even stop investing in much-needed new projects, raising the spectre of severe shortages and oil shocks in the future. If investments are postponed today, the world would face an oil supply crunch once demand recovers, warned Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA). Oil firms have been cutting back capital budgets around...
SAUDI ARABRIA: Project delays on the cards as Aramco wait for costs to ease
costs for many of its planned new refineries to decline significantly. Material, engineering and labour costs are showing signs of easing as the world economy slows down rapidly to the point of recession. The company is trying to delay or renegotiate some key projects, including two 400,000 b/d refinery joint ventures, one with France’s...
SINGAPORE: Keppel FELS completes Jindal’s 2nd jackup ahead of schedule
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it is set to deliver a jackup rig ahead of schedule to Virtue Drilling, an associate company of India’s Jindal Drilling & Industries. Construction of the rig VIRTUE I, was achieved with a clean safety record of about 2.1 million manhours worked without incidents. “In...
SINGAPORE: Refiner SPC issues performance warning for 2008
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Listed downstream firm Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) has issued a warning to investors that its 2008 earnings have been severely weakened as a result of the steep falls in crude and product prices. It said: “The drastic slowdown in refined products demand in the second half of 2008 has...
SINGAPORE: China Aviation Oil in new trading deal with BP
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said it has signed a one-year trading agreement for BP Singapore Pte Ltd (BPS) to supply “a small portion” of its monthly jet fuel requirements for redistribution to China from January 1. Meng Fanqiu, CAO’s CEO, said: “The new business cooperation with BPS...
MARKETS: Despite recent price drop, era of cheap oil is over
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Even though oil prices have fallen from a US$147 per barrel peak in July to around US$45 now, the era of cheap oil is over, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest research finding. With the current crisis, there is a widening gap between oil firms’ investments in...
MARKETS: Platts says OPEC oil output fell to 31.38 million b/d in November
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — The 13 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 31.38 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in November, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials. This is a decline of 880,000 from the October level of 32.26 million...
MARKETS: World oil demand expected to contract in 2008, rebound in 2009, says IEA
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — The International Energy Agency has predicted world oil demand to fall by 200,000 b/d in 2008 for the first decline since 1983. Its latest forecast for world demand has been revised down to 85.8 million b/d from last month’s 86.15 million b/d. For 2009, the Paris-based agency expects demand to...
MARKETS: US EIA predicts world oil demand to shrink in 2008 and 2009
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — A severe economic recession will cause world oil demand to shrink by 50,000 b/d in 2008 and by 450,000 b/d in 2009, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its latest forecast which cast a pall on world oil prices, the agency said this will mark the first time...
DUBAI: Siemens Energy awarded 200m euro contract to boost power supply network
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Germany’s Siemens Energy said it has been awarded a 200-million euro order by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to help expand the power supply network of Dubai in the UAE. The order comprises delivery of two turnkey transformer substations for the 400 kV/132 kV voltage levels, which include...
CLIMATE CHANGE: Asian countries disappoint in climate protection ranking
(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — India was the only Asian country placed among the world’s top 25 for their performance in protecting the climate in the latest ranking of the 56 leading carbon dioxide-emitting nations by watchdogs Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe. India came in seventh on the index’s annual score board, far ahead...
SOUTH KOREA: Wartsila starts up service centre and office in Eomgung
established presence in South Korea with the recent opening of a new service centre and office in Eomgung in Busan city. Wärtsilä said the new centre will enable it to centralise its existing finance and administration services, ship power, power plants and industrial operations business units in South Korea. “Our operations in Korea have expanded...
INDIA: Reliance to go slow on Jamnagar refinery start up
up of its new refinery in Jamnagar in Gujarat state, taking into account the weak state of the world oil markets. It is expected to operate only half the capacity of the 29-million tonne per year refinery in view of the weak demand for oil products in key export markets. The Rs270-billion plant is expected...
KAZAKHSTAN: KazMunaiGaz stake in key Caspian Sea oil venture doubled
agreement for a key Caspian Sea oil venture, more than doubling its ownership stake. State energy firm KazMunaiGaz will now hold more than 16.81% in the Kashagan venture, equivalent to the stakes held by its partners Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total. ConocoPhillips of the US and Japan’s INPEX each retain 8.4% and 7.56% respectively. The...
