(EnergyAsia, May 12 2011, Thursday) — Australia’s Environmental Clean Technologies Limited said it has secured a joint venture agreement (JVA) and a ‘parent company guarantee’ (PCG) from its partner, TinCom of Vietnam, giving practical effect to their previously announced licence agreement. The companies’ joint venture company, Victoria Coldry Pty Ltd, is now licensed to construct...
(EnergyAsia, May 12 2011, Thursday) — China’s lawmakers are seeking an overhaul of the country’s law to expand insurance coverage of workers and staff employed in coal mines. Based on the proposed amendment, the compensation under the work-related injury insurance policy will expand to include expenses on rehabilitation and long-term care, according to Shi Xiushi,...
(EnergyAsia, May 12 2011, Thursday) — Rising international prices may slow down or even reduce China’s coal demand growth in coming months. Consumers are expected to switch to domestically-produced coal, which is cheaper than imports. The trend was already established in the first quarter when Chinese coal imports fell 26.4% on year to 32.4 million...
(EnergyAsia, May 12 2011, Thursday) — US-based Arch Coal said it has agreed to acquire rival International Coal Group for US$14.60 a share in a friendly all-cash deal valued at US$3.4 billion. Both listed on the NYSE, the companies said the enlarged entity will become the nation’s second largest supplier of metallurgical (met) coal for...
(EnergyAsia, May 12 2011, Thursday) — US-based Peabody Energy Corp said strong coal demand in the US and Asia boosted prices and raise its first-quarter profit by almost a third. The St. Louis-based company’s net income increased to US$176.5 million, or US$0.65 a share, from US$133.7 million, or US$0.50 cents, in the same quarter last...
(EnergyAsia, May 12 2011, Thursday) — Another three billion affluent people sounds like a huge economic opportunity and an advancement of the human condition, but it’s a nightmare scenario for any planner worried about the planet’s environmental sustainability and resources supply. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a report predicting that an additional three...
(EnergyAsia, May 11 2011, Wednesday) — India’s Adani Enterprises said it has agreed to acquire the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Australia for US$2 billion, extending its reach into the coal business in Australia. Subsidiary Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone concluded the deal and plans to invest US$750 million to expand the port in...
(EnergyAsia, May 11 2011, Wednesday) — Australians are displaying an ambivalent attitude towards China’s rapid economic growth, according to a poll conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy. Around 75% of Australians polled believe China’s rise has been positive for their country. At the same time, about 44% of the 1,002 people surveyed consider...
(EnergyAsia, May 11 2011, Wednesday) — Australian environmentalists are worried that a proposed project to convert coal seam gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to China may damage a major source of freshwater in Queensland state. The Great Artesian Basin, a major source of water for farmers and communities in inland Queensland, could...
(EnergyAsia, May 11 2011, Wednesday) — Australia’s Macarthur Coal said its output in the quarter ending March fell 56% after record rainfall caused widespread flooding that damaged its mines in Queensland state between late last year and early this year. The company said sales from its Coppabella and Moorvale mines in the Bowen Basin fell...
(EnergyAsia, May11 2011, Wednesday) — Australia is unlikely to experience a repeat of the massive expansion of its mining industry in 2004 to 2007 which resulted in windfall tax revenues and ushered one of the country’s most prosperous periods in its history. Australian government collected an additional A$334 billion in tax revenues during those three...
(EnergyAsia, May 11 2011, Wednesday) — Coal prices in China are expected to rise in the short term on rising electricity demand, said the Ministry of Commerce. There is the possibility of further price increases if international supply is tight and Chinese demand remains strong. In April, domestic coal prices were already up on strong...
(EnergyAsia, May 10 2011, Tuesday) — Thermal coal prices are set to rise again with rising demand from Japan and a power shortage in China expected to boost imports from Indonesia and Australia. China’s metal production is being impacted by a cut in power supply fueling the higher imports in the coming months. The country...
(EnergyAsia, May 10 2011, Tuesday) — In a bid to increase profitability and reduce pollution, China has resumed its campaign to shut down small oil refineries with capacity of below two million metric tons per year (t/y) by the end of 2013. The government has identified industries that it wants to set limits on or...
(EnergyAsia, May 10 2011, Tuesday) — Indonesia’s coal production in the first quarter fell below target, with mining activity disrupted by continuous rains. The country’s coal output averaged 29.7 million tons a month in the first three months compared with the target of about 30 million tons, said Bob Kamandanu, chairman of the Indonesian Coal...
(EnergyAsia, May 10 2011, Tuesday) — Displaying “bad miscalculations”, the Emir’s wife of Qatar, one of the world’s richest countries, and its former energy minister openly solicited donations from international oil companies in 2007 for the construction of a medical centre, according to Wikileaks. Separately, they had sought a total of up to $1.7 billion...
(EnergyAsia, May 10 2011, Tuesday) — Thanks to higher sales volume, lower mining costs and selling prices, coal miner Straits Asia Resources posted a net profit of US$41.36 million in the first quarter compared with US$11.2 million a year earlier. The company said its revenue rose 39% on year to US$213.7 million with its average...
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2011, Monday) — Singapore’s electricity tariff could rise further after reaching a 30-month high of S$02.558 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) in the second quarter. (US$1=S$1.22). Singapore Power (SP) Services said it raised electricity tariff by an average of 6.5% from the first quarter on the back of strong oil prices this year, with...
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2011, Monday) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Iraq’s poor infrastructure will prevent it from achieving its ambitious plan to raise oil production to 13 million b/d by 2017 from 2.5 million b/d currently. In a review of its US$3.7 billion support programme for the war-ravaged country, the IMF said the...
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2011, Monday) — China’s nuclear power programme will be significantly slowed down, not halted, as its planners aim to tighten safety and regulatory measures in the wake of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant. For now, the government has halted approvals for new reactors while it puts on hold and re-examines...
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2011, Monday) — China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corp) said its net profit rose 25.22% to RMB20.64 billion while revenue surged 34.25% to RMB588.8 billion for the first quarter ending March 31. (US$1=RMB6.5). Its basic earnings per share were up 24.49% to RMB 0.238 over the same period last year. Sinopec...
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2011, Monday) — L & L Energy Inc, a Seattle, US-based company with coal mining and distribution businesses in China, said it has secured two contracts to supply a total of 700,000 tons of coal to Kunming Iron & Steel Group Co Ltd of China (KISC) in Yunnan province. Subsidiary KMC will...
(EnergyAsia, May 6 2011, Friday) — UK engineering firm AMEC said its oil and gas commissioning and technology subsidiary, qedi, has been awarded a contract to help develop the Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (QCLNG) project in Australia. QGC, a BG Group business, has appointed qedi to apply its world-class proprietary commissioning technology and consultancy...
(EnergyAsia, May 6 2011, Friday) — Australia-listed MUI Corporation Limited said it has acquired a licence from the Inner Mongolia Xinyuan Mining Company (IMXMC) to develop and operate a coal mine in China’s Inner Mongolia. The project is located in the Bayanhue formation, a proven coal, oil and gas basin close to existing infrastructure which...
(EnergyAsia, May 6 2011, Friday) — Indonesia is working on swapping its piped gas supply to Singapore from Sumatra with liquefied natural gas from East Kalimantan or Papua provinces. The proposal was discussed during a recent meeting between the House of Representatives and upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas. The Sumatra gas now meets around...