(EnergyAsia, August 26 2013, Monday) — Nigeria’s state revenue for July plunged 42% to 498 billion naira from the previous month due largely to theft and losses in crude oil flows that feed over 80% of the government’s budget. (US$1=161 naira). The losses could mount and become permanent if the government proceeds to pass a...

(EnergyAsia, August 26 2013, Monday) — At least four workers have died and five others reported missing after fire damaged the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) refinery in India’s Andhra Pradesh state last Friday. The death toll will most certainly rise with another 39 workers injured when a cooling tower under construction exploded at the...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2013, Friday) — Ghana will have a second major oil-producing area comprising the three offshore fields of Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) in 2016, said operator Tullow of the UK, which helped launch the first at Jubilee in 2010. Located in the Deepwater Tano contract area 60 km off the coast of...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2013, Friday) — Residents and fishermen in Manila Bay’s Cavite coastal villages hit by a second major oil spill in three years are demanding that Philippine state-owned Petron shut down a nearby oil storage depot believed to be the cause of the leaks. Through the newly formed Close Petron Depot Movement (CPDM),...

(EnergyAsia, August 22 2013, Thursday) — The Nigerian government is pushing for a showdown with the oil majors amid accusations that the companies are involved in organised theft and corruption followed by threats to revoke the award of a major offshore block. Last month, a top adviser to the President said the majors were complicit...

(EnergyAsia, August 21 2013, Wednesday) — Petroleo Brasileiro or Petrobras said it has agreed to sell US$2.1 billion worth of oil and petrochemical assets, the bulk to China’s Sinochem Group, to lighten up its debt burden to fund a massive investment programme through 2017. Sinochem Group will pay US$1.54 billion for the Brazilian state firm’s...

(EnergyAsia, August 21 2013, Wednesday) — Oil and gas companies are looking beyond Nigeria, Ghana and Angola as they scour West Africa’s smaller countries like Ivory Coat and Senegal for new offshore riches. In April, Total E&P Côte d’Ivoire, a subsidiary of the French major, announced it found a rich layer of “high-quality oil” in...

(EnergyAsia, August 20 2013, Tuesday) — As it continues to raise output and find favour with investors, Angola could overtake troubled Nigeria to become Africa’s largest crude oil producer by mid-decade. Angola’s production could rise 15% to reach two million b/d by 2015 while Nigeria’s current output of 2.3 to 2.4 million b/d may decline...

(EnergyAsia, August 20 2013, Tuesday) — Ghana’s economy is expected to grow by 8% this year, up from last year’s 7.1%, on rising earnings from oil, cocoa and gold exports and large investments in the extractive industries, public infrastructure and commercial agriculture, said the African Economic Development Bank (AfDB). The West African country has also...

(EnergyAsia, August 19 2013, Monday) — Nigeria could see further sharp declines in both its oil production and reserves if the government insists on raising taxes while failing to address the growing threats posed to the industry by theft, corruption and terrorism, said two of the country’s largest foreign investors. ExxonMobil has warned the government...

(EnergyAsia, August 19 2013, Monday) — A decade after being at the centre of Africa’s deadliest war, Congo’s oil-dependent economy is just starting to show signs of recovery but continues to perform well below potential. Still among the continent’s poorest countries, the resource-rich West African nation can look forward to a stable period of healthy...

(EnergyAsia, August 16 2013, Friday) — Crude oil prices climbed to recent month highs as military conflicts in Egypt and Libya reignited fears that geopolitical unrest are poised to threaten supplies from the volatile Middle East-North Africa region. Brent oil prices surged above US$111 per barrel to a four-month high in London yesterday on fears...

(EnergyAsia, August 16 2013, Friday) — China will overtake the US to become the world’s largest net oil importer in October, predicts the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its August short-term energy outlook report, the EIA said China’s net oil imports will exceed those of the US by October 2013 on a monthly basis,...

(EnergyAsia, August 15 2013, Thursday) — Minute air-borne particles released by coal combustion in northern China have been found to cause various serious illnesses that drastically shorten life spans, according to a recent study jointly conducted by researchers from China, Israel and the US. The study estimates that 500 million residents in northern China have...

(EnergyAsia, August 15 2013, Thursday) — The Chinese government has re-affirmed its commitment to a programme to achieve certain targets on carbon emissions reduction, energy savings and environmental technology investment by 2020 in an attempt to clean its polluted air and water supplies. But China’s coal use, already the world’s largest, will continue to grow...

(EnergyAsia, August 14 2013, Wednesday) — China’s coal sector is rapidly depleting the country’s scarce water resources and causing pre-mature deaths of thousands of people, according to two recent studies published by Greenpeace. Last month, the environmental group released a report accusing China’s largest coal miner, Shenhua Group, of draining and poisoning vital water supplies...