(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — An unlikely dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over a contested border area could set back the development of offshore oil and discoveries which have been dubbed “the best unexplored acreage left in Southeast Asia.” The dispute flared up over a little known temple in Preah Vihear after it was listed...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — Unresolved border issues continue to pose as a source of irritation between East Asian countries that occasionally threaten to flare into conflicts between neighbouring countries. Many of the disputes involve claims that are centuries old, and are difficult to prove and settle under international law. The stage is set for...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — In its escalating row with the West, Russia has raised the stakes by ordering the completion of a pipeline to deliver crude oil to Asia. The order by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin this week was a clear cut warning to the European Union that Moscow can easily divert oil and...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a NYSE-listed vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said it has signed an agreement with the local government of a county in Beijing to build a 10 MW solar power plant. Yingli said a wholly-owned subsidiary and an entity controlled by the county government...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — China’s Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd said it has entered into a letter-of-intent for a three-year supply agreement with Q-Cells International, a 100% subsidiary of Germany’s Q-Cells AG. Nasdaq-listed Solarfun is an established vertically-integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots and photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules in China. Q-Cells is the world’s...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — Belgium’s GDF SUEZ Energy International said it has won the contract to build, own and operate the Al Dur 1 power generation and seawater desalination plant in Bahrain. As a a major independent power and water project in Bahrain, Al Dur 1 is a greenfield, natural gas-fired installation that will...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Wednesday) — Amtech Systems Inc, a supplier of production and automation systems and related supplies for the manufacture of solar cells, semiconductors and silicon wafers, said its solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems Inc, has received a $7.5 million follow-on solar order for its diffusion processing systems from a customer in Asia. J.S. Whang,...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — ET Solar Group, a Nanjing, China-based solar power solution provider and integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, said it has signed a master agreement for the turnkey construction of solar power plants for Wattner Group of Germany’s Cologne city. ET Solutions AG, the solar power solution arm of ET Solar, will...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — Japan, long the dominant force in Indonesia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export market, may soon be edged out by more aggressive competitors from China and South Korea. Japan has typically imported some 70% of LNG produced in Indonesia, making it by far that country’s largest customer. Supply volumes from Indonesia...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — Increasing rivalry over pipeline routes and energy security are driving military and security strategies in Asia, with Russia’s attack on Georgia last month being the most visible example. The contest over Georgia and the oil and gas pipelines that run through the country comes as Russia is increasingly using energy...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) —There are now 80 carbon funds, managing $12.87 billion in assets, up from 56 funds managing $7.9 billion one year ago, according to new research by Environmental Finance Publications. These funds either buy carbon credits (usually, but not exclusively, from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in developing countries) to sell for...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — Solarfun Power said it has signed a letter-of-intent for a three-year deal to supply PV modules to Q-Cells International. The buyer is a fully-owned subsidiary of Q-Cells AG, the world’s largest independent manufacturer of solar cells. Q-Cells International will purchase from Solarfun a minimum of 100 MW of PV modules...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — The North West Shelf Venture’s fifth LNG processing train located at its Karratha gas plant in Western Australia has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to customers around the world including Japan, China and South Korea. With Train 5 now on line and contributing up to 4.4 million...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — Embargoed by the West, Iran is pushing to secure financing and technology from Asian countries to develop its oil and gas reserves and boost production. Western firms are under pressure from their governments not to invest in Iran, which stands accused of developing a nuclear programme for military use. Iran...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — US WTI crude oil prices have kept stubbornly well above US$110 a barrel after plunging from an all-time high of $147.27 a barrel on July 11. Numerous attempts to push prices below the $110 support the last seven weeks have failed. Instead, each correction has brought the bulls back into...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — Conergy Korea, a subsidiary of Germany’s renewable energy company Conergy AG, has signed an agreement for a € 20 million 4.35 MWp extension  of Asia’s largest, recently completed photovoltaic plant (19.6 MWp) in SinAn, southwest of the South Korean capital city of Seoul. (US$1=0.64 euro). Working with client DongYang Engineering...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Tuesday) — Singapore-listed Asia Power Corporation Limited said it has acquired an additional 20% interest in its subsidiary, Asia Power (Leibo) Hydroelectricity Co Ltd (AP Leibo) from Chengdu Xing Chengyuan Hyrdopower Technology Development Co Ltd, Neijiang Xingyuan Power Group Co Ltd and Zigong Southwest Steel Co Ltd. The buyer paid nearly RMB2.77...

billion yuan to expand its 12-million-tonne per year refinery in Huizhou city in Guangdong province to 22 million tonnes. (US$1=6.85 yuan). According to local media reports, China’s third largest oil company will complete the expansion and add an ethylene cracker to the complex by 2015. Work on the Huizhou complex started in 2005, and is...

Sciences General Energy & Environment Co Ltd (BCSGEE) have formed a joint venture to develop municipal waste-to-energy projects in China. Khazanah said it established the joint venture through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tanjung Rhu Investments Ltd, which will have majority shareholding. The Malaysian government investment company has committed to invest up to US$150 million in at...

capacity on Kharg Island by 2010.   Oil Terminals Company, a subsidiary of state National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said it will build four one-million-barrel tanks as part of a national programme to double up crude oil storage capacity. Construction of the tanks, located in the northeastern Persian Gulf, 25 km off the coast of...

Inc (GPS) and Malaysia’s MISC Bhd said they have been awarded a multi-million dollar contract by Malaysia’s PCPP Operating Company Sdn Bhd for the lease of two mobile offshore production units (MOPUs) for deployment off the coast of Sarawak state. The contract is worth approximately US$320 to US$360 million with an estimated capital expenditure of...

demand to grow by 800,000 b/d or 0.9% to 86.9 million b/d this year, and by 900,000 b/d or 1.1% to 87.8 million b/d in 2009.   In its August forecast, the agency said demand growth is driven by developing countries, which will consume around 38.3 million in 2008 and 39.7 million b/d next year....

performance of Singapore’s container shipping firm NOL. Bunker fuel costs rose to a record close of US$764.5 per tonne FOB Singapore on July 15. Its second quarter net profit fell 19% year-on-year to US$76 million, the first decline in five quarters, on “deteriorating market conditions and significant cost pressures.” For the first half, however, it...

investment into thin-film photovoltaics, Masdar, the Abu Dhabi renewable energy company, has broken ground on its first photovoltaic production plant in Ichtershausen in Germany.   The plant will use advanced production technologies to bring PV closer towards grid parity, and enhance a local economy with a rich history of manufacturing and technology.  The US$230 million...

account for 2,200MW of installed electricity and supply up to 5% of Australia’s energy needs by 2020, said an industry association. (US$1=A$1.14).   The Australian Geothermal Energy Association (AGEA) provided the finding in a report it commissioned from economic modelling firm McLennan Magasanik Associates (MMA) last month. In releasing the report at the 2008 Australian...