(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday)— Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd, a China-based manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) cells, modules and ingots, said a wholly owned subsidiary has signed a 47-megawatt (MW) sales contract with Schüco International KG, a leading PV system provider in Europe. Solarfun said it will supply a combined total of 47 MW of PV...

(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday) — Biofuels accounted for 30% of the recent increase in world food prices, with disastrous impacts on food supplies and the economy of poor nations, a new Oxfam report found. The increased cost of food has pushed 30 million people around the world into poverty, the agency said. It added that...

(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday) — Refining giants GS Caltex of South Korea and Nippon Oil of Japan have agreed to form a joint venture to produce carbon materials for high-end energy storage devices. The 900-tonne per year plant will be built at Gumi, southeast of Seoul, and is expected to start up in 2010. The...

(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday) — Australian upstream company Santos has confirmed acting CEO David Knox as CEO and managing director. He will be paid a base salary of A$1.75 million and a remuneration linked to performance.   Mr Knox, 50, joined Santos last September as executive vice president with responsibility for growing its emerging new...

(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday) — US-based SunPower Corporation said it has completed the acquisition of Australian integrator and distributor, Solar Sales Pty Ltd, for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 1983, Solar Sales was one of Australia’s first photovoltaic companies and is a leading systems integration and product distribution organisation. Solar Sales offers solar panels and...

(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday) — Swiber Holdings Limited), a Singapore-based provider of offshore services, said it has appointed two new heads to lead the growth of its two business units, Offshore Construction Services (OCS) and Offshore Support Services (OSS). Nitish Gupta, currently Swiber’s COO, will lead OCS while Darren Yeo, an executive director and executive...

(EnergyAsia, August 1, Friday) — Energtek Inc, a US-based company focused on developing its Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) technology, said it has signed a purchase contract with the Philippine National Oil Company – Exploration Company (PNOC-EC) for natural gas extracted from the San Antonio stranded gas well in the Philippines’ Isabela province. The purchase contract...

0.6 percent to S$180.3 million compared with the same period last year. Its revenue jumped by nearly 65% to S$3.25 billion on the back of higher oil prices. (US$1=S$1.35). Earnings per share rose to 34.96 Singapore cents from 34.79 Singapore cents previously. The oil refining and marketing firm said it will pay an interim one-tier...

Gippsland Basin joint venture will invest US$1.1 billion to develop more than 270 million oil-equivalent barrels from the Turrum field in the Bass Strait in southeast Australia. Exxon Mobil is represented by subsidiary Esso Australia in the equal joint venture. Esso Australia, the Turrum field operator, operates 21 offshore oil and gas production facilities in...

Bank said in a report leaked to Britain’s Guardian newspaper. The main drivers for food prices were programmes in the US and European Union to boost biofuels production, the report said. These findings run counter to claims by biofuels promoters who blame rising food demand in India and China for the sharp increases in global...

approved the construction of a major wind farm power project off the coast of Shanghai city.   When it starts up in 2010, the 102,000-kilowatt project will be the country’s first offshore wind power project.  Project promoters include China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holdings, China Datang Group, China Power International Holdings and Shanghai Green Energy Engineering....

emerging solar energy sector. International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who recently led a trade mission to Japan, told business people there that Malaysia offered a highly attractive environment for developing the solar power industry. Speaking at a seminar, he said many solar equipment firms including Germany’s Q-Cells have begun investing in Malaysia. Japanese...

reconsider their biofuels policies and crop subsidies in light of the recent sharp rise in food prices. The European Union has announced an aggressive target for 10% of its cars and trucks to run on biofuels by 2020. The plea for a change has come on the back of a leaked report by the World...

consumption despite increasing concerns over its impacts on food prices and the environment. However, it will make a concession by reducing the targeted mandatory minimum biofuels content in fuel from 3.4% by 2012 to 2.5% in following a recommendation from the country’s parliamentary environment select committee. The blending requirement will likely be phased in from...

Canada’s Saskatchewan province in a joint-venture with aboriginal communities. CPC could spend up to C$800million to acquire oil sands leases and develop projects in coming years with partner Indian Oilsands (US$1 = C$1). Indian Oilsands is an initiative that groups many of the province’s First Nations groups. The joint venture could start by focusing on...

process equipment and technologies, clean energy solutions and environmental technologies, said it has secured four new contracts worth a total of S$19.27 million. (US$1=S$1.36). Two of the contracts are for oil and gas projects in Singapore while the other two are petrochemical projects in China. These contracts are not expected to have any material impact...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — Nasdaq-listed A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand’s National Power Supply Co Ltd to develop a 600 MW distributed power generation system in Chachengsao province. National Power Supply co is a subsidiary of Advance Agro Public Co. Ltd, a large Thai-based conglomerate....

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petronas will pay a dividend of RM30 billion to the government, up 50% from last year. (US$1=RM3.26). The huge dividend was declared after the company had reported a 31.5% increase in net profit to nearly RM61 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31....

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — South Korea plans to increase its crude oil storage capacity to 141 million barrels by 2010, up 27% from current levels. The new capacities include storage for emergencies and joint storage with foreign refiners. State KNOC has stated that the expansion will help the country cope with supply disruptions as...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — The consortium proposing to build a US$6 billion integrated refinery-petrochemicals project in the Indian coastal city of Vishakhapatnam or Vizag is expected to make a final decision by December. The consortium, comprising India’s Mittal group, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), GAIL and Oil India (OIL), and France’s Total, has been working on...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — India’s state oil refiners may not be able to upgrade all their facilities to meet the 2010 deadline for producing Euro–IV grade fuels for 11 major cities. The refiners are facing massive project delays amid rising costs and tight supplies for engineering equipment and manpower. The order books of contractors...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — India’s Essar group will have to wait a bit longer for the Kenyan government to approve its proposed acquisition of a 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL). Citing energy security concerns, the government has delayed making a decision on Essar’s offer to take over the stakes of Shell...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — Asiatic Group Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based engineering management specialist, said it will be building a 44-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power project in Vietnam’s north-eastern Lao Cai province. Asiatic’s wholly-owned Colben Energy Holdings (Vietnam) Limited will pay US$6.3 million for a 51% stake in a newly established joint venture company, Colben Energy...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — Australia’s Oil Search said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Papua New Guinea government for the commercialisation of the country’s natural gas resources. The MOU provides a framework for the PNG government and Oil Search to jointly commercialise the substantial discovered PNG gas resource that is...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Wednesday) — New Zealand’s Contact Energy said it is investigating a new wind farm project on the remote Puketoi Range near Dannevirke in Southern Hawke’s Bay. The proposed 177MW Waitahora wind farm would cost around NZ$500 million to develop. Its 65 turbines would generate enough clean, renewable electricity to power up to...