(EnergyAsia, March 4 2011, Friday) — Coal exports through the Port of Prince Rupert doubled and rose by 25% through Port Metro Vancouver last year, thanks to Pacific Gateway, a major Canadian initiative to boost trade between British Columbia (BC) province and Asia. According to the province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, its container traffic...

(EnergyAsia, March 4 2011, Friday) — Puda Coal Inc, a Chinese supplier of high grade metallurgical coking coal, said that 90%-owned subsidiary, Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co Ltd, recently completed acquiring coal assets under phase II of a project to consolidate nine mines in Yuncheng City and four coking coal mines Linfen City, both in...

(EnergyAsia, March 4 2011, Friday) — The Paris-based International Energy Agency has rejected speculation that Chinese state oil companies are investing abroad to serve their government’s political ambitions overseas. Instead, Chinese state-owned firms are operating for commercial purposes and move at arm’s length from the state, the IEA said. The agency, which advises developed nations,...

(EnergyAsia, March 3 2011, Thursday) —- The World Bank has described the violent unrest and protests spreading across the Middle East and North Africa as a watershed event that will provide “a unique opportunity” for the regions to undergo a democratic transition from long-standing authoritarian rule and weak political and economic governance. Motivated by the...

(EnergyAsia, February 21 2011, Monday) — Singapore Exchange-listed EMS Energy Ltd said its subsidiary, Engineering & Marine Services Pte Ltd (EMS), has been awarded several American Petroleum Institute (API) certifications that will facilitate its expansion in the oil and gas industry. EMS Energy said EMS won API certifications Q1, 4F for substructures at PSL 1...

(EnergyAsia, March 3 2011, Thursday) — While world attention has been focused on Libya’s fledging civil war, Oman, which exports around 750,000 b/d of its much desired 860,000 b/d light crude oil output, has reported its first fatalities after violent clashes between civilians and security forces. Even an affluent fairly liberal regime isn’t sufficient to...

(EnergyAsia, March 3 2011, Thursday) — Saudi Arabia produced 8.4 million b/d of crude in 2010, exceeding its OPEC-assigned quota of 8.051 million b/d by 4.3%, according to the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). Including natural gas liquids and other fuels that are not under the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ quota system, Saudi...

(EnergyAsia, March 3 2011, Thursday) — Saudi Arabia is preparing to raise crude oil sales to China for the third consecutive year. Term sales to China, soon to overtake the US as the biggest buyer of Saudi crude, are expected to rise to 970,000 b/d from around 920,000 b/d last year and just under 900,000...

(EnergyAsia, March 2 2011, Wednesday) — China’s ambition to surpass the US as the world’s largest economy later this century may be challenged by its heavy dependence for oil on politically unstable regimes in the Middle East, said a senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. Writing in the Japan...

(EnergyAsia, March 2 2011, Wednesday) — Malaysia’s leading power company, Tenaga Nasional, expects to face a challenging year as rising coal prices eat into its operating margins. The recent massive floods in Australia’s main coal-mining state of Queensland have led to sharp increases in international coal prices in recent months. Without approval from the Malaysian...

(EnergyAsia, March 2 2011, Wednesday) — Reeling from over four months of record rainfall and floods, mining firms in Australia’s battered Queensland state are keeping a wary eye on the weather after successfully restarting operations early last month. Rio Tinto Group and Xstrata Plc have restarted coal production in the state’s Bowen Basin and are...

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — As anger against governments continues to sweep across the Middle East and North Africa, Saudi Arabia, the holder of the world’s main spare oil capacity, is being targeted for a ‘Day of Rage’ popular uprising on March 11. Fuelled by decades of poverty, joblessness and anger against corruption, youth...

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — As unrest sweeps across the Middle East and North Africa, Saudi Arabia may be forced to revitalise waning ties with its long-time protector, the US. Since the September 11 2001 terror attacks on the US, relations between the two countries have cooled on growing bilateral disagreements over political and...

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — World oil prices have retreated from their 30-month highs of last Thursday after anonymous sources told Reuters and Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia had sharply raised production to counter the loss of Libyan supplies. While this claim could not be immediately and independently verified, traders nevertheless sold off Brent crude...

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — World oil demand will exceed 90 million b/d for the first time later this year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA), further reducing global spare capacity which stood at less than five million b/d before the start of the current Middle East crisis. For 2011, the Paris-based agency expects...

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — The world could face its worst ever oil crisis if the current political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa disrupts a significant part of its combined 32 million b/d production, which forms more than 35% of world supply. Japanese research house Nomura was first off the mark...

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produced an average of 29.57 million b/d in January, its highest level in more than two years, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and industry officials and analysts. The report attributed the 300,000 b/d increase over December’s output to a...

(EnergyAsia, February 25 2011, Friday) — China has deepened its energy and economic ties with three Latin American countries in recent weeks. Fresh from imposing a US$8 billion fine on US major Chevron Corp, Ecuador said it has received US$1 billion from PetroChina as an advanced payment for two years of crude oil exports starting...

(EnergyAsia, February 25 2011, Friday) — US-based Stepan Co is converting Peter Cremer’s failed biodiesel plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island to produce surfactants for use in oilfields around the world. Stepan acquired the 100,000-tonne-per-year (t/y) methyl ester plant last year, and is doubling the capacity as part of its conversion work to be completed by...

(EnergyAsia, February 25 2011, Friday) — Singapore-based Dyna-Mac Holdings Ltd said it is offering 436 million shares to the public at S$0.35 each in conjunction with its listing on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd’s (SGX-ST) mainboard. (US$1=S$1.27). The engineering, procurement and construction services group said the initial public offering (IPO) comprises 186 million new shares...

(EnergyAsia, February 25 2011, Friday) — For the first time since October 2008, US WTI crude has risen above US$100 a barrel as it finally joined other international benchmarks in reflecting the global panic over the spreading Jasmine Revolution in the Middle East. On Wednesday, WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged past...

(EnergyAsia, February 25 2011, Friday) — Singapore’s Rotary Engineering achieved two record performances last year: net profit of S$63.7 million and revenue of S$704.2 million. (US$1=S$1.27). Its net profit rose 18% over the previous year while revenues were up 28% from S$551.9 million. The Singapore Exchange-listed provider of engineering, maintenance (EPCM) services to the oil, gas and...

(EnergyAsia, February 24 2011, Thursday) — Russia’s Eastern Siberian Pacific Ocean (ESPO) crude oil, which first started serving Asian markets in December 2009, pushed further onto the global oil stage in early 2011 with the start of regular exports to China, according to a Platts report. A total of 1.318 million metric tons (mt) of...

(EnergyAsia, February 24 2011, Thursday) — Investors will expand oil storage capacity on Luzon Island and Mindanao in the Philippines. Independent traders Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc said it will invest a total of 240-million peso to build 20 new retail stations in Metro Manila as well as expand and modernise its oil terminal in Bataan...

(EnergyAsia, February 24 2011, Thursday) — Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, said it has agreed to lease tanks from Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) to store 3.8 million barrels of crude on Okinawa Island in southern Japan. The world’s largest crude exporter said it will deliver the first...