(EnergyAsia, April 3, Friday) — American Superconductor Corp (AMSC), a Nasdaq-listed energy technologies company, said it has expanded its strategic alliance with Shanghai Electric Cable Research Institute (SECRI) and has received a new order for AMSC’s high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire. SECRI will use the HTS wire to develop and manufacture a 30-meter-long, 35 kilovolt...

(EnergyAsia, April 3, Friday) — US engineering giant KBR said it has been awarded a contract by BP, on behalf of Azerbaijan International Oil Company (AIOC), to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for the Chirag oil project in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. KBR said it will provide FEED and procurement...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — China is planning to build two wind and two hydro power plants with a total capacity of more than 2,000MW.The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved the construction of a 230MW hydropower station in Sichuan province and a 220MW hydro plant one in Guizhou province.The wind farm projects...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — Chinese solar water heater producer Himin Solar Energy Group is planning to launch an initial public offering of its shares next year.The company aims to issue China-listed A-shares but it is also looking at plans for listing its stock on an overseas exchange.Himin said it plans to invest one-billion yuan...

 (EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — The Russian economy is expected to contract by 4.5% in 2009, compared with last year’s 5.6% growth, said the World Bank, which also predicts that the country’s fiscal surplus last year will turn to a sizeable deficit.Unemployment could reach 12% by year end as the financial crisis threatens to revese...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — India’s Tamil Nadu state is investing in energy efficiency in the state’s water services and street lighting in 29 of its 45 city authorities, said the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). Power bills typically represent 40-60% of the total costs of running urban water plants.In response to this,...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — French engineering firm AREVA said its transmission and distribution (T&D) division has launched eight factories on three sites in India last week.The sites are located in Vadodara city in Gujarat state, and in Hosur and Padappai in Tamil Naidu state. Driven by the Indian market’s growing demand for electrical equipment...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, and Nasdaq-listed A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd, said they have signed agreements for the GE unit to supply A-Power with 2.7 megawatt wind turbine gearboxes and to establish a joint venture partnership for a wind turbine gearbox manufacturing plant in China. The...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — Developing Asia should rebalance growth to endure the global crisis and boost its resilience to large external shocks in the long run, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB).In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO 2009) report, the ADB said that the ongoing global financial and economic crises have underlined the risks...

(EnergyAsia, April 2, Thursday) — Developing Asia’s economic growth will slow in 2009 to its most sluggish pace since the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a new major report.Its flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook 2009 (ADO 2009), has forecast economic growth in developing Asia to slide to...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — Taiwan’s state-run oil firm CPC is considering building a new refinery in the city port of Kaohsiung in the southern part of the island. The proposed 200,000 b/d refinery would be sited near the company’s existing 220,000 b/d plant which is due to be shut down by 2015 amid growing...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — The city of Manila will not force a relocation of the Pandacan oil depot. The city council recently voted 20 to 11 in favour of allowing the depot to continue operating despite concerns that it could become a target for terrorist due to its location in a densely populated residential...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — Citing unfavourable market conditions, Indian downstream company Essar Oil said it will delay work on expanding its refinery in Gujarat state in north-western India. The company had planned to debottleneck and expand the capacity at the 12.5-million-tonne per year refinery in Vadinar to 16 million tonnes by end-2010. A second...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) has started up its newly completed 240,000 b/d refinery in Huizhou in Guangdong province. The company is planning to raise throughput at the plant to 80% of capacity by next month. Officials said they expect China’s domestic fuels demand to slump on account of...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — PetroChina said its affiliate, Xinjiang Oilfield Corporation, is boosting its crude oil storage capacity in the country’s western region by 60%. By 2010, the company expects to add 450,000 cubic metres of capacity to its Wangjiagou oil storage facility in the Xinjiang region, boosting capacity to 1.2 million cubic metres...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — NYSE-listed McDermott International Inc said its subsidiary, J. Ray McDermott SA, has been awarded the Karan offshore platforms and subsea pipelines project by Saudi Aramco. The project involves work inside Saudi Arabia and outside the kingdom. Once complete, the facility will have a production capacity of 1,800 million cubic feet...

(EnergyAsia, April 1, Wednesday) — A total of 29 countries representing over 60% of global biofuels production have established the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (www.globalrfa.org). The alliance of industry associations from Canada, the US, and 27 European countries will promote and support biofuels friendly policies internationally so that all countries can harness the significant economic,...

(EnergyAsia, March 31, Tuesday) — The Asia Pacific region is facing its worst crisis from a coincidence of threats brought on by food and fuel price volatility, climate threats and the breakdown in the world financial system, said a UN agency. In its annual survey of the region, the UN Economic and Social Commission for...

asset write-downs and weakening demand caused its net profit to fall 47.34% last year to 29.77 billion yuan. (US$1=6.85 yuan). Revenue for the world’s second-largest refiner after Exxon Mobil rose 21% to 1.42 trillion yuan. Reporting on its first profit decline in seven years, Sinopec, short for China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, said in a...

exporter, Qatar. Last June, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), which operates the country’s only LNG import terminal, has signed to import two million tonnes of LNG per year under a 25-year deal. CNOOC has established an office in Doha to deepen ties with Qatar and other Middle East suppliers. CNOOC reckons that it will...

 the exchange’s benchmark. Aramco is believed to link its crude against US West Texas Intermediate and Platts’ quotes. In 2007, the DME launched an Oman futures contract as it sought to establish a new pricing benchmark for oil exports from the Middle East to markets in Asia. Should Aramco move towards incorporating DME pricing into...