(EnergyAsia, March 15 2011, Tuesday) — The unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan is the worst since Russia’s Chernobyl, said Washington DC-based environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOE). There have been two explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in northern Japan since an 8.9-richter scale earthquake struck off the coast last Friday, triggering tsunamis, (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2011, Monday) — Singapore is Asia’s greenest metropolis thanks to its ambitious environmental targets and its efficient approach to achieving them, according to a study commissioned by Siemens AG and performed by the independent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Singapore was the only city to be rated ‘well above average’ in the five-rating (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2011, Monday) — Brushing aside profitability concerns and controversy over the use of food palm oil for making fuel, Finland’s Neste Oil Corporation officially launched its 800,000-metric-tonne renewable diesel plant in Tuas at the industrial south-western part of Singapore last week. The company said the 550-million-euro plant had started up last November (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2011, Monday) — Several US nuclear experts have commented on the rapidly evolving reactor crisis in Japan following last Friday’s (March 11) deadly earthquake which struck off the northern island of Honshu. More than 1,600 people have been confirmed dead, and at least another 10,000 are reported missing after the 8.9-richter quake (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2011, Monday) — Thanks to strong growth in its China operations, German industrial gas and engineering company Linde AG has reported a 22.6% rise in operating profits to 2.925 billion euro for 2010. Its revenue was up 14.8% to a record 12.868 billion euro. Its after-tax earnings increased 62.9% to 1.064 billion (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2011, Monday) — Asia-based clean petroleum products trader OiLive has begun using AspectCTRM, the Web-delivered trading and risk management solution from Aspect Enterprise Solutions (AES). Focusing on the Asian markets, OiLive’s Singapore office trades in naphtha, gasoil, condensate, additives and chemicals and works closely with regional partners including refining companies. The contract (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2011, Friday) — Shell Global Solutions International BV and Shanghai-based Wison Engineering Ltd have started jointly developing a low-cost ‘hybrid’ gasification demonstration plant in China. They are also collaborating on the technology’s design and marketing, and the development of other coal gas technologies. Shell said the hybrid technology, known as ‘dry-feed, bottom-water (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2011, Friday) — For 2011, the petrochemical industry faces the threats of rising oil prices and global economic uncertainties, according to the Petrochemical Profitability Forecast prepared by energy solutions consultants Nexant Inc. The report said that while petrochemical profitability improved considerably last year, the outlook for the sector depends on many factors (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2011, Thursday) — Three anti-pollution groups have filed a federal lawsuit aimed at cleaning up air pollution from the Lower Colorado River Authority’s (LCRA) coal-fired power plant located between Austin and Houston. The lawsuit filed this week by the Environmental Integrity Project, Texas Campaign for the Environment, and Environment Texas claims the (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2011, Thursday) — Canada’s CBM Asia Development Corp (CBM Asia) said its partner, MedcoEnergi, has reported mobilising a workover rig to a well at the Sekayu coalbed methane exploration project in South Sumatra in Indonesia. Medco plans to install a downhole pump and zone isolation packer to dewater the Palembang B & (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2011, Wednesday) — Canadian mining firm Prophecy Resource Corp has announced several senior appointments. Paul F. Venter, a director since last August, is Vice President for Energy Operations with responsibility for Mongolia mining and power operations. With over 30 years experience with BHP and Eskom in the mining, power generating, and transport (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2011, Tuesday) — Follow us on www.Twitter.com/EnergyContents. Derrick Services Ltd (DSL), a UK-based oil and gas industry construction firm, said it has appointed Ryan Moore as regional manager of its newly established offices in Southeast Asia. DSL supports drilling contractors and operators worldwide by providing a range of services covering derrick inspection, (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2011, Tuesday) — www.Twitter.com/EnergyContents Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) said it and ExxonMobil Chemical affiliates have advanced their proposed elastomers project joint venture into the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase.   SABIC and ExxonMobil have selected the Saudi Arabian industrial city of Jubail as the site for the new manufacturing units following (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2011, Monday) — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing loans to Vietnam for the construction of its Nghi Son Coal-fired Power Plant II project under the agency’s energy building programme. JICA has also agreed to provide the Vietnamese government loans for poverty reduction and the construction of a bridge. The (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 4 2011, Friday) — Germany’s TUV SUD has big plans to grow its testing, inspection and certification businesses in the Asia Pacific region in 2011, including its service offerings for the energy, petrochemical and marine sectors. At a lunch briefing yesterday, Chong Weng Hoe, the chief executive of Singapore-based subsidiary TUV SUD PSB (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 4 2011, Friday) — Singapore’s shipping sector is confident of weathering the negative impact of oil at US$100 a barrel brought on by political unrest spreading across the Middle East, said a panel of industry executives this week. Singapore is naturally hedged, said Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore chief executive Lam Li (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 3 2011, Thursday) — A coalition of US environmental groups said several coal-ash dumpsites in Indiana and Virginia could potentially jeopardise human life and pose a serious threat to the environment. The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Earthjustice, and the Hoosier Environmental Council issued this warning a few days after the US Environmental Protection (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 2 2011, Wednesday) — Oil demand will likely hit a record high this year but any further rise in prices will likely be capped by higher production by the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) and release of stockpiles from the developed economies, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).Increased output by Iraq boosted (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 2 2011, Wednesday) — Last year, the World Bank launched a new programme to put a value on each country’s ecosystems in the same way that it measures its national income and product accounts, or GNP and GDP. Janet Ranganathan, an expert at the US-based World Resources Institute (WRI), provided this interview on (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 2 2011, Tuesday) — Pakistan’s Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and China’s Global Mining Company Limited (GMC) are jointly looking to convert two of the six plants at the Bin Qasim Power Station from using fuel oil to coal. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding for the project as part (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 1 2011, Tuesday) — BP Oil New Zealand said it has re-opened its Lyttelton oil storage terminal after giving it a thorough safety inspection in the wake of the deadly earthquake that struck on February 22. At least 145 people are believed to have died in the city of Christchurch in South Island (more…)

(EnergyAsia, February 28 2011, Monday) — US-based Occidental Petroleum Corp (Oxy) said it will partner the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) in a US$10-billion project to jointly develop the Shah gasfield in the UAE. Occidental said ADNOC has a 60% stake while it will hold the remaining 40% interest in a 30-year contract. The (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 1 2011, Tuesday) — The Iraqi government expects to achieve its oil exports target of around 2.2 million b/d for 2011, thanks to a steady rise in shipments from the country’s northern Kurdish region. Iraqi oil exports reached 2.16 million b/d at the end of last month, their highest since the US invasion (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 1 2011, Tuesday) — Fresh from raising the country’s estimated total oil reserves to 143 billion barrels, the Iraqi government said it plans to auction off 12 oil and gas exploration sites block this year and raise the country’s energy production at the same time. The Oil Ministry said it also plans to (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 1 2011, Tuesday) — China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) has agreed to acquire a 15% stake in Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd and to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) over a 20-year contract, expected to start in 2015. The value of the stake and the contracts were not mentioned in a statement issued by (more…)