(EnergyAsia, January 18 2012, Wednesday) — India’s state-owned GAIL Gas Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh state government to develop a 50-billion-rupee floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off the country’s east coast by 2013. (US$1=51 rupees). GAIL Gas Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of GAIL (India) Limited, will (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 18 2012, Wednesday) — Thai state energy company PTT is aiming to complete the expansion of the country’s second LNG import terminal by 2014-2015 instead of the original target deadline of 2016. Citing faster-than-expected growth in the country’s natural gas demand, the company said the new five million mt/year unit at its Map...
(EnergyAsia, January 18 2012, Wednesday) — China’s CNOOC will have to pay at least 50% more for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply from the Tangguh export terminal in Papua province, said Indonesian upstream energy regulator BPMigas. In its meeting with CNOOC this month, BPMigas wants to raise the contract price from US$3.35 per million...
(EnergyAsia, January 18 2012, Wednesday) — Indonesia may have to pare down its plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) after Asian spot prices more than tripled to between US$16 and US$18 per million BTU in the wake of the earthquake-tsunami disaster in Japan on March 11. Without the approval of the Finance Ministry, state...
(EnergyAsia, January 18 2012, Wednesday) — The tripling of spot liquefied natural gas prices in Asia over the past year is threatening the viability of a proposed 40-billion-rupee import terminal project at Mundra Port on India’s west coast. State-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) has been unable to decide if it will participate in an...
(EnergyAsia, January 17 2012, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia’s chemical giant SABIC and China’s Sinopec said they will jointly invest in a new 260,000 metric tons/year polycarbonate plant at the Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC) in Tianjin city in northeastern China. The existing SABIC-Sinopec plant has an annual production capacity of three million tons. The (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 17 2012, Tuesday) — China’s demand and import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to remain strong this year on continued growth in its electricity demand and growing preference for clean burning fuel. Natural gas use has huge growth potential in China as it is a relatively new fuel and currently generates...
(EnergyAsia, January 17 2012, Tuesday) — India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity is expected to increase from 13.5 million tonnes a year (t/y) now to 47.5 million t/y by 2016 and 62.5 million t/y by 2020, said Petronet. India’s sole natural gas importer and LNG terminal operator is building a second receiving and regasification...
(EnergyAsia, January 17 2012, Tuesday) — As Indonesia faces the prospects of worsening energy shortages, its three main state energy companies, gas distributor PGN, power utility PLN, and oil and gas firm Pertamina, are preparing to start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time to generate electricity. Pertamina and PGN have formed a...
(EnergyAsia, January 17 2012, Tuesday) — Japan’s INPEX Corp and France’s Total have given their final approval to proceed with their joint US$34 billion investment to develop the Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia’s Northern Territory state. INPEX chairman Naoki Kuroda made the announcement in Darwin city, the site of the one of (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 16 2012, Monday) — China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the nation’s largest offshore oil and gas company, said its subsidiary CNOOC Ltd has started seismic operations to explore for shale gas on a 4,800-sq-km onshore block in eastern Anhui province. Following its recent acquisition of Chesapeake Energy assets in the US, the...
(EnergyAsia, January 16 2012, Monday) — Global trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) will grow strongly for the rest of the decade, helped by the completion of 26 new liquefaction projects that will boost capacity by 60% by 2020, said the France-based international association CEDIGAZ. In its latest annual survey of the industry, CEDIGAZ said...
(EnergyAsia, January 16 2012, Monday) — Saudi Aramco expects its joint 400,000 b/d refinery with China’s Sinopec Group in the Saudi industrial city of Yanbu to begin full commercial operations in 2014. The Dhahran-based Saudi firm will own a majority 62.5% stake in the export-oriented Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co (YASREF) refinery to be located...
(EnergyAsia, January 16 2012, Monday) — A local council in Australia’s resource-rich Queensland state has been slammed for “political grandstanding” for trying to ban coal and coal-seam gas (CSG) developments. Queensland Resources Council (QRC) said a ban would mean that Somerset Regional Council’s 22,500 residents would have to give up the economic benefits of the (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 16 2012, Monday) — Qatargas said it has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to South Korea’s Samsung Engineering Ltd for a 54,000 b/d hydro-treater (DHT) unit to produce ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel at the Laffan refinery in Qatar. The 350-million-rial unit will produce Euro 5-specification diesel containing less than 10 (more…)
(EnergyAsia, Jan 13 2012, Friday) — With its economy still growing at more than 8% a year, China’s apparent crude oil consumption could rise by 5.3% in 2012 compared with 3.5% last year, according to an industry association’s latest forecast. The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation said the country’s apparent crude consumption could rise...
(EnergyAsia, January 13 2012, Friday) — The US-led campaign to stop the world buying Iranian crude oil is faltering as it has failed to win the full cooperation of its allies in Europe, South Korea and Japan while China, the largest importer of Iranian crude, has flatly rejected the request. The lack of progress to...
(EnergyAsia, January 13 2012, Friday) — Two vessels collided off Singapore last week, spilling five tonnes of marine fuel oil into the Strait of Singapore. There was no report of injury and traffic in the port was not affected in this first shipping collision on Singapore waters in 2012, said the Maritime and Port Authority...
(EnergyAsia, January 13 2012, Friday) — Singapore’s port continued to grow, registering increases in all areas of performance in 2011 despite a challenging year for the maritime industry, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, provided the estimates for several areas of (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 13 2012, Friday) — Singapore’s infrastructure group, Sembcorp, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the feasibility of developing a 1,200 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Dung Quat Economic Zone in Vietnam’s Quang Ngai province. The agreement was signed by Ng Meng Poh, Sembcorp’s Executive Vice President & Head (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 12 2012, Thursday) — PHI Group Inc, a US company focused on energy and natural resources, said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire more than 20 million metric tonnes of coal resources together with the operation and production licence in Indonesia’s Jambi province from Jakarta-based PT CSP. The two companies...
(EnergyAsia, January 12 2012, Thursday) — Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine said it has secured a US$809 million contract from Sete Brasil to build a DSS38E semi-submersible drilling rig. Keppel O&M said its subsidiary, Fernvale Pte Ltd, secured the contract from Urca Drilling BV, a subsidiary of Sete Brasil Participaç’es SA, to design and construct...
(EnergyAsia, January 12 2012, Thursday) — Australian coal miner OGL Resources Limited (OGL) said it has appointed Allan Fidock as managing director from January 23. Mr Fidock has more than 30 years’ experience in open cut and underground coal mining with a range of owner-operator and contractor companies. Most recently, he was part of the (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 12 2012, Thursday) — Two fo the world’s leading energy pricing services have launched new assessments for the coal trade in Asia. McGraw Hill’s Platts said it has launched a daily price assessment to help address the need for a global benchmark for lower-calorific thermal coal produced and consumed in the Asia-Pacific region. (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 12 2012, Thursday) — Mechel OAO, a leading Russian mining and metals company, said it has finished laying tracks along the entire 321-km route of the railway link from Ulak station to the Elga coal deposit being developed by Mechel Mining OAO’s subsidiary, Yakutugol Holding Company OAO. The last section of track of (more…)