(EnergyAsia, July 25, Friday) — Bergamo Acquisition Corp (BGMO), a US-based wholesale and retail clothing company said it has set up an energy subsidiary to investigate the possibility of investing in a solar energy facility in Pakistan. BGMO said Bergamo Energy has been designated by the Pakistani government to build and maintain a 500 megawatt...
AUSTRALIA: Mustang Engineering to submit study for Sunrise gas development project
company John Wood Group PLC, said it will be providing a conceptual study for developing offshore facilities for the Greater Sunrise Gas Development in the Timor Sea north of Australia. Mustang’s Perth office will be performing the work, which includes the development of the Sunrise and Troubadour fields, located about 450 km north of Darwin...
SINGAPORE: India-backed commodities exchange to be launched
the Singapore Mercantile Exchange, the country’s newest commodities exchange. SMX will facilitate commodities trading in the Asian time zone. The new exchange will provide a platform for futures and options trading on precious metals, base metals, energy, agricultural commodities, currency pairs, carbon credits and commodity indices. SMX will offer a state-of-the art electronic trading platform...
AUSTRALIA: Nation must brace for much higher natural gas prices
coming years, a government report has warned. The report, by federal government advisor Professor Ross Garnaut, said prices will be driven by rising demand for gas-fired power which is in great demand because of their lower emissions, compared with coal-fired units. Another factor driving up domestic gas prices are Australia’s plans to increase exports of...
CHINA: Rising oil imports from Venezuela at expense of US
that its deliveries to the US fell to a five-year low in the first four month of 2008, compared with the same period last year. State oil and gas company PDVSA aims to boost its oil shipments to China to 500,000 b/d by 2010 compared with about 250,000 b/d today. In contrast, the US imported...
INDONESIA: PLN power cuts hit Jakarta, Tangerang
Negara (PLN) has implemented rotating blackouts for Jakarta and Tangerang since the start of the month to prevent a complete collapse of power supply in some key cities. The company said it is undertaking maintenance work at a number of plants on the Java-Bali power supply system. The blackouts are expected to last through...
VIETNAM: Swiber secures offshore oil and gas contract
the offshore industry, has landed its first contract in Vietnam’s booming offshore oil and gas industry. It said that subsidiary Swiber Offshore Construction Pte Ltd has been awarded a substantial letter of intent by the state-owned company, Vietsovpetro (VSP) to transport and install offshore facilities for one of its offshore oil and gas customers. The...
AUSTRALIA: Bechtel unit wins Queensland Curtis LNG contract
the contractor for the proposed Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (LNG) project near Gladstone in Australia. The contract was awarded by an alliance between Australia’s Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC) and UK’s BG Group which is jointly developing coal seam gas from the Surat Basin in Queensland state. Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals Inc will...
AUSTRALIA: Mission Biofuels secured new 12-month biodiesel supply contract
month cost-plus order to supply one of the world’s leading oil trading companies with 60,000 to 84,000 tonnes of biodiesel starting January 2009. Mission did not name the company. In June, it said it sold and shipped approximately 4,500 tonnes using its export pipeline for the first time. Loading proceeded smoothly and product quality, as...
AUSTRALIA: Origin to deliver more green energy solutions to local households
Foundation Partner of the country’s ‘Together’ campaign to help society reduce its carbon footprint. After a successful start in the UK and US, the Australian ‘Together’ campaign is designed to provide consumers with access to information and products which will help them to reduce their carbon footprint easily and affordably. Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard...
PEOPLE: Ko Kheng Hwa to lead sustainable development division of Singapore’s Keppel Corp
Kheng Hwa as CEO of its new Sustainable Development & Living Business Division from August 1. Mr Ko will be stepping down as managing director of the Economic Development Board (EDB) which he led for seven years. Leveraging existing platforms and competencies of the Keppel Group, he will lead the growth of the group’s businesses...
CHINA: Huaneng Power announces tariff adjustments of its power plants
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — China’s Huaneng Power International Inc said it has raised the electricity tariffs it charges its customers. This follows a notice recently issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to raise the on-grid tariffs of power plants in most parts of China from July 1 to encourage production, reduce...
SOUTH KOREA: Qatargas and Nakilat name world’s biggest LNG vessel Geoje Island
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — Lloyd’s Register, an independent risk management organisation, said the world’s largest LNG vessel — classed by Lloyd’s Register — ordered and to be operated by the Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), was recently named at Samsung Heavy Industry’s (SHI) shipyard on Geoje Island in South Korea. Mozah, the first ‘Q-Max’-sized...
