(EnergyAsia, November 4 2011, Friday) — Australia’s Coalspur Mines Ltd said it has secured a 14-year agreement to export up to 8.5 million tons of thermal coal a year through the Ridley Terminals Inc port in Prince Rupert in Canada’s British Columbia province. The Perth-based company said the deal significantly enhances the development prospects of...

(EnergyAsia, November 3 2011, Thursday) — Huaneng Power International Inc (HPI) said its application to build two 600MW domestic supercritical coal-fired air-cooling generation units at its 80%-owned Zuoquan power plant in Shanxi province has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). As part of its RMB5.09 billion investment, the company will install...

(EnergyAsia, November 3 2011, Thursday) — South Korea’s LG International said it is expanding its stake in the Ensham thermal coal mine in Australia’s Queensland state from 5% to 15%. LGI said it will pay about US$50 million to acquire the additional stake from Japanese electric power company J-Power that will boost its annual production...

(EnergyAsia, November 2 2011, Wednesday) — Intense international jockeying for a share of possibly the world’s largest coal deposit has led to a delay in billions of dollars worth of investment flows into impoverished Mongolia. The government has rescinded the award of the western section of the Tavan Tolgoi deposit to a consortium of private...

(EnergyAsia, November 2 2011, Wednesday) — Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed Yanzhou Coal Mining Co blamed foreign exchange losses for a 70% decline in its third-quarter profit compared with the same period last year. In a statement to the exchange, China’s fourth-largest coal producer said its profit fell to 1.1 billion yuan from 3.7 billion yuan...

(EnergyAsia, November 2 2011, Wednesday) — South Korea’s LG International has begun producing bituminous coal in at its 30%-owned mine in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region with recoverable reserves estimated at 180 million tons. Starting October, the mine is slated to initially produce five million tons of coal a year, eventually rising to 10 million...

(EnergyAsia, November 2 2011, Wednesday) — China’s coal consumption rose 10.3% to 2.28 billion metric tons in the first nine months of 2011 compared with the same period last year, according to the country’s leading economic planning agency. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the increased demand was met by imports which surged...

(EnergyAsia, November 1 2011, Tuesday) — India’s power regulator has warned that the country may not meet its ambitious economic growth targets on account of worsening electricity shortages brought on by persistent coal supply shortages. India has failed to sufficiently raise domestic output and imports to meet its surging demand for coal, jeopardising the government’s...

(EnergyAsia, November 1 2011, Tuesday) — Norway’s DNV said it is working with government and industry partners in Asia to develop guidelines and best practices for capturing and storing carbon dioxide and assessing risks associated with such projects. DNV said it is in dialogue with the region’s energy ministries and leading energy companies to undertake...

(EnergyAsia, November 1 2011, Tuesday) — Australia-listed OGL Resources Limited said it is near to securing haulage capacity for its Ebenezer coal mine in Queensland state, with the receipt of an indicative access proposal (IAP) from rail operator QR National. OGL said its preferred rail operator, QR National, has submitted an operating plan to rail...

(EnergyAsia, October 31 2011, Friday) — It pays to be politically aligned to the West if you’re a major oil and gas producer, according to a study by consultant Geopolicity. Its latest research found that the economies of the region’s most important Western allies, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, benefitted significantly from high oil...

(EnergyAsia, October 31 2011, Monday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has secured a deal to build two new-generation liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for two leading Japanese shipping firms. MHI said it will deliver the first of the “Sayaendo” series carriers to Osaka Gas Co Ltd’s Osaka Gas International Transport Inc...

(EnergyAsia, October 31 2011, Monday) — The Kitimat LNG consortium said it has been granted a 20-year licence by Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to international markets. Apache Canada Ltd, a subsidiary of US Apache Corp, EOG Resources Canada Inc and Encana Corporation will build the Kitimat LNG export...

(EnergyAsia, October 31 2011, Monday) — Royal Dutch Shell and its partners have purchased an abandoned methanol plant site at Kitimat in western Canada as part of their long-term plan to develop and export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia. The consortium comprising Shell, Mitsubishi Corp, Korea Gas Corp and Chinese National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)...

(EnergyAsia, October 28 2011, Friday) — The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) expects world oil demand to increase by 900,000 b/d to 87.81 million in 2011 and 1.19 million b/d to 89.01 million b/d next year. Reflecting the deterioration in the global economic environment, OPEC’s latest monthly forecast represents a downgrade from its previous...

(EnergyAsia, October 28 2011, Friday) — Australia’s Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) said it is providing a US$100 million export finance guarantee to support senior secured loan facilities of A$3 billion for the construction and operation of the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET) in the Port of Gladstone in Queensland state. (US$1=A$0.95). The...

(EnergyAsia, October 27 2011, Thursday) — Vietnam’s state-owned Petrolimex and South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Co Ltd remain in talks to build the Southeast Asian country’s third oil refinery. Petrolimex said it would retain a 60% stake in the proposed 200,000 b/d refinery which it expects to start up by 2015 although Daelim has revealed that...

(EnergyAsia, October 27 2011, Thursday) — World oil demand will rise by one million b/d to 89.2 million b/d in 2011 and 1.3 million b/d to 90.5 million b/d next year, according to the latest monthly forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Almost all the demand growth will come from the emerging economies led...

(EnergyAsia, October 27 2011, Thursday) — The western economies are in decline, but oil prices surged this week to a three-month high as world demand continues to grow while supply is seen tightening going into 2012. Brent held strong in the US$110-$115 range while US WTI broke through US$90 after being held back at US$80-85...

(EnergyAsia, October 27 2011, Thursday) — As a sign of its cooling economy, China’s September oil demand fell to their lowest level for 2011 while its crude imports plunged 12.2% from year-ago levels. According to US energy media Platts, China’s oil demand grew just 3.1% year-on-year to 36.63 million metric tons (mt), or 8.95 million...

(EnergyAsia, October 25 2011, Tuesday) — While rising Russian oil production has been capturing headlines, the more important statistic for world markets is that exports have been declining. For the first nine months of 2011, Russian oil exports have fallen by 2.13% to around 180.4 million metric tons or 4.858 million b/d as a result...

(EnergyAsia, October 25 2011, Tuesday) — India’s state oil refining companies have applied to the government to be reimbursed for a total of 140 billion rupees in fuel subsidies for the July-September quarter. (US$1=49 rupees). As part of the Indian government’s attempts to control inflation, the refiners have been selling liquefied petroleum gas, diesel and...

(EnergyAsia, October 24 2011, Monday) — Saudi Arabia’s role as the world’s largest oil exporter will shrink over the coming years on sharply rising domestic consumption even as it promises to raise production. Recently, Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment issued a study projecting the kingdom’s crude oil exports to fall to 6.3 million b/d in 2015 and...

(EnergyAsia, October 24 2011, Monday) — The political stability of the world’s largest oil exporter and critical US ally are once again in focus following last week’s death of the heir to the Saudi throne to follow on reports of growing bilateral tensions with long-time Middle East rival Iran. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al...

(EnergyAsia, October 24 2011, Monday) — Consultant Wood Mackenzie sees “strong, prospective” growth for the global upstream oil and gas sector, forecasting its value to rise by 23% over last year. In a recent report titled “The changing face of upstream value”, Wood Mackenzie valued the sector at approximately US$3.2 trillion, not including exploration acreage or...