(EnergyAsia, October 4 2011, Tuesday) — L & L Energy Inc, a US-based company with coal mining and distribution businesses in China, said it has signed letters of intent to acquire 14 operating mines in Guizhou province with a combined approved capacity to produce three million tons of coking coal. Based on current market prices,...
(EnergyAsia, October 4 2011, Tuesday) — Scandal-hit Puda Coal said its CEO, the legal counsel to its chairman, and the company’s CFO had all resigned in late September. CEO and director Liping Zhu submitted his resignations to the board on September 22 and was followed by Qiong (Laby) Wu as its chief financial officer and (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 4 2011, Tuesday) — HMS Bergbau AG, a Germany-based international coal supplier with expertise in coal mining, transport and trade, has affirmed its expansion plans by further developing its activities in Asia. The company underlined its strategic focus despite announcing a set of downbeat first half financial results. Group revenues fell 21.9% to (more…)
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2011, Monday) — Claims by Libya’s new rebel-led government that the country could produce 500,000 to 600,000 b/d of crude oil within weeks is “optimistic”, said a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report. Libya was producing 1.6 million b/d before the NATO-backed rebels began attacking the Gaddafi government early this...
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2011, Monday) — Oil prices will likely rise another 15-20% over the next 12 months on the back of continued strong demand growth in the emerging economies, said Allison Nathan, managing director for commodities research at Goldman Sachs. Brent is seen rising to US$130 a barrel from recent levels of US$100-$110 while...
As it approaches its 30th anniversary as Asia’s first independent oil and chemicals storage operator, Royal Vopak of the Netherlands is already well into its next phase of expansion. But the outlook wasn’t that rosy a few years ago when its core business appeared under threat as some of its best customers, who are among...
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2011, Monday) — In the perfect world, there are no limits, accidents or conflicts; only logic and certainty as engineers and scientists quietly collaborate to take care of all human needs, defining future realities and extending boundaries. Four balmy days in Fremantle, a quiet coastal town off Western Australia facing the Indian...
(EnergyAsia, October 3 2011, Monday) — The Gulf of Mexico tragedy could have been prevented if the entire operations were automated and tougher regulations existed to enforce safety operating procedures, said Jason Urso, Honeywell’s Chief Technology Officer at the Honeywell Users Group event in Fremantle, West Australia on August 21 to 24 2011. “A lot (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2011, Friday) — The Indonesian government is seeking to raise the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export price from its Tangguh plant in West Papua to China by five times to US$12 per million BTU. Indonesian state agency BPMigas and China National Offshore Oil Corporation had agreed to the original price of US$2.40...
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2011, Friday) — Royal Dutch Shell has partially shut down its 500,000 b/d oil refinery in Singapore, including a diesel hydrocracking unit, and evacuated most of its staff as it fought to contain a fire on the Pulau Bukom plant which broke out on Wednesday. No one was seriously hurt and the...
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2011, Friday) — The Oxford Princeton Programme is offering the following workshops in Singapore for the last quarter of this year. For details, please contact Sean Chiu of The Oxford Princeton Programme at +65-6837 8032 or schiu@oxfordprinceton.com. Fundamentals of Petroleum Refining – A Non-Technical Introduction (FPR), October 3 to 4. This two-day (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2011, Friday) — UK’s BG Group said it has secured an agreement to supply India’s Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) up to 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for up to 20 years starting 2014. BG said it will supply the LNG from its global portfolio once it (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 30 2011, Friday) — India’s GMR said it has agreed to sell a 30% stake in subsidiary GMR Energy Singapore Pte Ltd (GMRE) to Petronas International Corporation Ltd (PICL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s state energy company Petronas. GMRE is investing S$1.2 billion to develop an 800 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 29 2011, Thursday) — The Japanese government plans to upgrade its fuel stockpiling programme by expanding the storage infrastructure of refined oil products around the country to ensure stable and speedy supplies in the event of natural disasters and emergencies. While details are still being worked out, the government said it hopes to...
(EnergyAsia, September 29 2011, Thursday) — At 38.02 million metric tons (mt), or 8.98 million b/d, China’s apparent oil demand in August was their lowest in 10 months, said energy media Platts. While this represented a seven percent year-over-year increase, it was the first time in 10 months that apparent oil demand had dipped below...
(EnergyAsia, September 29 2011, Thursday) — Nestled in Ayuddhaya-Nakorn Rachasrima in Thailand, Laemthong Farm forms part of the Laemthong Sahakarn Corporation that specialises in agricultural services looking after farms and livestock. The company owns and operates 20 farms across the country with the help of 3,000 employees, and reliable uninterrupted power supply from Cummins Power (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 29 2011, Thursday) — The shipping industry’s confidence levels fell to their lowest level for three and a half years in the three months ended August 2011, according to the latest shipping confidence survey by leading accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Fears of a supply glut, continuing uncertainty over the global economy (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 29 2011, Thursday) — Chevron Corporation said it has given the approval for its Australian subsidiary to develop the US$29 billion foundation phase of its proposed giant Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) export complex in Western Australia state. As the project’s operator, the US major announced its decision after the Australian government granted (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2011, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Rotary Engineering said it has secured S$110 million worth of contracts in the third quarter, including one to build a chemical plant on Jurong Island. The project, contracted with CCD (Singapore) Pte Ltd, will form part of Taiwan-based Chang Chun Group’s first-phase S$500 million investment on Jurong Island....
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2011, Wednesday) — Seaoil Philippines Inc, one of the country’s leading fuel retailers, has announced a three-year programme to expand its retail network and storage capacity at a total cost of three billion peso. (US$1=43 peso). The company president and CEO Glenn Yu said it plans to double its chain of retail...
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2011, Wednesday) — Esso Malaysia Berhad (EMB), a unit of ExxonMobil, briefly halted operations at its Port Dickson oil refinery last week after a three-hour fire damaged its marine pump area. No one was injured when a naphtha tank ignited, causing an explosion and sending out a large cloud of black smoke...
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2011, Wednesday) — Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has set a target to almost double its current 65-million-ton/year refining capacity to 125 million tons by 2022 to meet the country’s rising fuel demand. Together with its 51.89%-held subsidiary, Chennai Petroleum Corp, IOC controls half the country’s 20 refineries....
(EnergyAsia, September 28 2011, Wednesday) — State upstream company Oil India Limited (OIL) is looking to venture into the downstream sector by helping Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) expand its two refineries. HPCL owns and operates a 6.5-million-tonne/year refinery in Mumbai and a 7.5-million-tonne/year refinery in Vishakapatnam. Oil India Chairman N. M. Borah said the two companies...
(EnergyAsia, September 27 2011, Tuesday) — China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) said it will soon start storing crude oil at a new 1.2-million cubic metre terminal in the eastern province of Shandong. Asia’s largest refiner said an engineering subsidiary has begun trial operations of the facility, two months ahead of its original schedule in November. Together...
(EnergyAsia, September 27 2011, Tuesday) — Companies have been warned against making “further speculative orders” in building new liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels as they could be hit by a declining freight market. In a recent report, ‘Shifting trade moves LNG shipping out of the doldrums’, energy research consultancy Wood Mackenzie said ships ordered in...