MIDDLE EAST: Japan’s MHI lands tow new major orders for gas turbine orders
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has landed two new orders for gas turbines from the Middle East, boosting its total from the region to 80 units. The turbines in the latest orders will be used in a large-scale power generation and desalination project by the Ras Laffan...
INDIA: Petroleum minister Deora comes under fire as fuel shortages persist
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — The Samajwadi Party (SP), which forms part of the coalition governing India, has accused petroleum and natural gas minister Murli Deora of mismanaging his portfolio. Specifically, he was wrong in not imposing a windfall profit tax on India’s privately owned oil refiners in the face of rising oil prices, said...
INDIA: LNG supply crisis feared
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — India could be facing a severe natural gas shortfall as its energy firms are struggling to secure liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes on the spot market, said the managing director of state-owned gas firm Petronet. India relies on the spot market for one third of its LNG supplies, with the...
SINGAPORE: Zurich Financial Services group’s new office targets oil and gas insurance
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — Switzerland’s Zurich Financial Services group has opened a new office in Singapore partly to tap insurance opportunities in Asia’s growing oil, gas, petrochemical, power and energy industries. The company, one of the world’s largest property and casualty insurers, will provide full services to corporate and commercial customers in South-east...
SINGAPORE: Keppel to build Scorpion’s first semisubmersible for use in Brazil
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), said it has been contracted to build its proprietary DSS 38 deepwater semisubmersible rig for Scorpion Offshore Ltd. The US$405 million contract excludes owner-supplied drilling and subsea equipment. Upon its completion in the fourth...
MARKETS: IEA sees world oil demand rising 1.1% to 87.7 million b/d in 2009
(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) — World oil demand is expected to grow by 1.1% or 860,000 b/d to 87.7 million b/d in 2009, said the International Energy Agency. This would be slightly slower than this year’s demand growth by about 890,000 b/d growth. The Paris-based agency said high oil prices will lead to a contraction...
INDIA: Essar Oil still in the running for stake in Kenyan oil refinery
(EnergyAsia, July 22, Tuesday) — The Kenyan government is still considering Essar Oil’s bid to buy up a 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries (KPRL). The government is also weighing a competing offer by Libyan oil firm Tamoil. The four-million-tonne per year KPRL plant at Mombasa is the only refinery in Eastern Africa. Earlier this...
CHINA: Vopak to invest $1 billion in landmark JV crude storage project
(EnergyAsia, July 22, Tuesday) — Dutch oil logistics firm Vopak and China’s State Development & Investment Communication Corp (SDIC) plan to build two 300,000-tonne crude oil terminals on China’s southernmost Hainan island. The Chinese firm said the complex, which will also include two 100,000-tonne berths for crude and oil products, will cost an estimated US$1...
AUSTRALIA: AGL, Torrens Energy in geothermal alliance
(EnergyAsia, July 22, Tuesday) — Australia’s AGL Energy Limited said it has signed a geothermal alliance agreement with Torrens Energy Limited to commercialise base load geothermal projects for the national electricity market. AGL said it would also be acquiring a 9.99% stake in Torrens Energy by way of a share placement at $0.40 per share...
AUSTRALIA: BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi alliance to acquire New Saraji coal project
(EnergyAsia, July 22, Tuesday) — An equal alliance between Australia’s BHP Billiton and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp has agreed to fully acquire the New Saraji coal project from New Hope Corporation Limited for a total of US$2.4 billion (half in cash and the other half in BHP Billiton share). New Saraji is an undeveloped metallurgical coal...
INDIA: Oil and gas supplies to be stretched through 2012
(EnergyAsia, July 22, Tuesday) — India will likely face a tight oil and gas market through 2012 amid soaring demand and greater competition for supplies on the international markets. Demand for the main oil products is set to rise to feed the energy demand of its fast-growing economy. Consumption is also being encouraged by the...
INDIA: Hindustan Petroleum shares plunge amid soaring oil price
(EnergyAsia, July 22, Tuesday) — The shares of Indian downstream oil firm Hindustan Petroleum Corporation hit a 52-week low of Rs165.60 in early July as crude oil soared to over US$144 per barrel. (US$1 = Rs42.60). This is a sharp decline from the Rs405.90 high the stock traded at the start of the year. Hindustan...