(EnergyAsia, March 25 2013, Monday) — China and Russia have wrapped up a number of energy agreements, worth more than US$600 billion, to mark a successful first overseas trip for newly-installed President Xi Jinping to Moscow to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin. In one of the world’s biggest long-term oil-supply contracts in memory, Russia’s state-owned...
(EnergyAsia, March 25 2013, Monday) — With the February 12 invasion of Malaysia’s Sabah state by a Filipino militia group, another quiet corner of the world risks being sucked into renewed age-old territorial and ethnic disputes fuelled by a growing regional race for oil and gas reserves. The Malaysian government responded by ordering its troops...
(EnergyAsia, March 22 2013, Friday) — Thanks to the shale-inspired rise in domestic crude production, US is on course to become a net oil producer from as early as the end of this year for the first time since 1995, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its March 2013 short-term energy report, the agency...
(EnergyAsia, March 21 2013, Thursday) — Saudi Arabia was the world’s largest producer and exporter of crude and petroleum liquids last year, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The kingdom produced an average of 11.6 million b/d and exporting an estimated 8.6 million b/d. The total figure covers crude oil, natural gas liquids, condensates,...
(EnergyAsia, March 21 2013, Thursday) — Russia is looking to conclude agreements this year to provide China with additional oil and gas supplies in exchange for credit and loans, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. Briefing reporters in Moscow, he said he expected Russia to add to the 15 million tonnes/year of oil it...
(EnergyAsia, March 21 2013, Thursday) — Two Indian state-owned upstream companies are expected to jointly bid for a 20% stake in Mozambique’a Offshore Area 1 oil and gas field. According to Indian news reports, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Oil India Limited (OIL) are believed to be preparing to acquire the combined stake from operator...
(EnergyAsia, March 20 2013, Wednesday) — The world’s second largest oil producing country is joining the unconventional oil and gas revolution by offering companies tax breaks to develop shale and offshore reserves from next January 1. Anxious about sustaining its own production above 10 million b/d for the rest of the decade amid potential supply...
(EnergyAsia, March 20 2013, Wednesday) — Japan’s second largest upstream company has joined the bandwagon to acquire a piece of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Canada. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (JAPEX) said it has agreed to buy a 10% stake in a C$11-billion project led by Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas to...
(EnergyAsia, March 20 2013, Wednesday) — China’s state oil and gas companies could be in line for a coveted role in helping Brazil develop its substantial deepwater oil and gas reserves. Brazil’s heavily indebted state energy firm, Petrobras, wants cash-rich China to help fund its plan to develop oil refineries to meet rising fuel demand...
(EnergyAsia, March 19 2013, Tuesday) — North America’s ethylene producers are expected to add nearly 11 million metric tons (MMT) of capacity through 2017 as a result of the growing supply of cheap feedstock provided by the new abundance of shale resources, said consultant IHS Chemical. As ethylene production in North America becomes more profitable...
(EnergyAsia, March 19 2013, Tuesday) — The upstream bandwagon calling for rising global oil and gas production is getting crowded as more optimists jump on board with forecasts that unconventional sources will play a bigger role in meeting the world’s energy demand. Research and consulting firm GlobalData has released a new report predicting a decade...
(EnergyAsia, March 19 2013, Tuesday) — Russia should focus on exporting its future liquefied natural gas (LNG) production to Asia and leave Europe to existing supplier Gazprom, said the country’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Briefing reporters in Moscow last week, he cited the pull of Asia’s large and fast-growing markets along with the region’s willingness...
(EnergyAsia, March 18 2013, Monday) — China’s growing stake in Venezuela’s oil and gas industry could be impacted by the recent death of former President Hugo Chavez, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). Under Chavez’s 14-year presidency, China became Venezuela’s second biggest trading partner after the US. As part of last year’s record US$250 billion...
(EnergyAsia, March 18 2013, Monday) — One of modern Japan’s most iconic symbols is a mythical fire-breathing monster that emerges from the deep waters off its east coast to destroy the country and threaten the planet. In their quest for cheap abundant energy supplies, Japanese scientists and corporations are on course to unleash their own...
(EnergyAsia, March 15 2013, Friday) — Faced with rising domestic demand and an uncertain outlook on production, Indonesia, the world’s third largest liquefied natural gas exporter, is planning to import the fuel later this decade. It has started work on building terminals to import LNG as well planning for new ones as it faces the...
(EnergyAsia, March 15 2013, Friday) — Sri Lanka and the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah have concluded separate agreements for aviation fuel storage and supplies to two of their airports. State Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC) has built an aviation fuel terminal to serve Sri Lanka’s second international airport in Mattala which opens on March 18. CPC...
(EnergyAsia, March 14 2013, Thursday) — Twenty years after losing its status as a net oil exporter, China is on course to displace the US as the world’s leading oil importer and addict. While China’s record average import of 5.77 million b/d of crude and oil products last year were nearly 1.8 million b/d below...
(EnergyAsia, March 13 2013, Wednesday) — Abu Dhabi plans to invest a total of RM39 billion to develop a financial centre and an oil storage facility in Malaysia, according to a Malaysian state-owned agency. (US$1=RM3.1). This is the second time in three years that the Malaysian government under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, which faces...
(EnergyAsia, March 13 2013, Wednesday) — Embarrassed by its repeat failure to meet production targets, Coal India Limited (CIL) has proposed that the government consider measuring its performance against sales volume and distribution figures. India’s largest coal miner is expected to produce just over 450 million metric tonnes (MT) in the current financial year ending...
(EnergyAsia, March 13 2013, Wednesday) — A subsidiary of state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) plans to invest 90 billion rupees in a 1,600MW coal-fired power plant in the northeastern state of Odisha, previously named Orissa. (US$1=55 rupees). If approved by the Coal Ministry and the CIL board, the project would represent its first venture into...
(EnergyAsia, March 12 2013, Tuesday) — In a reminder to those challenging its crown with their unproven “tight” gas potential, Qatar said it has found a large natural gas field to add to its already massive 900 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves, the world’s third largest. The recent find of a reservoir containing 2.5...
(EnergyAsia, March 12 2013, Tuesday) — After months of vacillating, the Indonesian government is moving to gradually ban the export of low and middle-grade thermal coal for power generation from this year. Officials said the hotly debated move reflects Indonesia’s growing resource nationalism stance as policy makers once again bow to pressure from domestic consumers...
(EnergyAsia, March 11 2013, Monday) — Deutsche Bank has endorsed China’s drive to green its economy with a bold forecast that coal’s share in the country’s energy mix could fall sharply from 68.4% now to just 52.8% by 2020. China is under growing pressure from its own citizens and other countries to reduce its greenhouse...
(EnergyAsia, March 11 2013, Monday) — Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said it plans to reduce its dividend pay-out to the country’s increasingly oil-dependent government by 10% after reporting a 14% drop in net profit for 2012. As it focuses on building up its upstream assets at home and abroad in the face of rising...
(EnergyAsia, March 11 2013, Monday) — Metallurgical coal prices will recover this year despite rising supply following Australia’s Queensland mines returning to 2010 production levels, predicts Goldman Sachs. In its latest research report, the Wall Street bank noted that metallurgical coal unit costs have fallen on rising volumes, helped by Queensland state having largely overcome...