(EnergyAsia, January 21 2016, Thursday) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and China’s President Xi Jinping have officially launched a 400,000 b/d oil refinery in Yanbu city jointly owned by their countries’ state energy firms that will help deepen China’s involvement in the Middle East….
JAPAN: JERA on course to reduce term LNG purchases in favour of spot purchases
(EnergyAsia, January 17 2016, Sunday) — Japan’s JERA Co Inc has set its sights on meeting at least half its 40 million tonnes/year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases through spot trades to take advantage of expected low prices over the next few years….
MARKETS: IEA says global oil stockpile at record three billion barrels
(EnergyAsia, December 3 2015, Thursday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has delivered another piece of news to beat down any hopes for a near-term recovery in oil prices: global stockpile have just topped a record three billion barrels….
ASIA: Modest growth, healthy margins outlook for oil refiners, says Moody’s
(EnergyAsia, December 2 2015, Wednesday) — Moody’s Investor Service said Asian downstream oil companies can expect modest growth and healthy margins in 2016 with crude prices staying low and the region’s refining capacity glut easing off….
KAZAKHSTAN: Focus on expanding ties with China amid mounting financial, economic problems
(EnergyAsia, November 25 2015, Wednesday) — Faced with its worst economic and financial downturn in nearly a decade, Kazakhstan is looking again to China to repeat its rescue act of 2008-2009.
MARKETS: Analysts see crude in the $20s, Saudi officials hoping for recovery in 2016
(EnergyAsia, November 23 2015, Monday) — Down by over 65% since mid-2014, crude oil prices could fall another 50% to the US$20s a barrel next year, said analysts at Wall Street firms….
CENTRAL ASIA: Doubts persist over proposed TAPI gas pipeline
(EnergyAsia, November 20 2015, Friday) — Despite reports of a December start-up, the construction of possibly Asia’s most ambitious pipeline project to supply natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India remains shrouded in doubt as it faces a myriad of mounting financial, political and security problems….
MARKETS: Oil demand growth to slow sharply from five-year high in 2015, says IEA
(EnergyAsia, November 1 2015, Sunday) — Global oil demand growth will slow sharply to 1.2 million b/d next year after reaching what would be a five-year high of 1.77 million b/d in 2015, predicts the International Energy Agency (IEA)….
CENTRAL ASIA: World Bank expects region’s economies to face “strong headwinds” on new challenges from weak oil, Russia
(EnergyAsia, October 31, 2015, Saturday) — Still reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008, the World Bank said Central Asia is facing “strong headwinds” from a set of new challenges brought on by the continuing weakness in oil and gas prices, Russia’s recession and worsening relations with the West, the slowdown…
CANADA: AltaGas, Woodfibre announce progress in proposed projects to export gas to Asia
(EnergyAsia, October 30 2015, Friday) — Two Canadian companies have made important progress in their respective projects to export gas products from British Columbia province to Asia….
CENTRAL ASIA: Japan hopes to rival China and Russia with promise of major investment
(EnergyAsia, October 30 2015, Friday) — In their darkest moment in over two decades, Central Asia’s beleaguered economies may have found another white knight in Japanese Prime Minister…
SINGAPORE: Pavilion Energy to procure LNG from Russia’s Gazprom to support regional trade
(EnergyAsia, October 29 2015, Thursday) — Singapore’s Pavilion Energy said it has signed a 10-year agreement to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russian gas giant Gazprom to support its trading and supply activities in Asia….
AUSTRALIA: Santos continues review of business after rejecting offer price of A$6.88 per share
(EnergyAsia, October 27 2015, Tuesday) — One of Australia’s leading oil and gas companies, Santos Limited, said it is continuing a strategic review of its business after rejecting a buy-out offer of A$6.88 per share that values the beaten-down company’s value at A$7.14 billion. (US$1=A$1.38)….
MARKETS: Global oil stockbuild still growing, to slow down sharply in 2016, says
(EnergyAsia, October 25 2015, Sunday) — Any hopes for an oil price rally in the remaining months of 2015 are being dashed by the continuing build in global stockpiles as production is still growing at a faster rate than consumption, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)….
CENTRAL ASIA: Region’s oil importers not benefitting from low prices, says IMF
(EnergyAsia, October 25 2015, Sunday) — Central Asia’s eight nations will continue to reel from the impact of weak oil prices, with little hope of their economies recovering to the levels before the collapse of the energy markets in mid-2014, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF)….
US: Annual liquid fuels consumption to rise to highest level since 2008, predicts EIA
(EnergyAsia, October 21 2015, Wednesday) — US liquid fuels consumption will reach a seven-year high of 19.44 million b/d this year and rise further to 19.59 million b/d in 2016 on the back of the country’s continuing economic and employment growth, predicts the Energy Information Administration….
ARCTIC: Greenpeace celebrates Shell’s decision to exit Alaska oil drilling as “victory” to protect Arctic
(EnergyAsia, October 1 2015, Wednesday) — Greenpeace celebrated a “huge victory” to protect the Arctic from hydrocarbon production and exploration when Royal Dutch Shell announced it would cease all work in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea that forms part of the region….
MARKETS: EIA sees bigger oil supply-demand gap in 2016
(EnergyAsia, October 1 2015, Thursday) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects the world’s oil surplus to continue widening this and next year as it trimmed its forecasts for demand slightly while raising supply in its September monthly report….
SAUDI ARABIA: Low spare capacity leaves world oil market at risk of price shocks, says research firm
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2015, Wednesday) — Amid the worst oil glut in over a decade, a Norwegian research firm wants the world to start worrying about possible oil price shocks….
MARKETS: Strong oil demand growth, supply cutbacks not enough to offset impact of record-high inventories, says IEA
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2015, Wednesday) — The oil markets will continue to pay for the past sins of overproduction as record-high inventories continue to offset the otherwise bullish impacts of strong demand growth and declining supply, judging from the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) monthly report….
MARKETS: Low prices threaten long-term oil and gas investments
(EnergyAsia, September 29 2015, Tuesday) — The world will have to brace for sharply reduced oil and gas investments in the long term as the industry slashes capital expenditure in response to protracted low prices, according to separate analysis by a US government agency and two private firms. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said sustained...
MARKETS: Crude pushed back after brief late August recovery
(EnergyAsia, September 2 2015, Wednesday) — Crude oil prices ran out of steam as traders quickly cashed out on that brief 27% recovery over the last three days of August. North Sea Brent just about held onto US$50 a barrel while US WTI traded just above US$45 after both had sunk to their lowest levels…
AUSTRALIA: Chevron may delay over-budget Gorgon LNG project start-up to 2016
(EnergyAsia, September 1 2015, Tuesday) — Having overshot its initial US$37 billion budget to build Australia’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, a Chevron-led consortium is also likely to miss its latest end-2015 start-up target for the same set of reasons: bad weather, labour disputes and equipment failure….
MARKETS: IEA says strong oil demand growth unable to mop up global oil glut
(EnergyAsia, August 31 2015, Monday) — The world will still face an oil supply glut even after adding nearly three million b/d to total consumption between last year and 2016, said the International Energy Agency (IEA)….
MARKETS: EIA predicts US production decline in 2016, dragging down global supply growth
(EnergyAsia, August 31 2015, Monday) — After years of strong growth, US oil and liquids production will decline in 2016 to weaken the world’s supply increase, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its August monthly report….