proliferative nuclear fuel technology and consultant for emerging nuclear programmes, said it and Punj Lloyd Group, an India-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU establishes a framework to explore and identify the strengths of Thorium Power in deploying its nuclear fuel designs in India, Southeast Asia...

demonstration plant in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province started operations early this month. The project is being undertaken by the Japan Coal Energy Center (JCOAL), in which Kobe Steel is a member, and is supported by Japan‘s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Total investment is expected to reach eight billion yen, of which METI...

industry is expected to lose a record $5 billion this year and $2.5 billion for 2009. All regions, except the US, are expected to report larger losses in 2009 than in 2008. Calling these conditions the worst in over 50 years, IATA unveiled grim news on all fronts except for the outlook on oil prices...

the near term as rising stocks and weak demand force panicked regional producers to seek new markets for refined products, said US-based consultant ESAI. This is the outlook presented in the December edition of the Pacific Basin Stockwatch Marketview, released by petroleum market analysts at the Wakefield, Massachusetts firm. ESAI expects Chinese and Indian oil...

even stop investing in much-needed new projects, raising the spectre of severe shortages and oil shocks in the future. If investments are postponed today, the world would face an oil supply crunch once demand  recovers, warned Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA). Oil firms have been cutting back capital budgets around...

costs for many of its planned new refineries to decline significantly. Material, engineering and labour costs are showing signs of easing as the world economy slows down rapidly to the point of recession.   The company is trying to delay or renegotiate some key projects, including two  400,000 b/d refinery joint ventures, one with France’s...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it is set to deliver a jackup rig ahead of schedule to Virtue Drilling, an associate company of India’s Jindal Drilling & Industries. Construction of the rig VIRTUE I, was achieved with a clean safety record of about 2.1 million manhours worked without incidents. “In...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Listed downstream firm Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) has issued a warning to investors that its 2008 earnings have been severely weakened as a result of the steep falls in crude and product prices. It said: “The drastic slowdown in refined products demand in the second half of 2008 has...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said it has signed a one-year trading agreement for BP Singapore Pte Ltd (BPS) to supply “a small portion” of its monthly jet fuel requirements for redistribution to China from January 1. Meng Fanqiu, CAO’s CEO, said: “The new business cooperation with BPS...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Even though oil prices have fallen from a US$147 per barrel peak in July to around US$45 now, the era of cheap oil is over, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest research finding. With the current crisis, there is a widening gap between oil firms’ investments in...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — The 13 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 31.38 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in November, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials. This is a decline of 880,000 from the October level of 32.26 million...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — The International Energy Agency has predicted world oil demand to fall by 200,000 b/d in 2008 for the first decline since 1983. Its latest forecast for world demand has been revised down to 85.8 million b/d from last month’s 86.15 million b/d. For 2009, the Paris-based agency expects demand to...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — A severe economic recession will cause world oil demand to shrink by 50,000 b/d in 2008 and by 450,000 b/d in 2009, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its latest forecast which cast a pall on world oil prices, the agency said this will mark the first time...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — Germany’s Siemens Energy said it has been awarded a 200-million euro order by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to help expand the power supply network of Dubai in the UAE. The order comprises delivery of two turnkey transformer substations for the 400 kV/132 kV voltage levels, which include...

(EnergyAsia, December 17, Wednesday) — India was the only Asian country placed among the world’s top 25 for their performance in protecting the climate in the latest ranking of the 56 leading carbon dioxide-emitting nations by watchdogs Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe. India came in seventh on the index’s annual score board, far ahead...

established presence in South Korea with the recent opening of a new service centre and office in Eomgung in Busan city. Wärtsilä said the new centre will enable it to centralise its existing finance and administration services, ship power, power plants and industrial operations business units in South Korea. “Our operations in Korea have expanded...

up of its new refinery in Jamnagar in Gujarat state, taking into account the weak state of the world oil markets. It is expected to operate only half the capacity of the 29-million tonne per year refinery in view of the weak demand for oil products in key export markets. The Rs270-billion plant is expected...

agreement for a key Caspian Sea oil venture, more than doubling its ownership stake. State energy firm KazMunaiGaz will now hold more than 16.81% in the Kashagan venture, equivalent to the stakes held by its partners Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total. ConocoPhillips of the US and Japan’s INPEX each retain 8.4% and 7.56% respectively. The...

study that called for US$450 billion to be invested each year to produce 45 million b/d of new oil output by 2030 to meet rising demand. The bulk of the money would need to be spent in OPEC countries, the IEA said. The oil cartel’s secretary-general Abdullah al-Badri slammed the forecast as “alarmist.” OPEC had...

Arabia will likely be delayed due to cost considerations. Construction of the 400,000 b/d project, a venture between Total and Saudi Aramco, was expected to start in early 2009. Some officials argue that construction costs could decline from their recent record highs and the project may become cheaper as the global recession takes hold. Saudi...

non-Chinese equity partner in “GreenGen,” the first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage which is under development in China.   Peabody joined the initiative at a formal signing ceremony at the prestigious State Guest House in Beijing last week. The agreement was announced during the Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and...

Corp (AMSC) said it has agreed to let Chinese industrial equipment manufacturer Shenyang Blower Works (Group) (SBW) develop and sell wind turbines globally. Nasdaq-listed AMSC said its wholly owned subsidiary, AMSC Windtec, will provide SBW with designs for its 2MW doubly-fed induction wind turbines. The CEOs of the two companies signed the agreement in a...

another three coal gasification process (SCGP) licensing agreements in China, bringing the total number in the country to 19. The latest deals include an agreement which was registered with the Chinese government on November 10 involving Shell and two-time licence holder Yunnan Yuntianhua Co Ltd (YYTH), Shell’s third repeat SCGP user. YYTH is expected to...