the surrounding areas in West Java and Banten has been seriously damaged in an explosion and fire. There were no reports of human casualties. Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina, which owns and operates the 27-tank depot in Plumpang in northern Jakarta, said a five-million-litre gasoline tank was destroyed in the incident on January 18. Officials...

Zhenhua Oil have become the first foreign oil companies to be allowed back to work in Iraq in 30 years. Officials from both countries confirm that the two companies have begun work to develop the Al-Ahdab oilfield in Wasit province in eastern Iraq. The US$3 billion project is a follow-through on a contract signed in...

interests (PATMI) for 2008 fell 55.4% to S$229.7 million while revenues rose 26.9% to a record S$11.1 billion. (US$1=S$1.5). World crude oil prices started the year strongly, breaking through US$100 a barrel for the first time and rising to a record US$147.21 on July 11 before crashing to a low of US$33 in December. The...

ratings of ‘AA minus’ to Thai Oil Public Company Limited (TOP)’s new unsecured and unsubordinated debentures with the issue size of 5 billion to 10 billion baht, and up to seven year maturity. It has described the outlook for the issue as stable. The proceeds from these new debentures will be earmarked for working capital,...

49% of Vietnam’s first oil refinery due to come onstream next month. The Vietnamese government is believed to favour selling part of the refinery in the central province of Dung Quat to companies which can supply crude oil. UK oil major BP, which has significant investments in the country, is reported to be a lead...

Development Bank (ADB) to make its energy sector cleaner and more efficient. ADB said it will provide three technical assistance grants totalling $2.8 million to support government initiatives to reduce sulphur dioxide gas emissions, increase energy savings and strengthen a fund that supports clean energy projects. Over the past two decades, China’s economy has grown...

recession, between $25 and $30 trillion of fresh infrastructure investment will be pumped into the global economy over the next two decades, said a major Canadian bank. In a new report, CIBC World Markets described it as governments all over the world “buying jobs”. Senior economist Benjamin Tal said: “And the infrastructure sector is where...

natural gas (LNG) from its fourth train sometime in February, more than six months behind the original deadline. The new train will have the capacity to produce 7.8 million tonnes of LNG, and could contribute to further weakness in the world LNG markets. Producers are reeling from slumping global demand and difficulty in obtaining financing....

crude oil in tankers berthed in the waters of the US Gulf, Asia and the Middle East as part of their trading strategy. With the oil markets in significant contango, traders are able to realise profits simply by buying and storing the oil now and selling them off later in the year. The oil is...

its recent military invasion of the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv has defended the 22-day war on the grounds that Hamas and other Islamic militant groups had been launching missile attacks on Israel from Gaza. The invasion has resulted in the death of more than 1,300 Palestinians including hundreds of children. Some commentators have alleged that...

used by the Tamil Tigers militia who appear to be losing ground in their war for a separate state. The storage facility comprising 300 plastic barrels held mostly diesel fuel that was a vital resource in the Tigers’ war effort. The Defence Ministry said they uncovered the underground terminal at a coconut grove in Sri...

first 11 months of 2008 on the back of record high oil prices, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Saudi Arabia’s oil earnings placed at the top of OPEC which earned around US$925 billion in the first 11 months, compared with $671 billion for the same period in 2007. In second place is the...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — To pay for its multi-trillion dollar bailout and stimulus packages, the Obama administration will print money at an unprecedented rate, a course that will drive up inflation and drive down the greenback while shifting a large part of the financial burden onto foreign investors, said CIBC World Markets. In a...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — The emerging de-linkage of spot gas prices in Europe from traditional oil-indexed levels will continue out to 2012, posing a challenge to major gas suppliers, said independent energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. Reduced regional demand expectations combined with rising near-term supply will pull prices down to North American price levels,...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — OPEC is predicting that world oil demand will fall further this year to follow on 2008’s decline.   In its latest monthly report, the oil cartel said world oil demand fell by 100,000 b/d last year for its first year of negative growth since 1983. It said the erosion in...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — Qatar’s Energy City, a global trading hub for the oil and gas industry, is in course to start up in mid-2010, said CEO Hesham Al Emadi. Construction of its infrastructure is 70% complete and international companies are still signing up to set up operations despite the weakness in oil prices....

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP) have announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a clean energy test-bedding community (CETC) to encourage the development and adoption of clean energy technologies and solutions among businesses in Singapore. The organisations said the community would provide a platform...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it has delivered the third of four high efficiency jackup rigs to Maersk Drilling (previously Maersk Contractors), on time and incident-free. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Limited. “Keppel FELS looks forward to deliver as many as 14 rigs in 2009. The...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company (MDC) is aiming to advance renewable energy solutions and technology to markets around the world, said chief executive Sultan Al Jaber in his keynote speech at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. While acknowledging the current global economic downturn, he noted that the...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — China’s ET Solar Group said it has signed a sales agreement with USE, a large German photovoltaic product integrator and distributor. ET Solar will deliver a total of 13MW of high-efficiency solar modules to USE between January and November 2009. Dennis She, ET Solar’s vice president and chief sales officer,...

(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Chemoil said its joint venture with India’s Adani Enterprises has started supplying marine fuel in India from Mundra Port, the country’s largest private port, located in the western state of Gujarat. The start-up marks Chemoil as the first international bunker supplier to venture into the Indian market, and positions...

(EnergyAsia, January 23, Friday) — US engineering giant Fluor Corporation said it has assisted in the successful start-up of a production platform in China’s northeastern Bohai Bay. The platform is operating in the Phase 2 project of the Peng Lai (PL) 19-3 blocks. Fluor said Platforms D and E are expected to come onstream later...