(EnergyAsia, August 13 2013, Tuesday) — China will help develop four coal-fired power plants at the soon-to-be-established Gadani Power Corridor in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said. He said the Pakistani government has set a target for the coastal corridor in the impoverished and politically unstable province to accommodate eight coal-fired power...

(EnergyAsia, August 13 2013, Tuesday) — Nigerian officials are unsure how much oil the country is producing or if it will achieve its medium-term targets amid rising security threats to the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and the oil-rich Niger Delta region by terrorists, armed gangs, disenfranchised local inhabitants and corrupt officials. There is also the growing...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2013, Monday) — Russian mining company Mechel said it has begun delivering coal concentrate to China by rail through a new border checkpoint. “Until now, Mechel made major coal deliveries to Chinese customers only through sea ports. The opening of this railroad route will enable Mechel to diversify its logistics and make...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2013, Monday) — Bowing to public pressure, Australia has again delayed approval for the development of the world’s largest coal port in Queensland state that environmentalists say would permanently damage the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest marine park, with negative consequences for spawning fish and other life forms migrating between the...

(EnergyAsia, August 7 2013, Wednesday) — Helped by rising crude oil production and exports of gold and cocoa, Ghana’s economy is on course to repeat last year’s 8% growth in 2013, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The three commodities together account for 85% of the West African country’s export earnings. In a recent assessment,...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2013, Tuesday) — Authorities in Nigeria and the UK are investigating claims that a company linked to a former Nigerian oil minister has pocketed the bulk of US$1.3 billion paid by Shell and Italy’s ENI for the rights to explore and develop an offshore oil block in the West African country. Dan...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2013, Tuesday) — PT Adaro Energy, a leading Indonesian coal miner, said it raised production by 12% to a record 13.52 million tonnes in the second quarter. For the same period last year, the company produced 12.05 million tonnes. In a filing with the Indonesia Stock Exchange, Aadro said it mined 24.94...

(EnergyAsia, August 5 2013, Monday) — Royal Dutch Shell has put a pin into what could be the shale bubble which it said contributed to a 60% plunge in its second quarter profit. The European major wrote off the value of its North American shale assets by more than US$2 billion after tax, causing earnings...

(EnergyAsia, August 2 2013, Friday) — Sri Lanka could be the latest Asian country to import and use liquefied natural gas (LNG) to generate electricity and provide fuel for ships. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has announced plans to develop an LNG import terminal at the country’s fast-growing southern port of Hambantota as part...

(EnergyAsia, August 1 2013, Thursday) — Z Energy, New Zealand’s main downstream oil company, is seeking to raise between NZ$650 million and NZ$900 million through a public offer of its share at NZ$3.25 to NZ$3.75 apiece. (US$1=NZ$1.26). The final price for the offer which values Z Energy at between NZ$1.3 billion and $1.5 billion will...

(EnergyAsia, July 31 2013, Wednesday) — An Iranian state firm said it is building three large crude oil storage terminals, including one that it claims will be the largest floating unit in the Persian Gulf. The National Iranian Offshore Oil Company (NIOOC) will launch a 2.2-million barrel storage terminal in the Southern Bushehr province near...

(EnergyAsia, July 30 2013, Tuesday) — The dream of an overland passage way to serve Southeast Asia’s energy needs since the late 18th century just came true over the weekend. With the July 28 launch of a new regional pipeline infrastructure, Myanmar has begun exporting natural gas to China that could reduce East Asia’s dependence...

(EnergyAsia, July 30 2013, Tuesday) — At least three Asian buyers will be in no hurry to shift the link of their liquefied natural gas (LNG) import prices to the US’s Henry Hub, currently the focus of a major campaign by Japanese and Indian utilities. China’s CNOOC Ltd is paying just US$3.5 per million BTU...

(EnergyAsia, July 29 2013, Monday) — After four years of slow growth, the world is about to regain its oil appetite to match the rapid consumption growth rates of the past decade, said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Led by Asia, the world is expected to consume 90.68 million b/d of oil in...

(EnergyAsia, July 29 2013, Monday) — Citing a recovery in Asian consumption led by China, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has issued its most bullish global oil demand forecast in recent months for the next two years. In its latest July energy outlook, the EIA said world oil consumption will grow by 880,000 b/d...

(EnergyAsia, July 26 2013, Friday) — China’s apparent oil demand in June rose by 11.7% to 9.99 million b/d or 40.89 million metric tons (mt), raising first half demand by 3.9% over the same period last year, said energy media Platts in an analysis of latest government data. For the first half, Chinese oil demand...

(EnergyAsia, July 25 2013, Thursday) — China is strengthening its grip on Central Asia through an increased role in the oil and gas industry of Kazakhstan, the region’s largest economy. Early this month, the Kazakh government said it would sell an 8.4% stake in the country’s giant Kashagan oilfield to China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)...

(EnergyAsia, July 25 2013, Thursday) — India will want current liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers from Qatar and Australia to lower prices to match the US$10 per million BTU it believes it will pay for imports from the US. GAIL, the country’s state gas utility, could begin importing LNG from the US as early as...

(EnergyAsia, July 24 2013, Wednesday) — Iran and Iraq are looking to build on a landmark gas supply agreement that, geopolitics permitting, could contribute significantly to the economic development of the former war enemies and their neighbours. In a four-year deal signed in Baghdad on July 21, Iran stands to earn a total of US$15...

(EnergyAsia, July 23 2013, Tuesday) — Strong summer demand and supply disruptions in Nigeria lifted the average August liquefied natural gas (LNG) price for delivery to Asia by 6.8% from July to US$15.46 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu), said energy media Platts. Assessed over the period of June 17 to July 15, Platts said...

(EnergyAsia, July 23 2013, Tuesday) — Nigeria lost more than US$475 million in revenue while Asia ended up paying more for its spot liquefied natural gas cargoes (LNG) cargoes when an internal dispute caused a three-week disruption in exports from the West African country from June 21. The dispute appears to have ended after Nigeria...

(EnergyAsia, July 22 2013, Monday) — More than a decade after the violent overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein from power, Iraq is a case study in extremes, with its economy and oil industry in their best shape in over 30 years while its political and security conditions reflect an on-going civil war. The most contrasting...

(EnergyAsia, July 22 2013, Monday) — Asia will play a growing role in the development of Iraq’s oil industry and economy, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a special 28-page report on the country’s oil industry, the IMF said Asians are buying up more than half of Iraq’s oil exports today and paying a...

(EnergyAsia, July 19 2013, Friday) — US refineries drew heavily on crude inventories and increased imports to process 16.1 million b/d for the week ending July 5, the highest for any week since 2007, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This level represented a 2.1-million b/d increase from the first week of March, the low...

(EnergyAsia, July 19 2013, Friday) — Emboldened by potential supply deals with US shale gas producers, India wants to renegotiate the estimated US$14.50 per million BTU price that it had agreed to pay Australia for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the Gorgon project. In August 2009, Petronet LNG Ltd, a joint venture between the...