(EnergyAsia, April 2, Wednesday) — Nasdaq-listed BTU International, a leading supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment for the alternative energy and electronics manufacturing markets, has opened its new center of excellence for photovoltaics process technology in Shanghai city in China. BTU opened the first of two new process technology facilities as part of its continued...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) — Indonesia could be in for several more years of spiralling power blackouts, with adverse impacts on the economy and social stability. The country’s creaking power infrastructure is increasingly unable to meet rising demand due to years of underinvestment and neglect, analysts said. The power supply situation in Indonesia, the world’s...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) — The courtship between the Middle East and Asia is starting to narrow down to a handful of partners. Not all Middle Eastern countries are rich or blessed with lots of oil, and not all Asian countries are dynamic and have bright economic prospects. China and India join long-time Middle East...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) — Singapore’s Ezra Holdings Limited, a leading integrated support and marine services provider for the offshore oil and gas industry, said it has signed fresh charter contracts worth a total US$77.6 million for seven vessels. The contracts require Ezra to charter five anchor handling, towing and supply vessels (AHTS), an anchor...

(EnergyAsia, March 30) — China’s oil companies have begun rationing diesel supplies as they struggle to respond to shortages in many parts of the country. Most affected are Guangdong province, Shanghai and parts of Yunnan province where cars, buses and trucks are queuing up at fuel stations. The chaotic scenes and long lines are a...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) — ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc (EMEPMI), a subsidiary of the US major, said it has signed a new 25-year Production Sharing Contract (PSC)with Malaysia’s national oil company, Petronas. EMEPMI and Petronas Carigali, a subsidiary of Petronas, will commit to implement significant enhanced oil recovery (EOR) activities and major investments...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) — Under populist pressure, Thailand’s government is considering reviving a plan to subsidise diesel prices to help consumers deal with the impact of rising oil prices. A subsidy scheme was cancelled in 2005 after racking up costs of almost US$3 billion over 19 months. The National Energy Board is under pressure...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) —New Zealand’s Austral Pacific Energy Ltd said it has agreed to sell to Horizon Energy its 28.92% interest in Papua New Guinea petroleum retention licence 4 and 10.7% interest in licence 5. The offers are subject to the pre-emptive rights in the relevant joint venture agreement, which give the existing joint...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Tuesday) — Asian energy consumers are in full panic mode as the prices of oil, gas and coal, which provide 85% of the world’s energy supply, hit record highs in the first quarter of 2008. While oil captured most of the headlines as it surged past US$100 a barrel for the first...

Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese chemicals company, Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, are building two 5-MW cogeneration facilities at ISK’s chemicals plant in Tuas in Singapore. As a promoter of distributed power, TPGS works closely with companies to develop, build and operate on-site combined heat and power (CHP) systems. Distributed generation refers to generating electricity...

Arabia, could decline this year, a few years ahead of separate forecasts by the Energy Ministry and the Paris-based International Energy Agency. Bearing the grim news, Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev told local reporters that rising cost, and material and labour shortages are causing work delays at oil fields across the country. The government had...

craft a comprehensive energy efficiency policy and investment programme to meet the growing energy demands of an expanding economy and population. ADB is providing a $600,000 grant to fund the preparation of the programme, with Pakistan contributing $100,000 to complete the funding requirement. The activities will include a comprehensive study on the energy efficiency market...

crystalline silicon solar cell with a new record photoelectric conversion efficiency rate of 18.6%. The new conversion rate in the 150-millimeter square practical use cell is an improvement of 0.6% over the company’s previous record. While silicon is an essential component in the wafers used to make solar cells, the supply of silicon has not...

markets as shown by Japan’s quick capitulation to Indonesia’s demand in the latest round of negotiation last week. Japan has agreed to a significant price hike to obtain the four million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that Indonesia failed to deliver under a 10-year supply contract due to expire in 2010. Apart from not...

and CEO, John Ellice-Flint, has retired, and will continue to work until June 30 in a consulting capacity. Executive vice president David Knox has been appointed acting CEO until a successor has been found. Santos chairman Stephen Gerlach said Mr Knox’s extensive industry experience and existing senior role within Santos meant he was very well...

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — Singapore-based palm oil producer Wilmar International is optimistic that the Chinese government will eventually grant its request to raise prices for its products including cooking oil. The company said the prices for vegetable oils and food crops have risen sharply on the world markets in recent months, putting pressure on...

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — With sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) rapidly gaining importance in the international monetary and financial system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has stepped up its work across a broad range of issues related to these state-owned funds, including their impact on global financial stability and capital flows. The SWFs...

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — Sri Lankan business leaders fear that the increases in electricity tariffs since March 1 could lead to widespread plant closures and cutbacks. Warning that many small companies were already struggling to stay afloat before the tariff hike, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) has...

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — The high cost of natural gas could soon impact China’s economy, with half of Guangdong province’s gas-fired power plants recently forced to stop operations. The power companies have laid the responsibility for their decision on the government for refusing to let them pass on the higher gas cost to customers....

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation said it will invest around seven billion yen to expand the production capacity of photovoltaic (PV) cells at its Nakatsugawa Works Iida factory in Nagano prefecture, and modules at its Nakatsugawa Works factory in Kyoto prefecture in response to rising demand for solar power generation systems....

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — India’s Essar group is keen to bid for a deep-sea port project in West Bengal state to support its flourishing manufacturing industries. The state has attracted several new steel projects, which would require the import and exports volumes of raw materials and finished products from the port, making it an...

(EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — Dubai’s private equity company Abraaj Capital said it has bought a 40% stake in the oil refining and chemical subsidiaries of Pakistani energy firm Bosicor. Abraaj said it plans to expand the oil refining and chemical businesses of Bosicor Oil Pakistan Ltd and Bosicor Chemical Pakistan Ltd. Bosicor Oil owns...

  (EnergyAsia, March 28, Friday) — China’s Suntech Power said it plans to offer an aggregate of $425 million convertible senior notes due 2013, in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers. The interest rate, conversion price and other terms of the notes will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering. Suntech...

symbolised the oil shocks of the 1970s, consumers have taken a while to register the impact of the quadrupling of oil prices over the last five years.  Long distance truckers, who perform a vital role in operating the country’s internal trade supply line, may have sounded out the first significant reaction against rising fuel prices...

funds for expansion of its operations in China’s Liaoning province. The company plans to invest one-billion yuan to invest in 12 tanks to store 1.2 million tonnes of crude oil. (US$1=7.05 yuan). The bulk of the capacity will store crude oil from PetroChina’s Daqing field. The port must also expand to deal with a rise...