(EnergyAsia, June 21 2010, Monday) — The Australian government’s proposal to implement a super tax of 40% on mining profits is threatening to delay companies’ decision to implement liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the country. Analysts said Santos’ Queensland A$8-billion LNG project in joint venture with Malaysia’s Petronas will likely be postponed by at...
(EnergyAsia, June 21 2010, Monday) — Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply in the Asia Pacific region will far exceed demand in the long-term, according to Catherine Tanna, managing director of Australia’s QGC, a subsidiary of UK-based BG Group. Speaking at the recent Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association annual conference in Brisbane, she said the...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — Developing new energy sources to meet growing demand requires technological advancements and strong international partnerships, Mark Albers, senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation, said at the International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in China last week. “Our common industry goal is to safely deliver safe, reliable, and...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — The US government has officially raised its estimate of the crude oil leak from a ruptured deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico to between 35,000 b/d and 60,000 b/d, from just 20,000 b/d to 40,000 b/d last week. The latest estimate, released on Tuesday by the Department of...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — RH Petrogas Limited, a Singapore-listed company engaged exploring, developing and producing oil and gas resources, said it has appointed a CEO after completing its acquisition of Orchard Energy Pte Ltd from Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holding on June 14. Tony Tan Jee-Theng, the former CEO of Orchard Energy,...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — Stolthaven Terminals, a division of Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen SA, has begun construction work on the first phase of its S$350 million greenfield chemical storage terminal on Singapore’s Jurong Island. (US$1=S$1.4). The company said the June 9 groundbreaking on the island’s Tembusu sector comes after a prolonged delay due to global...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — Dutch oil and chemical logistics firm Royal Vopak said it has established an equal joint venture with the Tianjin Bohai Chemical Industry Group of China to build and operate a chemical storage terminal on 19.1 hectares land in the Lingang Industry Park in Tianjin city. Separately, Vopak said it...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — British Prime Minister David Cameron made an open appeal to US President Barack Obama to protect BP from “excessive” compensation claims just before the company agreed to stop paying dividends to shareholders as it diverts resources to set up an initial US$20 billion compensation fund. Making his most...
(EnergyAsia, June 18 2010, Friday) — Driven by the appetite of fast-growing developing economies, world energy consumption is expected to grow 49% between 2007 and 2035, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its latest International Energy Outlook 2010. Total world energy use will rise from 495 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2007...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — Singapore-listed Falcon Energy Group Limited (FEG) said its first quarter net profit for the three months to March 31 2010 rose 87% to US$8.1 million on an 85% rise in revenue to US$18.1 million over the same period the previous year. “The strong growth in turnover was driven largely...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — Singapore-listed oil and gas services and supply firms KS Energy (KSE), Aqua-Terra Supply (ATS) and SSH Corporation (SSH) are pushing ahead to consolidate their distribution businesses into a new S$320 million subsidiary. (US$1=S$1.4). In three separate meetings earlier this year, shareholders of the three companies approved the creation of...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — There is a clear link between the existence of particulate matters that cause air pollution and cardiovascular health problems, according to the American Heart Association. People living in Singapore are at risk of increased incidence of strokes and heart diseases given their regular exposure to particulate matters released into...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — Terrorism remains a real threat to the world’s oil supply system as highlighted by the arrest of more than 100 al-Qaida suspects earlier this year for allegedly planning to attack Saudi Arabia’s oil installations. The Saudi Arabian government’s announcement of counter-insurgency operations carried out in the Kingdom over recent...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — India should wait a year or two before entering into contracts to buy natural gas from Qatar or Iran as international prices are expected to ease and domestic gas reserves provide a cheaper alternative, said industry executives and analysts. Qatar is seeking about US$11 per million British thermal units...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — Indigenous groups have claimed that the government of Australia’s Queensland state and proponents of a A$60 billion natural gas deal of ripping them off. (US$1=A$1.2). China National Offshore Oil Corporation recently signed an agreement to buy A$60 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Britain’s BG Group which...
(EnergyAsia, June 17 2010, Thursday) — The fallout from BP’s massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico may continue to be felt for years, spurring changes in regulations and potentially slowing deepwater drilling operations around the world. The slowdown – likely to come as a result of ensuing stringent requirements for rig permits, inspections...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — By Darrell Delamaide for Oilprice.com. As hurricane season begins in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, forecasters are predicting higher-than-usual activity that could disrupt oil and gas production in the Gulf and hinder efforts to clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The US Energy Information Administration said...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — By Darrell Delamaide for Oilprice.com. Middle East oil countries should increase production of heavy oil as oil prices remain higher and improved technology makes it easier, those attending a recent industry conference in Bahrain were told. Bahrain’s oil minister, Abdulhussain Mirza, told the Heavy Oil World MENA...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — The global economic recession drove energy consumption lower in 2009, making it the first such decline since 1982 as the world economy contracted for the first time since the Second World War, said BP. In releasing its 2010 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, BP chief economist Christof Ruehl...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — Macquarie Research has lowered its forecast for oil prices over the next three quarters, citing the weak global economic environment. The company said it now expects Brent futures to average reach US$79 a barrel (down US$4, -5%) for the second quarter, and to trade at US$83 a barrel in...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — Bangkok Solar Power Co Ltd (BSP), a leading Thai manufacturer of PV solar modules and engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contractor has agreed to acquire up to 6,639,063 shares of US-based Prime Sun Power Inc (PSP) at 7.73 euro per share. (US$1=0.83 euro). All shares issued to BSP...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — Japanese trading house Marubeni Corporation said it has been awarded a contract by Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to construct a 600MW coal-fired thermal power plant in Vietnam. The 90-billion-yen project in Nghi Son district, the largest power plant Marubeni has constructed in Vietnam, is expected to be commissioned in January...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) have officially started up their joint petrochemical complex in Tianjin city in China. Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC) was established as an equal joint venture last November to build and operate the new three-million-ton per year...
(EnergyAsia, June 16 2010, Wednesday) — Law firms Herbert Smith and Stibbe said they recently advised China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on its acquisition of 35% interest in Syria Shell Petroleum Development (SSPD) previously 100% owned by Shell. SSPD has interests in three production licences including Deir-Ez-Zor, Fourth Annex and Ash Sham operated by the...
(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) — Greenpeace has criticised Europe’s policies on biofuels as “broken” as the region’s new guidelines on sustainability do not go far enough to prevent “a dramatic increase in deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.” The guidelines and an associated certification scheme only address part of the picture, with indirect land-use change...