(EnergyAsia, September 8 2010, Wednesday) — A leading Indian energy think tank, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and its non-profit partners are introducing low-cost solar-powered lamps and lanterns to villages across the country which do not have access to electricity.   Five types of light emitting diodes (LEDS) lamps for rural lighting are now...

(EnergyAsia, September 8 2010, Wednesday) — The Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently released revised editions of two of its standards for marine fuels in response to increasingly strict international requirements for air quality, ship safety, engine performance and crew health. The fourth edition of “ISO 8217:2010, Petroleum Products – Fuels (class F) –...

(EnergyAsia, September 8 2010, Wednesday) — Marine and offshore company ES Group Holdings Ltd was recently listed on the Catalist board under the ticker symbol “ES Group”, said Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX), Asia’s second largest listed exchange. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Singapore-based ES Group builds, converts and repairs a wide...

(EnergyAsia, September 8 2010, Wednesday) — Australian mining and infrastructure services company AJ Lucas Group Limited said its final investment decisions on coal seam gas projects will enhance its earnings for the current financial year to June 30 2011. Thanks to renewed activity in the mining sector, the company expects to continue its recovery from...

(EnergyAsia, September 8 2010, Wednesday) — The UN is investigating claims by environmentalists that its global carbon trading and credit scheme intended to cut greenhouse gas emissions may have been manipulated for the financial benefit of narrow interest groups.   The UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) enables industrialised countries that signed on to the 1997...

      (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — US coal consumption for power consumption rose 4.8% in the first half of 2010, while production slipped 0.2% from year-ago levels, said the US Energy Information Agency (EIA). The agency said it coal consumption in the power sector to grow by 5.3% in 2010, implying accelerated...

  (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — Caltex said it plans to proceed with a major expansion of its fuel terminal at Port Hedland in Western Australia to support the state’s growing diesel market. Caltex Australia expects to start operating two new 20-million-litre diesel tanks and a road tanker loading facility in late 2011. It...

  (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — Antwerp, Belgium-based Euronav NV said its subsidiary TI Africa Ltd has signed a contract to provide floating offshore services to Maersk Oil Qatar AS (MOQ) for work on Qatar’s Al Shaheen oil and gas field. TI Africa will deploy its vessel FSO Africa to work on the field...

  (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — Seroja Investments, a Singapore-listed Indonesian maritime transportation firm, said its joint venture with Guangzhou-based Zhushui Energy Resource Group Co, has started work on tapping China’s growing appetite for coal and other natural resources. Formed in June, the JV company Seroja-Zhushui Shipping Ltd has already signed up a charter...

  (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — Singapore’s Keppel Corp is expected to start work on expanding a 500MW power plant to 1,400MW later this year. The company has called for tenders to expand its Keppel Merlimau Cogen plant on Jurong Island as part of a long-term plan to increase its competitiveness. The project could...

  (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — Citing a lack of clarity in the country’s oil sector regulation and management of oil revenues among other factors, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its credit ratings for Ghana. The US agency also cited concerns with Ghana’s large fiscal deficit, high debt levels, and unclear policies...

  (EnergyAsia, September 7 2010, Tuesday) — China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is expected to soon secure a stake in a major West African offshore oil field which became available after the Ghanaian government nixed a proposed private sale to Exxon Mobil. The US major was reportedly close to concluding a proposed US$4 billion...

    (EnergyAsia September 7 2010, Tuesday) — Boosted by profits from its upstream oil and gas sector, Hong Kong-listed Citic Resources Holdings Ltd said it made a net income of HK$167.53 million for the first half of the year, reversing a loss of HK$307.3 million for the same period last year ago. In a...

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — Singapore-based JOil (S) Pte Ltd said it has formed a strategic alliance with Indian plant biotech company KF Bioplants Pvt Ltd (KFB) to produce and deliver an initial volume of one million tissue-culture derived ‘elite’ jatropha curcas plants. Grown from JOil’s proprietary tissue culture technology, the plants will...

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) said it has begun producing oil and gas from the Gbaran-Ubie project in the Niger Delta, providing an important new source of energy for export and domestic markets. When fully operational next year, it will be capable of producing one...

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — The Indian government said it will have enough oil in stockpile to meet 80 days of consumption by end-2011, up from 74 days now. Petroleum secretary S. Sundareshan said that three oil storage facilities now under construction will boost the country’s national oil reserves capacity by five million...

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — The Chinese government is looking to impose a new tax on the extraction of coal, oil and gas in the country’s poorer western areas to generate revenues to stimulate the economy. Premier Wen Jiabao said the government plans to extend the new 5% price-based tax after it was...

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — China’s coal shortfall is set to worsen by 2015, completely reversing a possible brief glut in the second half of this year, said industry insiders. The country’s coal demand is expected to rise to a record 3.8 billion tons by 2015, exceeding domestic production by 0.2 billion tons....

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — The US Department of Defence has opened bidding on a lucrative contract to deliver fuel to Afghanistan’s Bagram air base, a vital logistic link in the US war effort against the Talibans. The contract will stipulate that the supplier must deliver certain amounts of jet and diesel fuel...

  (EnergyAsia, September 6 2010, Monday) — Australian upstream company Santos said higher oil prices and lower exploration expense helped its first half after-tax net profit surge 94% to A$198 million from the same period last year. (US$1=A$1.15). Sales revenue climbed 7% to A$1.091 billion. Its first half production fell 9.4% to 24.2 million barrels...

(EnergyAsia, September 1 2010, Wednesday) — Shell said it has been forced to halt the export of Bonny light crude oil from Nigeria following recent attacks on its pipelines in the Niger Delta. The force majeure declared by Shell took effect on August 16, disrupting deliveries for August and September. The company said it has...

(EnergyAsia, September 1 2010, Wednesday) — Far East Wind Power Corp (FEWP) said it plans to invest US$20 million in a proposed 49.5MW wind farm in China’s Yunnan province after signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a 49% stake in it from Taitong Energy Limited. FEWP said it will be paid back by...

(EnergyAsia, September 1 2010, Wednesday) — Fund managers consider Nigeria as one of the most attractive investment destinations these days as Africa’s second-largest economy pursues banking and oil sector reforms. Some say Africa’s largest oil producing country is starting to look as attractive as the leading emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, given...

(EnergyAsia, September 1 2010, Wednesday) — Norwegian bank DnB NOR has forecast that 70 of the world’s leading upstream companies will increase their collective exploration and production (E&P) spending by 11% to US$435 billion this year, and by a further 8% in 2011. In its annual E&P spending report, the bank found that the 70...