(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — The Paris, France-based World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (WLPGA) said it has appointed David Tyler as Director, Projects & Business Practices. His primary role will be to lead the association’s activities in the area of good practices in the industry. In addition, he will further consolidate the association’s programmes on (more…)
(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — South Korean firms are preparing to start work on developing the oil fields in Iraq’s oil-rich southern region of Basra. This followed last month’s non-binding agreement signed by the Presidents of the two countries in Iraq, allowing Korean companies to explore and produce oil in the war-torn Middle East country....
(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — The rapid increase in coal-based power generation capacity in India and China is speeding up the rate of global warming, an expert with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned. In fact, the damage was much worse than previously expected, said Chris Field in a recent report which...
(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — The oil industry will face a challenging future as signs point to an earlier than anticipated end to oil’s predominance in the global energy market, said management consultancy Arthur D.Little. In a report, Arthur D. Little questions the energy sector’s consensus view that demand for oil will rise ever higher,...
(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — Origin Energy has started construction work on a 550-megawatt (MW), gas-fired power station in Mortlake Power Station in Australia’s Victoria state. (US$1=A$1.5). The power station will be supplied with natural gas via a pipeline to be constructed from Port Campbell to the site delivering gas. The pipeline will deliver gas...
(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — US-based consultancy Energy Security Analysis Inc (ESAI) has predicted that oil refining margins in Asia will deteriorate on further contraction in the region’s oil product demand. Asia’s economies are decelerating under the weight of a looming world economic recession. Focusing on product supply in Asia six months out, ESAI’s recently...
(EnergyAsia, March 20, Friday) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that a slow global economy, declining commodity prices, and tighter credit markets are threatening to reverse the recent successes of Africa’s economies. “The gains of the past decade, during which many countries in sub-Saharan Africa saw sustained high rates of economic growth and...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — US major Chevron is preparing to sell off its 5% stake in India’s Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). While the companies declined to say what price RIL would be paying for the stake, Indian media reports suggest that RIL is prepare to pay close to Rs60 per...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — In a sign that China’s domestic market may swing into surplus, Sinopec is preparing eight of its refineries to begin exporting refined products in the coming weeks. Sinopec is Asia’s largest refiner.The refineries in Zhenhai, Maoming, Guangzhou, Jinling, Gaoqiao, Hainan, Dongxing and Qingdao have a combined processing capacity of two...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — Joining other countries, Russia said it is looking to set up a crude and oil products stockpile to take advantage of low oil prices.The Russian government is working on a plan to store up to 16 million tonnes of crude and products, said Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.Unlike China and...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd said it plans to import two million tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Qatar in the third quarter, marking the start of LNG trade between the two countries.China last year signed a 25-year term deal to import around 78 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar, the...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — The 12 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 28.07 million barrels per day (b/d) in February, as the cartel continued its efforts to slash oversupply and prevent oil prices falling further, according to a Platts survey of OPEC, oil industry officials and analysts....
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — Denmark’s Maersk Tankers said it is prepared to venture into the carbon dioxide transportation market to help promote carbon capture and storage (CCS), one of the technologies identified as key to mitigate the effects of climate change.“With this initiative we want to show industrial leadership by demonstrating we can act...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — Cambodia is being corrupted by its new oil and mining riches, and donor nations are aiding the process by not acting against the country’s political, business and military elite, said an anti-graft non-government organisation (NGO). In a hard-hitting report, Washington DC-based Global Witness warned that Cambodia’s future is being jeopardised by...
(EnergyAsia, March 19, Thursday) — The global financial crisis slashed the value of financial assets worldwide by a massive $50 trillion last year, with developing Asia suffering more than other emerging market regions, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB).A study commissioned by the bank found that losses on financial assets in developing Asia in 2008...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — Singapore-based Hitachi Asia Ltd has launched its S$80,000 Hitachi Environment Education Fund (HEEF), a joint initiative with Marsiling Secondary School. Aside from providing environmental education for the next generation, the fund seeks to nurture in Singapore youth the skills and responsibility for sustaining the environment. (US$1=S$1.54). The HEEF was announced (more…)
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — Europe could soon face an oversupply of carbon credits as the global recession worsens and weakens demand, traders said. Already, EU carbon prices are down almost 70% from last July when they traded at a two-year high. Traders said slower economic growth in Europe and around the world is undermining...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — Singapore needs to step up plans to expand its capacity for storing oil and petrochemical products as it is running up against land constraint, said industry and government officials. Land supply on the Jurong Island oil and petrochemicals hub is near exhausted, forcing the country to push for offshore storage...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill, has launched LNG TraderNet, an online service designed to provide traders, analysts, and the other members of the LNG community with “one-stop” market intelligence and analytical tools. The new web-based service features a comprehensive range of resources, including price assessments, fundamental market data,...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — Norway’s Flex LNG Management Ltd (Flex) and Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) have agreed to delay delivery dates for their planned four floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) units. Last December, Flex had put off finalising its deal with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) for construction of the world’s first floating LNG...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — The rapid rollout of transport infrastructure in China has helped catalysed its economic growth, but attention must now shift to developing environmentally sustainable transport systems that can help cut the country’s heavy reliance on oil, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In a new publication, Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Transport in...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said it will begin offering thermal coal futures and options contracts from April 21. It will also offer contracts for New Zealand electricity and gas futures contracts shortly after. These products are the first tranche in a suite of new energy and environmental products that...
(EnergyAsia, March 18, Wednesday) — Seventeen Asian institutions of learning including China’s Tsinghua University and the Indian Institute of Technology are represented in an international consortium to advance the cause of clean coal technology. The Consortium for Clean Coal Utilisation was recently launched by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton of the Washington University in St. Louis...
(EnergyAsia, March 17, Tuesday) — Asia’s over-the-counter (OTC) oil product derivatives markets showed signs of recovery in February after being hit hard by the global credit crisis and the volatility in oil prices. Traders said there was more confidence and volume in the market as evidenced by the improved liquidity. Fears of credit defaults appeared...
(EnergyAsia, March 17, Tuesday) — Russia appears to be taking a more active interest in dealing with water and energy issues in neighbouring Central Asia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently signaled Moscow’s increased activism when he said planned projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan should only proceed if they took into account the interests of other...