US: Shale boom helping gas-to-liquids and lubricant base stock manufacturing, says Kline & Company

(EnergyAsia, June 13 2013, Thursday) — The boom in shale gas development and supply in North America has sparked a surge in gas use as a transportation fuel, gas-to-liquids production and lubricant base stock manufacturing, said New Jersey-based consultant Kline & Company. With shale gas production forecast to grow to nearly 13 trillion cubic fee (more…)

SOUTH KOREA: GS Energy in talks with Petrobras to build oil refinery in Brazil

(EnergyAsia, June 13 2013, Thursday) — Brazil’s main energy company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras, said it has agreed with South Korea’s GS Holdings Corp to look into jointly building a 300,000 b/d oil refinery in the Latin American country. Petrobras said it has signed a letter of intent with GS Energy Corp, a subsidiary...

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CHINA: Coal demand to remain strong through 2015, say analysts

(EnergyAsia, June 12 2013, Tuesday) — US and Chinese analysts expect China’s coal demand to remain strong through 2015 despite recent reports of slowing power demand in response to weaker economic growth. The new government of President Xi Jinping has also announced that it plans to cap the nation’s coal demand to between four and...

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AUSTRALIA: South East Asia Resources Ltd to acquire Tasmanian coal project

(EnergyAsia, June 12 2013, Wednesday) — Australia-listed South East Asia Resources Ltd said its wholly-owned subsidiary, South East Asia Energy Resources (Australia) Pty Ltd (SEA), has exercised its option to acquire Tiger Coal Pty Ltd and Energy Investments Pty Ltd which owns three coal exploration licences on Tasmania island. SEA has established a wholly owned (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Altona says CNOOC to fund multi-billion dollar project to convert coal to liquid fuels

(EnergyAsia, June 12 2013, Wednesday) — China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) will provide “significant funding” to help develop a multi-billion dollar plant in South Australia state to convert coal to liquid fuels, said project developer and partner Altona Energy. The London AIM-listed firm said the state government has agreed to extend its exploration licences...

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AUSTRALIA: BHP Billiton sells off stakes in Browse LNG projects to PetroChina

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2013, Tuesday) — Australia’s BHP Billiton said it has completed the sale of its shareholdings in two US$45 billion offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) ventures in Western Australia to a PetroChina subsidiary. (US$1=A$1.05). Australia’s largest mining firm owned a 8.33% interest in the East Browse project and 20% stake in the West (more…)

ASIA: Germany’s BASF to invest €10 billion, create 9,000 jobs and achieve €25 billion in sales between 2013 and 2020

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2013, Tuesday) — Germany’s BASF has unveiled its “smart growth” strategy for the Asia Pacific region with plans to invest 10-billion euro, create 9,000 new jobs, achieve 25-billion-euro in sales and realise one billion euro in efficiency measures over the next seven years. (US$1=0.75 euro). The global chemical giant said it is (more…)

VIETNAM: Tata Power wins 100 billion rupee contract to build 1,200MW coal-fired power plant

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2013, Tuesday) — India’s Tata Power Company Ltd said it has secured a 100-billion-rupee contract to build a 1,200MW coal-fired supercritical power plant in Vietnam. (US$1=55 rupees). The company said it was awarded the contract by the Vietnamese government to build the Long Phu 2 project comprising two 660-MW units which is...

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AUSTRALIA: GVK Hancock picks Thiess as main contractor for A$10-billion Alpha coal project

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2013, Monday) — India’s GVK Group has selected Australia’s Thiess as the main contractor to develop and operate its A$10 billion Alpha thermal coal project in the Galilee basin in Queensland state. (US$1=A$0.96). Subsidiary GVK Hancock Coal has set out a plan to develop the giant Alpha deposit over a 10-year period, (more…)

COMPANY: Gunvor Singapore signs US$850 million revolving credit facility

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2013, Monday) — Energy trader Gunvor Group said wholly owned subsidiary Gunvor Singapore Pte Ltd has secured US$850 million in credit from a syndicate of 24 international financial institutions. The revolving credit facility will be used to refinance another facility obtained last year as well as pay for general corporate and working (more…)

AUSTRALIA: India’s Lanco aims to raise Griffin Coal production capacity by four times

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2013, Monday) — Indian industrial group Lanco Infratech is preparing to invest A$1 billion to expand the production capacity of its Griffin Coal subsidiary in Australia by four times to 16 million tonnes. (US$1=A$0.96). Lanco, which acquired Griffin Coal for about A$730 million in March 2011, plans to export the additional output...

