(EnergyAsia, February 24 2011, Thursday) — India’s Essar Energy has offered to buy Royal Dutch Shell’s 272,000-b/d Stanlow refinery in and local marketing businesses in the UK for a total of US$1.3 billion, said the European major. As part of their exclusivity arrangement, the companies have also agreed to pay break fees should either fail...

(EnergyAsia, February 24 2010, Thursday) — BP and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) have announced a historic partnership in which the UK major will pay US$7.2 billion for a 30% stake in 23 oil and gas production sharing contracts operated by the Indian company in India. The partners will also form an equal joint venture to...

(EnergyAsia, February 24 2011, Thursday) — A Singapore district court has imposed fines on Mun Siong Engineering and two of its workers for their roles in a fire which killed three workers and injured another in ExxonMobil’s oil refinery on Jurong Island. Mun Siong, which provided services for mechanical work at the refinery, was fined...

(EnergyAsia, February 23 2011, Wednesday) — Backing away from what he had allegedly told a US diplomat in 2007, former Saudi Aramco executive Sadad al-Husseini has assured that Saudi Arabia has sufficient oil reserves to meet future global demand. In a number of cables filed from 2007 to 2009 obtained by Wikileaks, US officials quoted...

(EnergyAsia, February 23 2011, Wednesday) — The US has privately expressed concern that Saudi Arabia may not have as much oil in the ground as it claims, according to confidential cables released by Wikileaks. Citing a meeting with a senior Saudi oil official in November 2007, a US diplomat said the giant Middle East oil...

(EnergyAsia, February 23 2011, Wednesday) — ExxonMobil could delay the start-up of its massive second petrochemical complex on Jurong Island by more than nine months till early next year. The US$6 billion complex, said to be Singapore’s largest single manufacturing investment, was originally scheduled to begin operations in early 2011. Construction started in November 2007,...

(EnergyAsia, February 23 2011, Wednesday) — As a solution to overcome its land scarcity, Singapore will begin building what would be its first floating oil storage terminal on Sebarok Island later this year. State industrial landlord JTC Corp will likely call for the construction tender in the second quarter as it aims to complete the...

(EnergyAsia, February 23 2011, Wednesday) — Thai state-owned PTT Plc expects to increase its floating oil storage capacity to around five million barrels once it completes talks to lease another Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) from Hong Kong-based Titan Petrochemicals. PTT plans to sublease half the supertanker to Geneva-based Socar Trading, which is looking to...

(EnergyAsia, February 22 2011, Tuesday) — US upstream consultant ODS-Petrodata has just released its ‘International Offshore Wind Vessels Market Report’, forecasting that there will be an oversupply of installation vessels in the “near future.” Covering the growth of the global offshore wind vessel market, the report said 23 new and specialised installation vessels are due...

(EnergyAsia, February 22 2011, Tuesday) — Europe’s carbon trade faces an uphill task to regain credibility as the European Commission continues investigations into damaging allegations of possible widespread fraud and theft of carbon permits. The commission has allowed some national registries to resume trade after having completely suspended trade in the permits for weeks till...

(EnergyAsia, February 22 2011, Tuesday) — Indian upstream company ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) faces the challenge of having to operate in the newly separated countries that once constituted Sudan. OVL has interest in both the north and the oil-rich south which voted overwhelmingly to secede last month. The company has a 25% stake in the...

(EnergyAsia, February 22 2011, Tuesday) — UK major BP is looking to raise US$4.4 billion by selling off some of its US refining and retail assets, and will focus on growing its business in Asia, Russia and Brazil in the coming year. BP reported net profit of US$4.36 billion or US$1.47 per share in the...

(EnergyAsia, February 22 2011, Tuesday) — Royal Dutch Shell said it expects to approve the construction of its proposed $10 billion floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off Western Australia by end-June. Dubbed the Prelude, the floating plant could start production by 2016. The project, which will employ 350 people, is estimated by some analysts...

(EnergyAsia, February 22 2011, Tuesday) — First Reserve Corporation, a world leading energy private equity firm with US$20 billion in its buyout funds, said it has formed First Reserve Asia Limited and opened an office in Hong Kong in February 2011. The company said it made these moves to reflect the growing importance of Asia...

(EnergyAsia, February 21 2011, Monday) — Two research houses have recommended the stock of Singapore-listed PEC Ltd after upgrading their outlook for the oil and gas engineering firm. CIMB has set a target price of SS$1.54, after raising PEC’s outlook from ‘neutral’ to ‘outperform’, while Phillip Securities has recommended the stock as a ‘buy’ with...

(EnergyAsia, February 21 2011, Monday) — Brent’s premium over US benchmark WTI futures rose to a record US$19.48 a barrel last Thursday, as the world oil markets continue to worry about events in the Middle East while the US remains seemingly untouched. Brent and the many regional benchmarks around the world have been holding above...

(EnergyAsia, February 21 2011, Monday) — Malaysian oil and gas companies are expected to increase collaboration with their counterparts in Southeast Asia to jointly acquire and develop proven or marginal fields, invest in new upstream technology to enhance hydrocarbon recovery (EOR) and improve reservoir management practices. Consultant Frost & Sullivan made this prediction in conjunction...

(EnergyAsia, February 21 2011, Monday) — Australia will not revoke the licences of Thai state upstream firm PTT Exploration & Production PLC after being assured that it will raise its operating standards to prevent a recurrence of a major oil leak in Timor Sea in August 2009. Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said PTTEP had satisfied...

(EnergyAsia, February 18 2011, Friday) — Finland’s power solutions provider Wartsila Corporation said it recently received an order from Puri Akraya Engineering Ltd to supply engines and other equipment for two projects in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, formerly known as East Timor. The Helsinki-based company said it will supply seven 18V46 generating sets with...

(EnergyAsia, February 18 2011, Friday) — Siemens Energy, a leading German supplier of products, solutions and services for power generation, transmission and distribution, said it recently received an order to supply high-efficiency gas turbine (H Class) to South Korean utility GS Electric Power and Services Co Ltd (GS EPS). As a turnkey project scheduled to...

(EnergyAsia, February 18 2011, Friday) — Thai upstream company PTT Exploration and Production Public Co Ltd (PTTEP) said it has started oil sands production at its partly-owned Kai Kos Dehseh (KKD) project in the northeast of Alberta province in Canada. The company said the KKD project, an in-situ project involving an oil sands deposit covering...

(EnergyAsia, February 18 2011, Friday) — In the wake of spreading violent protests in the Middle East, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for the region to focus on “inclusive growth” and “give better-targeted help to poorer households”.   As a silver lining, the IMF said the popular protests could unleash the region’s long-term...

(EnergyAsia, February 18 2011, Friday) — In probably its most lucrative week ever, Keppel FELS Limited said it has secured contracts to build oil rigs worth nearly US$1.38 billion from subsidiaries of Denmark’s A.P. Moeller-Maersk and US Transocean. On February 15, the Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) unit said it signed a near-US$1...

(EnergyAsia, February 18 2011, Friday) — More international companies are establishing liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading desks in Singapore, supporting the city state’s plan to become a regional gas trading hub. At least 12 companies have established presence in Singapore ahead of the expected start up of the S$1.7 billion LNG terminal on Jurong Island...

(EnergyAsia, February 17 2011, Thursday) — Growing concerns over the risks associated with deepwater drilling are starting to negatively oil production among some of the industry’s key players. Following a serious incident last May, Norwegian energy group Statoil has shut 50 wells at its Gullfaks field. The company expects its North Sea production to continue...