(EnergyAsia, February 13 2015, Friday) — With its large cash hoard of over US$90 billion, most of in US dollars, the Russian oil industry is not in imminent danger of financial collapse and will be able to operate without external funding at the current oil price level for at least a year, said Goldman Sachs.

(EnergyAsia, Februay 12 2015, Thursday) — Russia’s oil production reached a new peak of 10.6 million b/d last year, putting it well ahead of nearest rivals Saudi Arabia and the US.

(EnergyAsia, February 3 2015, Tuesday) — China’s economy is slowing down, but that’s more than offset by the benefits from the sharp decline in oil and gas prices since mid-2014, said analysts. The 55% plunge in oil prices since mid-2014 has helped the country save around US$100 billion in import costs, Lin Boqiang Lin, the (more…)

(EnergyAsia, January 30 2015, Friday) — Myanmar has officially started up the final 771-km section of a major pipeline to deliver crude oil from a new deepwater port on the Bay of Bengal in southwestern Rakhine state to China’s landlocked Yunnan province.

(EnergyAsia, January 30 2014, Friday) — With oil prices trading new near six-year lows, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has boosted its 2015 outlook for global oil demand and the economic prospects of the US and Eurozone. Crude prices are still under selling pressure despite North Sea Brent hitting a low of US$47.57 a barrel and US WTI slumping below US$44 this week.

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2015, Thursday) — China will not ride to the rescue of slumping oil prices as its demand will continue to grow at a slower rate in response to a weakening economy and the government’s drive to improve energy efficiency.

(EnergyAsia, January 28 2015, Wednesday) — After seven months of largely uninterrupted decline, crude prices appear to have settled into a trading range between US$45 and US$49 per barrel in recent weeks. Analysts are divided over whether this represents a lull before the next leg of the market’s sustained plunge or the medium-term floor for (more…)

(EnergyAsia, January 27 2015, Tuesday) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has raised its forecasts for both global oil demand and supply growth for 2015 in its January report compared with the previous month.

It has also sharply slashed its forecast for crude prices with North Sea Brent to average $58 per barrel in 2015 and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to trade at US$54 to $55. In December, the agency had called for Brent to average US$68 per barrel in 2015, down US$15 from its November forecast, while WTI would trade at an average US$63 instead of US$78.

(EnergyAsia, January 23 2015, Friday) — The oil-exporting countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP) and the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) regions will lose an estimated total of US$300 billion in export revenues this year as a result of the oil price collapse, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

(EnergyAsia, January 20 2015, Tuesday) — Helped by expected weak prices in 2015, the world’s import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will reach a record of more than 250 million tons for the first time, said Australia’s Department of Industry.

(EnergyAsia, January 14 2015, Wednesday) — India should take advantage of the collapse in global oil prices by expanding its storage capacity and securing deals to stockpile crude for producing countries, said local industry officials.

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2014, Monday) — With Brent crude prices plunging to a near six-year low below US$50 a barrel, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have to lower its earlier forecast for Iraq’s oil-dependent economy to grow by two percent this year. An IMF team which met Iraqi Minister of Finance Hoshyar Zebari and (more…)

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2015, Thursday) — The collapse of oil prices has injected new political, economic, financial and social risks into an already uncertain global environment grappling with heightened geopolitical conflicts and economic uncertainties, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) and oil companies.

(EnergyAsia, January 6 2015, Tuesday) — As if China needed any encouragement, the near 50% collapse in oil prices since June has greatly aided its crude stockpiling and import programme with desperate suppliers lining up to unload their cargoes at huge discounts.

(EnergyAsia, December 31 2014, Wednesday) — The Middle East will deal another blow to the world’s crumbling oil markets next year as it starts up giant refineries to boost net exports of products by nearly one million b/d, compared with less than 400,000 b/d last year.

(EnergyAsia, December 31 2014, Wednesday) — The Middle East will deal another blow to the world’s crumbling oil markets next year as it starts up giant refineries to boost net exports of products by nearly one million b/d, compared with less than 400,000 b/d last year.

(EnergyAsia, December 30 2014, Tuesday) — As if China needed any encouragement, the near 50% collapse in oil prices since June has greatly aided its crude stockpiling and import programme with desperate suppliers lining up to unload their cargoes at huge discounts.

(EnergyAsia, December 29 2014, Monday) — Along with weaker oil prices, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reduced its forecasts for both global oil demand and supply for 2015 in its December report compared with the previous month.

The agency expects the world to consume 92.32 million b/d in 2015, down from its November forecast of 92.50 million b/d, and to produce 92.75 million b/d instead of 92.91 million b/d.

(EnergyAsia, December 26 2014, Friday) — Indonesia’s two-month-old government has enlisted international energy firms to help state-owned Pertamina expand and upgrade its refining and oil storage facilities to support the country’s long-term economic growth.

(EnergyAsia, December 24 2014, Wednesday) — Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s economy faces downside risks despite the launch of a new income stream from liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) from last May, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

(EnergyAsia, December 19 2014, Friday) — As oil prices collapsed to their lowest levels since July 2009, analysts say the industry may have to defer more than US$900 billion in upstream investments, with some US$150 to US$170 billion at risk next year that will threaten the survival of many players around the world.

(EnergyAsia, December 18 2014, Thursday) — Woodside Petroleum Limited has delayed its investment decision in the proposed massive US$40 billion Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off the coast of western Australia in favour of new opportunities in Canada.

(EnergyAsia, December 17 2014, Wednesday) — The weaker outlook for Asia’s developing economies is being offset by a “golden opportunity” to implelemt reforms presented by declining oil prices, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

(EnergyAsia, December 15 2014, Monday) — With the extra combined push from Chinese financing, French upstream expertise and South Korean shipbuilding, Angola is on course to becoming Africa’s largest oil producer with a two million b/d output target by 2017.