period till 2017, will be...

(EnergyAsia, October 10 2013, Thursday) — Canada’s Prophecy Coal said it has added another customer to its Ulaan Ovoo mine in Mongolia with an agreement for the supply of 30,000 tonnes of thermal coal. The Vancouver, British Columbia firm said the unnamed “new customer with substantial presence in the region” will begin lifting the coal...

(EnergyAsia, October 9 2013, Wednesday) — Myanmar’s electricity supply system is being expanded and upgraded through a combination of aid and technical assistance from the governments of Japan and Norway working with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) while the World Bank has approved an interest-free loan for a power plant upgrade. According to the ADB,...

(EnergyAsia, October 8 2013, Tuesday) — In a groundbreaking move with one of the world’s most protected oil and gas markets, Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two subsidiaries of Mexico’s state PEMEX to jointly develop, own and operate a shipyard in the North American country to build...

(EnergyAsia, October 8 2013, Tuesday) — Iran is expected to award contracts to Chinese and South Korean firms to help revamp two domestic refineries. According to Iranian news reports, China’s Sinopec and an unnamed South Korean firm will provide engineering services in the US$1.5 billion expansion and upgrade of the 300,000 b/d Isfahan refinery located...

(EnergyAsia, October 7 2013, Monday) — Coal India Limited (CIL) said it produced 200 million tonnes of coal in the April-October half of fiscal 2013, three percent short of target, but 4.7% more compared with the same period last year. The company blamed labour strife, weather conditions, theft and protests by local groups for disrupting...

(EnergyAsia, October 4 2013, Friday) — Warning that India’s power supply shortages are set to worsen, Greenpeace said Coal India Limited (CIL) has overstated the size of its reserves by around 16% and is failing to replenish its extractable coal. CIL, with an 80% share of domestic production, has only 18.2 billion tonnes of extractable...

(EnergyAsia, October 3 2013, Thursday) — India’s coal supply deficit is expected to rise more than 37% between fiscal 2012 and 2016, said Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal. India will increase its coal imports from 135 million tonnes for the year ended March 31 2013 to 185.5 million tonnes four years later. State-owned Coal India Limited,...

(EnergyAsia, October 2 2013, Wednesday) — India’s opposition is stepping up a campaign to force Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement as the country’s economy continues an alarming three-year slide that has sent its currency plunging to record lows. For the first time, the 81-year-old leader this week directly dismissed...

(EnergyAsia, October 1 2013, Tuesday) — India’s thermal coal imports are expected to surge to a new high of 82 million tonnes for the current 2013 fiscal year, more than eight times the level seven years ago. In fiscal 2006, India imported just 9.7 million tonnes of thermal coal to feed its power plants, according...

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2013, Monday) — Oil prices have temporarily lost a major source of support as the world’s super and regional powers have been surprisingly cooperative in trying to contain Syria’s civil war from becoming a global conflict at the same time that the US is looking to thaw relations with long-time enemy Iran....

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2013, Monday) — Iran expects to soon launch what a state oil company claims will be the largest floating oil storage terminal in the Middle East. According to the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), the terminal will start up in the country’s southern province of Bushehr in the fourth quarter. With the...

(EnergyAsia, September 27 2013, Friday) — Faced with a looming domestic energy crisis, Bangladesh may soon turn to China for help in financing the construction of a US$325-million floating oil storage terminal in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladeshi officials complain they have made little progress after over a year of talks to attract investment for...

(EnergyAsia, September 27 2013, Friday) — Global oil consumption will exceed 92 million b/d for the first time next year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in raising its outlook in its September report. Buoyed by improving economic prospects in Europe and the US, the agency boosted its forecasts for global oil consumption to rise...

(EnergyAsia, September 26 2013, Thursday) — The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has raised its forecasts for global oil consumption over the next two years based on improving prospects in Europe and the US, and continued strong growth in the developing economies. In its latest monthly report for September, the 12-member cartel said it...