(EnergyAsia, August 26 2011, Friday) — Australia’s largest oil refiner is wondering if it should stick it out in an increasingly cut-throat business hurt by competition from cheaper imported fuel from Asia, a strong Australian dollar and high crude oil prices. After reporting that its two refineries and downstream operations had suffered a 24.2% decline...
(EnergyAsia, August 26 2011, Friday) — The Bangladeshi government is looking to build 12 new tanks with a total capacity to store 120,000 tonnes of diesel and fuel oil in different parts of the country to support the operations of oil-based power plants. The Energy Ministry is aiming to complete the tanks by next year...
(EnergyAsia, August 25 2011, Friday) — SOCAR Trading, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, is aiming to triple its oil trading volume over the next five years after securing a deal to store a total of 5.3 million barrels of crude and products in South Korea. SOCAR Trading said the agreement with...
(EnergyAsia, August 25 2011, Thursday) — Vietnam could face further energy supply shortages as coal miners and power companies are struggling to complete projects in the face of financing difficulties and rising interest rates at around 20%. Banks are unable or unwilling to provide loans to the country’s domestic coal and electricity companies, said the...
(EnergyAsia, August 25 2011, Thursday) — Singapore’s Tiong Woon Corporation (TWC) Holding Ltd said its 51%-owned subsidiary, Tiong Woon Oasis Marine & Engineering Pte Ltd (TWOME), has won a contract to help develop the first phase of the super shipyard being built in Singapore’s western Tuas area. The contract was awarded by Zhen Hua (Singapore)...
(EnergyAsia, August 25 2011, Thursday) — Bowing to the reality of the country’s inadequate war-torn infrastructure and political instability, Iraq has abandoned its original plan to boost production to 12 million b/d by 2017. The government has been forced to set a new target of producing 6.5 to 7 million b/d, still a significant achievement...
(EnergyAsia, August 24 2011, Wednesday)— Iran said it will continue to supply crude oil to India after receiving the first instalments of some five billion euro owed for cargoes shipped to several Indian refiners since last December. (US$1=0.70 euro). The two countries had been locked in a heated argument over India’s failure to pay for an...
(EnergyAsia, August 24 2011, Wednesday) — Australia’s Queensland state will be producing more liquefied natural gas (LNG) than the nation’s current production rate within nine years, according to consultant EnergyQuest. In a new report, “Australian Coal Seam Gas 2011: From Well to Wharf,” EnergyQuest said the state’s LNG capacity is set to exceed 25 million...
(EnergyAsia, August 24 2011, Wednesday) — Iraq is working with China and South Korea to develop its oil and gas production. Despite the challenges of operating in a war-torn economy, Iran has raised its total crude oil output to more than 2.8 million b/d and expects to earn more than US$80 billion in export revenues...
(EnergyAsia, August 23 2011, Tuesday) — A Sabah-based engineering company, Distinct Glory Sdn Bhd, has been awarded the main contract to develop a 250,000-metric ton oil products storage terminal on the island of Pulau Hanyut in the Malaysian state of Melaka. The developer, Pristine Oil Capital Sdn Bhd, is planning to start work on what...
(EnergyAsia, August 23 2011, Tuesday) — Financially-strapped Asia Petroleum Hub (APH) Sdn Bhd said it has been released from receivership by its banker as it attempts to complete developing a RM2.3 billion oil storage and logistics service centre on a reclaimed island off Johor state in Malaysia. (US$1=RM3). APH, 90% owned by private oil company...
(EnergyAsia, August 23 2011, Tuesday) — The Bank of Thailand said it will consider studying a proposal by state oil and gas firm PTT to use the country’s foreign reserves to establish a strategic oil stockpile to guard against supply disruption and price volatility. Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said the central bank will have to tread...
(EnergyAsia, August 22 2011, Monday) — After decades as one of its most profitable operations, Exxon Mobil Corp is seeking to exit from its increasingly troubled and fast-depleting Arun condensate and natural gas fields in Indonesia. The US major said it is selling its stake in three companies associated with the Aceh gas and liquefied...
(EnergyAsia, August 22 2011, Monday) — China’s on-going power shortages could extend beyond this year as its supply system is unable to keep up with the country’s seemingly insatiable energy demand growth, said government and industry officials. The National Energy Administration (NEA) has conceded to the possibility that the country’s power shortages could even worsen...
(EnergyAsia, August 22 2011, Monday) — The Indonesian government has acknowledged that the country’s crude oil production will continue to decline as it has not made major new finds or attract sufficient investments into its upstream sector. State regulator BPMigas has reduced its 2011 production forecast to 945,000 b/d from 970,000 b/d at the start...
(EnergyAsia, August 22 2011, Monday) — Iraq is demanding that Kuwait not proceed with the proposed construction of its US$6 billion Mubarak Oil Terminal on an island that threatens to open up historical disputes over maritime access rights. Calling it a “provocative move”, Baghdad said its neighbour risked military confrontation as the terminal on Bubiyan...
(EnergyAsia, August 19 2011, Friday) — Hong Kong-based marine fuels supplier Brightoil Petroleum Holdings said it plans to divert as much as 12 million tonnes of Singapore’s annual bunker fuel trade to China after 2014 when it starts up its new storage terminals along the Chinese coastline. The volume would represent a significant portion of...
(EnergyAsia, August 19 2011, Friday) — India’s Essar group said subsidiary Essar Projects Ltd (EPL) has secured a US$320 million contract to build storage tanks, jetties, pipeline systems and utilities for a US$2.4 billion petrochemicals complex being developed on Singapore’s Jurong Island. An EPL subsidiary in Singapore is expected to complete the project for Jurong...
(EnergyAsia, August 19 2011, Friday) — Chinese interest will be supporting Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) in jointly developing a US$500 million port terminal in the capital city of Colombo to turn it into a major transhipment hub for the region. Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), a Sino-Lanka joint venture, has signed a 35-year deal...
(EnergyAsia, August 18 2011, Thursday) — Oil trading companies could be facing an end to their low-cost operations of storing oil in tankers off the coast of Johor state in southern Malaysia. The government has issued quit notices to several companies that have chartered at least 15 tankers to store crude oil and fuel oil...
(EnergyAsia, August 18 2011, Thursday) — Malaysia could become the first country in the world to produce and market liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a floating terminal from as early as 2015 if state-owned oil and gas company Petronas succeeds in its execution. The company is targeting to finalise its investment plans by the end...
(EnergyAsia, August 18 2011, Thursday) — Malaysia’s state oil and company Petronas faces a tough fight to overhaul its long-established dividend system as it is aimed at drastically reducing payments to the government. Under new President and CEO Shamsul Azhar Abbas, Petronas is proposing to pay the government a dividend equal to 30% of its...
(EnergyAsia, August 18 2011, Thursday) — The Iranian government plans to invest a total of US$150 billion in energy projects through state-owned companies over the five-year period through 2015. According to deputy oil minister for planning Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr, the investment will enable Iran to boost its oil production capacity from four million b/d to 4.7...
(EnergyAsia, August 18 2011, Thursday) — China faces a security threat from its rising dependence on imported oil at a time when the US is reducing its oil imports and demand, said officials. From just 33% in 2009, China’s dependence on imported oil has risen above 55% in the first half of the year, exceeding...
(EnergyAsia, August 17 2011, Wednesday) – Singapore is positioned to increase its electricity exports to Malaysia following the success of PowerSeraya’s recent pioneering short-term deal with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Malaysia’s largest power company. With a significant surplus generation capacity, Singapore’s power companies are exploring the possibility of term sales to its neighbour to the...