UltraBattery, will help the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as it will soon be introduced and distributed around the world. CSIRO said Japan’s Furukawa Battery Company, which has begun production of the UltraBattery, and US manufacturer, East Penn, have signed an international commercialisation and distribution agreement for the technology. The UltraBattery combines an enhanced-power...

it has signed a sales contract with China National Automation Control System Corp (CACS) for the sale of five 2.7MW wind turbines. Delivery of the five units is planned to take place in the fourth quarter. These wind turbines will be the first to be produced at A-Power’s new wind turbine production facility in Shenyang...

of forged rolled rings to the wind power and other industries and industrial equipment to the textile and energy industries in China, said it has agreed to supply rolled rings to a wind power parts manufacturer and a heavy machinery company. It will supply gear-rim fabricator Wuxi Lida Gear Manufacturing Co Ltd rolled rings measuring...

integrated engineering and procurement specialist supporting the energy and utility sectors in Asia, said it has secured its first contract to sell coal through subsidiary Alton International Resources Pte Ltd (AIR). AIR recently signed a one-year coal contract with Swastik Coal Corporation Private Limited of India’s Swastik Group to provide 12 shipments of quality coal...

five-million euro contract to consult on the expansion of the Theun Hinboun hydropower project in central Laos. The project involves the construction of a 70-metre high roller compacted concrete dam, a six-km long tunnel, two power Stations (220 MW and 60 MW), two transmission lines, one connecting to the Thai grid and one connecting to...

venturing into the floating oil storage terminals business through the proposed acquisition of a 51% stake in Southport Freight Services Sdn Bhd. Baneng said it has signed a memorandum of agreement to buy over the stake from Southport shareholders. The purchase price would be determined once it had finalised a share sale agreement on or...

natural gas generated during oil production is estimated to be worth US$4 billion, said government officials in Baghdad. The Shell project, the first by a major since the US-led invasion began in 2003, will help Iraq use more than 21 million cubic metres of the gas for power generation and cooking instead of being flared...

traders for excise taxes that they have already paid before Bangkok’s decision to cut excise tax for ethanol-based gasoline and diesel effective July 25. The government has set aside 600 million baht to compensate the oil traders. The money will come from Thailand’s state oil fund which has cash reserves of 3 billion baht. (US$1=33...

in the offshore industry, said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kreuz Engineering Limited, has entered into agreements for the sale and leaseback of five vessels in a deal worth US$225 million. Swiber said the move will enable it to finance its fleet expansion plan, particularly deepwater and subsea vessels, without straining its balance sheet and improve its...

by the first quarter of next year. Local officials said construction of the 130,000 b/d refinery is more than 97% completed. PetroVietnam deputy general director Truong Van Tuyen told local reporters that the plant will begin producing fuel as early as February, and eventually will help meet up to one third of the needs of...

will help avert a meltdown in the world’s financial system but will inflict higher inflation and higher interest rates on the economy, said Canada’s CIBC World Markets. “While the cost of taking another path will never be known, the cost of the one chosen is clear enough,” said Jeff Rubin, chief economist and chief strategist...

cracking unit at its 220,000 b/d Chiba refinery near Tokyo. (US$1=107 yen). The upgrade, to be completed by 2011, will boost the refinery’s naphtha and propylene output by 260,000 kilolitres per year at the expense of heavy fuel for which demand has declined. The refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit has a capacity of 45,000 b/d....

Sonatrach, with an extension to May 2011. The arrangement is for the stockpiling 4.6 million barrels of crude oil. Under the deal, South Korea has first rights to buy the stockpiled crude oil in the event of an emergency leading to an oil shortage. The country has joint stockpile deals with a number of other...

southern port of Yeosu to six million barrels by 2011. The project is aimed at positioning South Korea as a major oil storage hub in Northeast Asia. The joint venture partners include run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), refiner SK Energy, GS-Caltex, Oiltanking Asia Pacific and Glencore Singapore. KNOC, which holds a 29% stake, plans...

2015 if all expansion projects are realised, consultants Proleads said in a new study. According to the research firm, world oil production could hit 108 million b/d by 2015, up from 87 million b/d now, with about half of the incremental production coming from the GCC region. Prolead’s analysis is based on tracking nearly 300...

would jointly build two new oil refineries with Chinese companies in China as it looks to step up ties with the world’s second largest oil consumer. Speaking at the start of his visit to Beijing, Mr Chavez said the refineries would use heavy Venezuelan crude oil that will be shipped in by a new joint...

impact assessment (DEIA) and environmental protection plan (EPP) for its Ulaan Ovoo coal project in that country. The approval by the Ministry of Nature and the Environment is required under Mongolia’s 2006 Minerals Law and 1995 Environmental Protection Law, said the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company. Red Hill Energy said Ulaan Ovoo contains 208.8 million tonnes...