(EnergyAsia, February 18 2015, Wednesday) — In the latest oil crisis caused by crude prices plunging 50% over the second half of 2014, traders turned to storage to hedge against a protracted supply glut. The same strategy of stockpiling was deployed in 2008 when Brent crude went the other way, surging to a record high of over US$145 a barrel on fears of supply shortages.
(EnergyAsia, February 17 2015, Tuesday) — Breaking from a two-decade trend, China’s demand for energy and other natural resources grew at a significantly slower rate than the 7.4% increase in its GDP last year, said UK consultant Wood Mackenzie. Calling this a “decoupling”, its principal economist for Asia, Cynthia Lim, said the energy sector will...
(EnergyAsia, February 16 2015, Monday) — While the oil and gas industry is in retreat around the world, Papua New Guinea is blazing ahead with the planned expansion of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that was launched just months ago and the proposed development of a second greenfield project.
(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 11 2015, Wednesday) — Selling has resumed after last week’s show of strength from short-term covering had helped crude prices stage a brief rally. North Sea Brent is trading above US$56 a barrel while US WTI is just about holding onto the US$50 support. Through January, the oil markets clawed back a wee...
(EnergyAsia, February 10 2015, Tuesday) — IHS, a leading global provider of critical information and insight, said it expects maritime casualties to increase around the world, particularly in hotspots in northeren Europe and Southeast Asia as trading fleets continue to expand. The incidences of hull and machinery damage, wrecking and stranding, ship-on-ship collisions and contact...
(EnergyAsia, February 9 2015, Monday) — The Johor state government will acquire a 10% stake in two proposed terminals at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) being developed by Malaysia’s national oil and gas firm Petronas, all targeted for start-up in 2019. In a statement, Petronas said the State Secretary Incorporated Johor (SSI) has also signed...
(EnergyAsia, February 6 2015, Friday) — UK-based Seacurus said it is offering insurance coverage on pirate attacks against oil tankers, cargoes and crew transiting the South China Sea, Malacca Straits, Indonesian Archipelago and Gulf of Guinea. The cover is being offered to customers’ existing Kidnap & Ransom (KR) insurance policies in response to the rising...
(EnergyAsia, February 5 2015, Thursday) — On balance, the negative economic impact of an oil price decline on producing countries exceeds the benefits accruing to consuming countries, said the World Bank. In its flagship ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report, it said oil-exporting economies could expect to contract by 0.8 to 2.5 percentage points in the year...
(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, February 2 2015, Monday) — For the third consecutive year, Singapore reported lower bunker sales in 2014 as trade fell on a combination of tightening credit and confusion following the bankruptcy of a key supplier, the imposition of tighter fuel specifications, better fuel efficiency, and fears of a slowing global economy amid the sharp...
(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 26 2015, Monday) — Russia will increase its crude sales abroad by about 200,000 b/d next month in response to reduced export tax rates and weak demand from domestic refiners, according to US-based consultant ESAI Energy. In its CIS Watch report, ESAI said it expects Russia to export more crude oil and less petroleum...
(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 22 2015, Thursday) — US major Chevron Corp said it has secured a five-year agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its US$54 billion Gorgon field in Australia to South Korea. SK LNG Trading Pte Ltd, a division in the SK Group, will purchase a total of 4.15 million tons of the...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2015, Wednesday) — Due to lower commodity prices, Australia’s earnings from natural resources and energy export earnings will fall by about 10% to A$176 billion in the current financial year to June 30, said the Department of Industry. (US$1=A$1.22). Earnings from liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will buck the general trend to...
(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 19 2015, Monday) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum is hoping to develop and sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India through its budding relationship with one of India’s leading infrastructure companies, Adani Enterprises Limited. The companies announced last week that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to identify and develop liquefied...
(EnergyAsia, January 16 2015, Friday) –— Most oil-importing developing countries are positioned to reap “substantial” benefits benefit from the collapse in crude prices, now expected to hit six-year lows, said the World Bank. In an analysis in its latest edition of Global Economic Prospects, the bank said it expects oil prices to remain weak through with “significant” (more…)
(EnergyAsia, January 15 2015, Thursday) — Chinese and Malaysian state-owned firms along with France’s Total are believed to have expressed interest in participating in the development of a proposed US$10 billion pipeline to deliver natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.