(EnergyAsia, January 22 2010, Friday) — As part of its plan to expand trading activities in the Americas, PetroChina has taken over the lease for a five-million-barrel fuel oil storage terminal in the Caribbean vacated by Saudi Aramco at the end of last year. Owned and operated by Nustar, the Statia terminal in the Netherlands...
(EnergAsia, January 22 2010, Friday) — Canada’s hopes of opening up new markets for its abundant oil and gas resources in Asia received a boost early this month when US upstream company Apache Corp agreed to take a 51% stake in a planned $3 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. Subsidiary Apache Canada Ltd...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — China is expected to establish and grow its military presence in the Middle East as it becomes increasingly dependent on the region for oil and gas supplies. China broadcast that prospect for the first time early this month when Rear Admiral Yin Zhou said its navy should establish bases...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — Qatar is expected to enjoy strong balance of payments (BOP) surpluses in the next few years on the back of higher exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to QNB Capital. Qatar posted a BOP surplus of 49.5 billion rials in 2008, helped by LNG exports which accounted for...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — Singapore retained its global leadership position in vessel arrival tonnage, bunker sales and containers handled despite last year’s global economic and trade slump, according to early estimates from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). Announcing this strong performance, Raymond Lim, minister for transport and second minister for...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — Qatar said it achieved great progress in developing its energy sector last year with the launch of several large liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. Its LNG production and exports were boosted last year by state RasGas’s completion of three large trains, each with 7.8 million tonnes of annual capacity....
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — Singapore ports’ container traffic dropped 13.5% last year to 25.9 million standard-sized container units compared with 2008 figures. Last experienced in 2001, 2009’s negative growth was attributed to depressed global trade following the collapse of financial markets. 2009’s throughput was also the lowest since 2006’s level of 24.8 million...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — The New Zealand government said it has built up 90 days of strategic crude oil stockpile according to International Energy Agency (IEA) guidelines. Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said it achieved the target of one million tonnes recently through stockpiles held by private companies. He added that his...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — The world’s top bunkering port once again set a new annual sales record of 36.386 million tonnes for 2009, growing 4.2% from 34.936 million tonnes in 2008, according to official data. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said sales were particularly strong in December, surging by 10.4%...
(EnergyAsia, January 21 2010, Thursday) — Mounting losses at India’s state-run oil refiners from the sale of subsidised cooking gas and kerosene could sink the government’s plans to implement a national clean fuel programme in April. It is estimated that Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) would have...
(EnergyAsia, January 20 2010, Wednesday) — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is pressing Iran’s parliament to quickly approve the additional import of gasoline in response to worsening supply shortages brought on by further tightening of US political and trade actions against Tehran. The US Senate is considering legislation to bar companies that provide Iran with gasoline supplies,...
(EnergyAsia, January 20 2010, Wednesday) — Germany synthetic rubber company Lanxess said it now plans to advance the start-up of its butyl rubber facility on Singapore’s Jurong Island in the first quarter of 2013, instead of 2014. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May 2010. The latest announcement still represents a delay of two years from its...
(EnergyAsia, January 20 2010, Wednesday) — The Indonesian government is considering allowing state-run gas and oil company PT Pertamina to establish a fuel depot in Timika to support the air transportation business in Papua province. State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said he would consider the development of a Pertamina depot in the town if US-based...
(EnergyAsia, January 20 2010, Wednesday) — Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), the state-owned coal producer, predicts the country will have to import coal by 2013 to meet surging demand to generate electricity. Vinacomin predicts the country’s coal demand will increase to 94 million tonnes by 2015 from an estimated 20 million this...
(EnergyAsia, December 13) — The United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has stopped approvals for funding of China’s wind farms, possibly stalling some wind power investments. Following the Chinese government’s lowering of subsidies for the energy projects, the CDM now believes the wind farms do not qualify for the condition of “additionality” wherein applicants must...
(EnergyAsia, January 20 2010, Wednesday) — South Korea, the world’s fifth largest oil importer, plans to add 3.7 million barrels of crude oil this year to its growing strategic stockpile of crude reserves. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the government plans to accumulate 141 million barrels in oil reserves by 2013 and build additional...
(EnergyAsia, January 20 2010, Wednesday) — Australia Pacific LNG said it has signed two key upstream design, engineering and construction contracts for its coal seam gas (CSG)-to-liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, progressing towards a final investment decision at the end of 2010. These contracts were awarded to McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd and Consolidated...
(EnergyAsia, January 19 2010, Tuesday) — Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), a leading Indian infrastructure construction and development company, said it has secured a Rs3,746.6 million contract from the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) to construct a strategic crude oil storage cavern at Padur in Karnataka state. The order calls for the construction of underground...
(EnergyAsia, January 19 2010, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia’s state energy giant, Aramco, has begun engineering and design work on the kingdom’s largest natural gas plant to help meet its fast-growing power demand. Located between the port of Jubail and the Khursaniyah oilfield, the plant will process between 1.8 billion and 2.5 billion cubic feet per...
(EnergyAsia, January 19 2010, Tuesday) — Arab countries have been raising their natural gas exports in recent years, but have been unable to improve on their 53.7 trillion cubic metres of reserves in 2008, said the 11-member Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec) in its latest statistical report. Led by Qatar, their export volumes...
(EnergyAsia, January 19 2010, Tuesday) — Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II) or RasGas said it has begun supplying an additional 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year to India’s Petronet LNG Limited, raising the long-term contract volume to 7.5 million t/y. As a result, Petronet has become RasGas’s largest...
(EnergyAsia, January 19 2010, Tuesday) — Oil traders are expected to continue using tankers as floating storage terminals in 2010 as oil prices continue to stay in contango and refiners continue to produce more than the world can consume. The contango — outer month prices staying above near months — is giving traders an strong...
(EnergyAsia, January 19 2010, Tuesday) — Iraq’s Oil Ministry has signed a 20-year contract for a Royal Dutch Shell plc-led consortium to provide technical assistance in developing its massive Majnoon oilfield. Shell is the operator with a 45% share while Petronas Carigali, the upstream subsidiary of Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petronas, holds a...
(EnergyAsia, January 19, Tuesday) — A leading think tank in Iran said the country’s energy sector needs to attract at least US$4.5 billion in immediate investments to ensure the economy does not face crippling supply crisis. In a report, the Majlis Research Centre, which is affiliated with Iran’s parliament, said the country would have to...
(EnergyAsia, January 18 2010, Monday — Indonesia’s coal miners said the country’s strengthening currency and a new mining rule limiting contract work could threaten the industry’s prospects this year. A new regulation restricting contractors to top soil stripping and product transportation is expected to increase operating costs for miners who will have to buy equipment...