MARKETS: OPEC slams IEA oil forecasts
study that called for US$450 billion to be invested each year to produce 45 million b/d of new oil output by 2030 to meet rising demand. The bulk of the money would need to be spent in OPEC countries, the IEA said. The oil cartel’s secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri slammed the forecast as “alarmist.” OPEC had...
SAUDI ARABRIA: New Total refinery likely to face delay
Arabia will likely be delayed due to cost considerations. Construction of the 400,000 b/d project, a venture between Total and Saudi Aramco, was expected to start in early 2009. Some officials argue that construction costs could decline from their recent record highs and the project may become cheaper as the global recession takes hold. Saudi...
CHINA: Peabody Energy joins “greengen” consortium to develop near-zero emissions coal plant
non-Chinese equity partner in “GreenGen,” the first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage which is under development in China. Peabody joined the initiative at a formal signing ceremony at the prestigious State Guest House in Beijing last week. The agreement was announced during the Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and...
CHINA: AMSC to let SBW manufacture and sell 2MW wind turbines
Corp (AMSC) said it has agreed to let Chinese industrial equipment manufacturer Shenyang Blower Works (Group) (SBW) develop and sell wind turbines globally. Nasdaq-listed AMSC said its wholly owned subsidiary, AMSC Windtec, will provide SBW with designs for its 2MW doubly-fed induction wind turbines. The CEOs of the two companies signed the agreement in a...
CHINA: Shell signs three new coal gasification process licences
another three coal gasification process (SCGP) licensing agreements in China, bringing the total number in the country to 19. The latest deals include an agreement which was registered with the Chinese government on November 10 involving Shell and two-time licence holder Yunnan Yuntianhua Co Ltd (YYTH), Shell’s third repeat SCGP user. YYTH is expected to...
INDIA: IMF approves $7.6 billion stand-by arrangement for Pakistan
a 23-month loan worth $7.6 billion to Pakistan to support the country’s economic stabilisation programme. About $3.1 billion is immediately available to Pakistan while the remaining amount will be phased in, subject to quarterly reviews. The total amount of the IMF resources made available under the arrangement equals 5005 of the country’s quota. The arrangement...
CLIMATE CHANGE: WWF praised developing countries for lead role in Poznan conference
have been praised for “providing leadership” at last week’s UN climate change conference in the Polish city of Poznan. The world’s leading conservation group, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said these countries offered constructive proposals and specific commitments in contrast to the industrialised nations which had “stymied progress”. “For many developing countries, which bear little or...
CHINA: Linde signs three new contracts, eyes 50% of thin-film PV market
LienHwa, has been awarded contracts to supply thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cells to China. The company said the awards by Tianwei Baoding, Hangzhou Amplesun Solar and ENN Solar will help it capture more than 50% of China’s thin-film photovoltaic (PV) market. As part of these new long-term contracts, The Linde Group said it will be delivering...
CHINA: Weihai firm to build 270KW PV roof
Singyes Solar Technologies (CG Solar), have won a bid to construct a photovoltaic (PV) roof for the Weihai Citizen Culture Center in China. The 6,300-sq m PV roof will have a 270 kilowatt (KW) capacity. The system will use 45 sets of KACO Powador 4501xi on-grid inverters with an estimated 320,000 kilowatt-per-hour annual output. The...
INDONESIA: Chevron starts producing oil at North Duri Field Area 12
owned subsidiary, PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia, has started producing oil at the North Duri Field Area 12. Using steamflood technology next year, Chevron expects production to rise to 34,000 b/d by 2012. “The Duri Field is a remarkable base business success for Chevron. With the application of technology, we have been able to extend the...
SAUDI ARABIA: Flowserve signs 10-year supplier agreement with Aramco
products and services, said it has signed a 10-year strategic supplier agreement with Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil producing companies. Texas-based Flowserve said it will supply its entire range of flow control products – pumps, valves and seals – and value-added services for use in Saudi Aramco’s existing and planned facilities. The...