(EnergyAsia, September 16, Wednesday) — Technics Oil and Gas Limited, a Singapore-listed service integrator of compression systems and process modules for the offshore oil and gas sector, said it has secured a repeat contract worth an estimated S$40 million from Vietnam’s Vietsovpetro (VSP) to provide topside equipments for wellhead satellite platforms in an offshore oil...

(EnergyAsia, September 16, Wednesday) — PT Oiltanking Merak, a unit of Germany’s oil storage specialist Oiltanking, said it has received and discharged the first vessel calling at its newly-built fuel terminal in Merak in Indonesia’s Banten province. The successful discharge of the MT Torm Mathilda on September 1, with the help of local and central...

(EnergyAsia, September 16, Wednesday) — Japan’s Toyota and other makers of fuel-efficient hybrid cars are looking to secure supplies of rare earth metals needed for the production of the motors and batteries. Toyota, which makes the popular Prius hybrid automobile, is among several Japanese firms showing strong interest in a Canadian rare earth site at...

(EnergyAsia, September 16, Wednesday) — Swiber Holdings Limited, a Singapore-listed company in the offshore industry, said it has teamed up with Alam Maritim Resources Berhad (AMRB), a Malaysian-listed established offshore marine transportation services provider, to tap offshore construction opportunities in the offshore market in Malaysia. The two companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)...

(EnergyAsia, September 16, Wednesday) — At a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior government and business leaders, Cairn India said it has started oil production from Mangala field in Rajasthan state. Mangala is the largest of 25 discoveries made by Cairn in the Barmer Basin in Block RJ-ON-90/1. The first flow...

(EnergyAsia, September 16, Wednesday) — Dutch oil and chemical logistics specialist Vopak said it has raised S$210 million in senior unsecured notes issued privately in Asia through 11 institutional investors. (US$1=S$1.43). The company said this is its first private placement notes issued in Asia for global funding purposes, following on several successful project financing programmes...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) said it, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and FTSE Group (FTSE) have launched the new FTSE ST Maritime Index. The new index, launched on September 1, reflects the strength of the maritime component of companies in the energy, offshore and shipping industries listed on SGX, and underlines...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — PetroChina International Investment Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PetroChina Company Limited, has agreed to pay C$1.9 billion for a 60% stake in the MacKay River and Dover oil sands projects of Canada’s Athabasca Oil Sands Corp (AOSC). The acquisition represents China’s largest investment in Canada. The agreements also provide...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) said it will participate in the public bidding of Kosmos Energy’s oil field in Ghana. General manager Fu Chengyu revealed that his company is interested to take up the 30% stake in the Jubilee field that Dallas, Texas-based Kosmos plans to sell to raise...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it will build a production verification plant in Nagasaki prefecture by autumn 2010 to prepare for its full-scale entry into the lithium-ion secondary battery market. The new plant, located within the company’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, will have a production capacity of...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — Air Products said its joint venture in India, INOX Air Products Ltd, has signed two new contracts to supply SunSource(TM) Solutions gases and materials to leading Indian photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers. INOX Air Products has signed a long-term gas supply contract to provide bulk and specialty gases to HHV Solar Technologies...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — China’s Trina Solar said it has obtained a five-year syndicated loan facility worth US$304 million to support its East Campus capacity expansion project. The loan bears a floating interest rate consisting of a premium over LIBOR and the basic rate of the People’s Bank of China for the US dollar...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — China Sunergy said it has initiated legal action with respect to bank guarantees related to its June 2008 supply agreement with REC, under which the Norwegian company would start delivery from Jan 1, 2009. REC had announced that it had decided to terminate a long-term take-or-pay contract with China Sunergy...

(EnergyAsia, September 15, Tuesday) — China’s LDK Solar said it has successfully completed the first production run and initiated production ramp-up of operations of its first 5,000 metric ton (MT) train at its polysilicon plant in Xinyu city.  The start-up operation at the 15,000-per-year plant capacity was witnessed by Su Rong, secretary of the Jiangxi...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — China’s LDK Solar said it has signed an agreement to develop up to 300MW of PV projects with Suqian city in China’s Jiangsu province. The projects will consist of buildings, plants and integration systems to be implemented by 2015. The terms, including financing, design and specific location of each of...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — Despite the slowdown in growth rate, China’s wind power industry continues to offer promising investment opportunities, said consultant Frost & Sullivan. The country’s installed capacity has risen at an above world average rate, from 402MW in 2001 to 12,150MW last year. By 2020, Frost & Sullivan estimates China’s installed capacity...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — China has emerged as a major economic and political force in Africa, rivalling the involvement of Western nations in the continent. Trade between Africa and China has provided critical revenue to poor African nations and at the same time helped the Asian country meet its massive energy demands. China, which...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — Japanese auto giant Nissan has introduced its first zero-emission vehicle, a sporty hatchback called Leaf, and promised that it will be sold at about the same price as a regular gasoline-engine car.   The Leaf, which has a range of 160 kilometres on a single battery charge, will be sold...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — Will Singapore be “promoted” to become an Annex 1 carbon-intensive economy in “recognition” of its high output of greenhouse gases?   The debate is intensifying in the run-up to this December’s UN global climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark that Singapore may lose its non-Annex 1 status exempting it from binding...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — China Sunergy said it has signed a series of sales contracts with NU Energy PTY Ltd, a photovoltaic firm based in Victoria, Australia. China Sunergy expects to ship up to a total of 10MW of monocrystalline solar modules, which are manufactured under sub-contracted OEM arrangement, to NU Energy, with partial...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — American Superconductor Corp, a Nasdaq-listed global energy technology company, said it has received its second order for a D-VAR system to meet dynamic reactive compensation requirements for the Chinese power grid. Beijing-based China National Machinery Industry Complete Engineering Corporation (CMCEC) will deploy the system to meet local grid interconnection requirements...

(EnergyAsia, September 14, Monday) — GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, and China’s Chongqing XinXing Fengneng Investment Co Ltd said they have formed a joint venture company to produce large diameter gears for the wind turbine industry. Chongqing XinXing Gear Co Ltd builds on 16 years of gear manufacturing experience in the automotive...

(EnergyAsia, September 11, Friday)— Germanischer Lloyd (GL), the international technical assurance and consulting company and ship classification society, said it has signed an agreement with Chinese Sinovel Wind Co Ltd to provide measurements for three of its wind turbine models: SL1500/82, SL3000/100 and SL3000/90. GL said the last wind turbine will be erected in the...

(EnergyAsia, September 11, Friday) — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has launched the Philippines’ first coconut-based biodiesel project in the northern town of Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte province on Luzon island. A joint Philippine-Japanese consortium is investing 3.5 billion peso to cultivate coconut on more than 1,000 hectares of grassland. (US$1=48 peso). It includes the establishment of...

(EnergyAsia, September 11, Friday) — American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC), a Nasdaq-listed energy technology company, said it has formed AMSC India to serve India’s rapidly growing wind energy and power grid markets with its power electronics and superconductor-based solutions. With its regional head office in Delhi and a service office in Pune, the new company will...