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MYANMAR: ADB says energy sector critical to nation’s transformation

(EnergyAsia, June 7 2013, Friday) — Myanmar’s abundant energy resources will play a key role in the nation’s transformation and re-integration into the global economy, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In a just released report, “The New Energy Architecture: Myanmar”, the bank said Myanmar could emerge as the next Southeast Asian economic frontier and (more…)

SINGAPORE: German chemical giant Lanxess opens 400-million-euro butyl rubber plant

(EnergyAsia, June 7 2013, Friday) — Germany’s Lanxess has officially opened its 400-million-euro plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island to produce premium halobutyl rubber and regular butyl rubber for use in a wide range of products including tyres, pharmaceuticals, protective clothing, shoe soles, adhesives and chewing gum. (US$1=0.76 euro). The Leverkusen-based chemical giant, which has made (more…)

MONGOLIA: Prophecy Coal’s subsidiaries sign 25-year supply agreement to fuel power plant

(EnergyAsia, June 7 2013, Friday) — Chandgana Coal LLC has agreed to supply coal to Prophecy Power Generation (PPG) LLC for a 600MW power plant being developed about two km from the Chandgana mine in Mongolia, said Prophecy Coal, which owns both companies. Canada-based Prophecy Coal, which is developing energy projects in Mongolia, said Chandgana...

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RUSSIA: Mechel signs new agreement to supply coking coal to China’s Shasteel Group

(EnergyAsia, June 6 2013, Thursday) — Mechel OAO, a leading Russian mining and metals company, said the trading subsidiary of its mining division has signed a new agreement to supply coking coal to China’s Shasteel Group. Mechel Carbon (Singapore) will supply Shasteel Group with 40,000 to 80,000 tonnes of coking coal a month from ports (more…)

CHINA: Annual thermal coal demand to double to almost seven billion tonnes by 2030, says Wood Mackenzie

(EnergyAsia, June 6 2013, Thursday) — China’s coal appetite will not let up, leading to demand to double to nearly seven billion tonnes per year by 2030, said consultant Wood Mackenzie. In its report titled “China: The Illusion of Peak Coal”, the consultant said that despite official efforts to limit coal consumption and increase the (more…)

US: Coal consumption to rise 7.3% this year on power demand and substitution for natural gas

(EnergyAsia, June 6 2013, Thursday) — US coal consumption is expected to surge 7.3% this year on a combination of rising power demand and increased substitution for natural gas as feedstock, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its most recent monthly forecast issued in May, the EIA projected US coal consumption to top 955...

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INDONESIA: Australia’s Leighton unit suspends work at two coal mines over payment dispute

(EnergyAsia, June 5 2013, Wednesday) — Australia’s Leighton Holdings said its subsidiary Thiess has suspended work at two Indonesian coal mines since April 26 over a payment dispute with their owner PT Arutmin Indonesia. The Australian mining contractor said Thiess has stopped operations at the Senakin and Satui mines in southeast Kalimantan which produced about (more…)

AZERBAIJAN: Singapore’s Keppel O&M secures contract to build US$800 million semisubmersible rig

(EnergyAsia, June 5 2013, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) said it has secured a contract from Caspian Drilling Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), to build a US$800 million semisubmersible drilling rig that includes furnished equipment. Keppel O&M said it will deliver the (more…)

INDONESIA: Coal miner Adaro secures US$380 million loan

(EnergyAsia, June 5 2013, Wednesday) — Indonesian coal miner PT Adaro Energy Tbk said wholly owned subsidiary PT Adaro Indonesia has secured a US$380 million amortising loan facility that will mature in May 2020. The company said its application was oversubscribed 7.5 times, with 12 international banks committing to lend a total of US$2.85 billion....

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AUSTRALIA: Queensland state approves India’s GVK-owned coal mine project at Kevin’s Corner

(EnergyAsia, June 4 2013, Tuesday) — Australia’s Queensland state government has given the environmental approval for India’s GVK Group to develop its A$4.2 billion coal mine in Kevin’s Corner near the town of Alpha. (US$1=A$1.03). Subsidiary GVK Hancock Galilee is proposing to develop an underground and open-cut mine together with infrastructure to produce 30 million...

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VIETNAM: Sembcorp’s 1,200MW plant to be included in national power development master plan

(EnergyAsia, June 4 2013, Tuesday) — The Vietnamese government has approved and included a 1,200MW coal-fired power plant by Sembcorp Industries in the country’s power development master plan for 2011 to 2020, the company said. The Singapore firm said subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities has also been appointed by the Vietnamese government to own and develop the (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Coal labour dispute to continue after last week’s Port Waratah strike

(EnergyAsia, June 4 2013, Tuesday) — The lingering dispute between workers and the operator of one of the world’s largest coal ports in Australia’s Queensland state is expected to continue through mid-year after unions successfully organised a series of short strikes last month. Hundreds of workers walked off at Newcastle’s Port Waratah for 24 hours...

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AUSTRALIA: Waratah Coal wins renewal of project facilitation status for A$8 billion mine in Queensland state

(EnergyAsia, June 3 2013, Monday) — Australia’s Waratah Coal said it has secured renewal from the Federal government for project facilitation of its A$8 billion China First coal project in Queensland state. (US$1=A$1.03). The Brisbane-based company said it plans to build a thermal coal mine in the new Galilee Basin coal region near Alpha, west...

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CHINA: Air Liquide wins major contract to supply gases for coal gasification project

(EnergyAsia, June 3 2013, Monday) — France’s Air Liquide said it has just signed a long-term contract with Fujian Shenyuan New Materials Co Ltd to supply industrial gases for a coal gasficiation project in Fujian province in southeastern China. Air Liquide said it will build an eight-unit industrial gases complex comprising an air separation unit (more…)