(EnergyAsia, February 19 2013, Tuesday) — Oil and coal accounted for 7.9% of China’s world record US$3.87 trillion merchandise trade last year. According to the country’s Customs authority, China’s import of crude and oil products last year rose 12.2% to more than US$253 billion while its coal purchases surged 37.3% to US$28.7 billion. Being a...
(EnergyAsia, February 19 2013, Tuesday) — State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said it expects to start up a 793-km pipeline in May to deliver natural gas from Myanmar that will enable China to reduce dependence on shipping through the congested Straits of Malacca. The pipeline will have the capacity to deliver 12 billion cubic...
(EnergyAsia, February 19 2013, Tuesday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) now expects world oil demand growth to rise by 845,000 b/d to reach 90.715 million in 2013, down slightly from its previous forecast for it to reach 90.8 million b/d. In its latest February monthly report, the Paris-based agency said world oil demand will (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 19 2013, Tuesday) — Chinese officials are pushing for the start-up of construction of a long-delayed joint-venture oil refinery between state CNPC and Russia’s Rosneft in Tianjin city later this year. Originally scheduled to start up last year, the proposed 260,000 b/d refinery was part of a wider agreement signed in 2009 in...
(EnergyAsia, February 18 2013, Monday) — Oiltanking Nanjing Co Ltd has started up a state-of-the-art railcar loading and unloading facility at its terminal in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP) in China’s Jiangsu province. Now connected to the park’s railway system and the national railway network, the terminal offers customers all modes of transportation including (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 18 2013, Monday) — This article, written by Frank Wright and Isla Parsons of consulting group Douglas-Westwood, is adapted from its latest report, “Iraq and Kurdistan: Drilling & Oilfield Services Market.” * The potential scale of the Iraqi oil sector is unprecedented in recent times and represents a significant opportunity for the drilling (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 18 2013, Monday) — The solar photovoltaic (PV) power sector is set to expand sharply across the world on growing demand for energy and rapidly improving technology provided at lower prices, said UK research and consulting firm GlobalData. In its latest report, the company predicts global installation of solar PV capacity to rise (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 18 2013, Monday) — Singapore’s largest power company has completed a S$1 billion programme to transform three oil-fired steam plants into two gas-fired combined cycle units that will significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. (US$1=S$1.25). At a ceremony earlier this month, Senoko Energy marked the completion of its 32-month completed Stage 2 repowering (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 18 2013, Monday) — Global oil and gas transactions surged 19% to reach a record US$402 billion last year, with gains in upstream deals more than offsetting the decline in downstream buy-outs, said consultant Ernst & Young. Calling this a “staggering” amount, Ernst & Young said the industry consummated an average of more...
(EnergyAsia, February 15 2013, Friday) — Despite its reputation for having the world’s most polluted cities, China is making progress in cleaning up its environment faster than many people realise, according to a UK energy consultant. Jonathan Lane, GlobalData’s head of consulting for power and utilities, has compared China’s current air pollution levels to some (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 15 2013, Friday) — Canada’s Challenger Deep Resources Corp said its wholly owned subsidiary, PT Bestindo Energy, has signed an exclusive contract to mine and market coal from a project in central Kalimantan province in Indonesia. The agreement with Indonesian firm, Kara Elmas Madenleri (KEM), “gives Challenger the exclusive right, for a period (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 15 2013, Friday) — With a total of 230 fuel outlets, Singapore’s Puma Energy has laid claim to becoming Australia’s largest independent fuel retailer with its planned buy-out of Ausfuel from Archer Capital. The company made its first investment in Australia last month when it acquired Neumann Petroleum’s retail portfolio of more than...
(EnergyAsia, February 15 2013, Friday) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects the nation’s delivered coal prices to continue rising over the next two years. After averaging US$2.39 per million British thermal unit (BTU) in 2011, US coal prices edged up a penny to US$2.40 last year. The agency expects prices to rise to (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 15 2013, Friday) — The floods and heavy rainfalls that hit Australia last month directly impacted coal mines and rail networks that account for 78 million tonnes of production for the export market this year, said consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. One week of lost production from these mines equals to about 1.5 million...
(EnergyAsia, February 14 2013, Thursday) — Australian miner Hodges Resources Limited said it expects to advance a major coal project in Botswana to the feasibility phase following the positive outcome of recent mine scoping and power integration studies. Declaring itself “extremely pleased with the outcome” of the studies, Hodges said the feasibility phase studies will (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 14 2013, Thursday) –A Seattle-based think tank said it is releasing a report to show that Australia’s Ambre Energy has “little potential to deliver on promises” to create jobs and major economic benefits with its plan to build two coal export terminals on the Columbia River in Washington state. The company is envisioning (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 14 2013, Thursday) — The Australian government has approved the proposals of two companies to develop the Maules Creek and Boggabri mine proposals in New South Wales state on the condition that they met conditions to protect wildlife and the environment. Environment Minister Tony Burke gave the approval for Whitehaven Coal Limited’s 75%-owned (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 14 2013, Thursday) — ABB, the Swiss-based power and automation technology group, said it has won orders worth a total of US$160 million from Singapore’s Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd to provide electrical systems for drill ships to operate in deepwater oil and gas fields off the coast of Brazil. ABB will design, supply, (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 14 2013, Thursday) — A modest rise in Newcastle prices has seen the Chinese thermal coal import arbitrage move into negative territory, said Goldman Sachs. This development points to a fall in Chinese import volumes in Q1 2013, albeit from a very high base. Against a backdrop of relatively low and stable Chinese...
(EnergyAsia, February 13 2013, Wednesday) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has bad news for residents of Beijing and other heavily polluted Chinese cities. Growing by more than 9% a year since 2001, China’s insatiable appetite for coal to generate power has shown no signs of slowing down, and could soon equal what the...
(EnergyAsia, February 13 2013, Wednesday) — Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Malaysia’s largest electricity utility, and its partners have secured two contracts to operate large power plants in Kuwait and the Malaysian state of Penang. TNB said it and Kuwait’s Kharafi National have won a seven-year contract worth RM$1 billion to operate and maintain the Shuaiba (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 13 2013, Wednesday) — China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec said it plans to sell 2.845 billion shares in Hong Kong to raise HK$23.97 billion to expand production capacity. (US$1=HK$7.75). Asia’s biggest refiner, which trades on the stock exchanges of Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York and London, is beefing up its global...
(EnergyAsia, February 13 2013, Wednesday) — Singapore investment firm Blumont Group has agreed to invest a total of A$10 million in equity and convertible notes for a stake in Australia-listed Celsius Coal, the companies have announced. (US$1=A$0.96). Blumont will pay A$5 million for 227.3 million new Celsius Coal shares at 2.2 Australian cents a share, (more…)
(EnergyAsia, February 13 2013, Wednesday) — International coal suppliers should dampen their expectations if they are looking to China as the promised land to absorb additional production in coming years, said US energy consulting group IHS CERA. In a new study, the Cambridge, Massachusetts firm predicts Chinese coal imports will peak before the end of...
(EnergyAsia, February 8 2013, Friday) — Kunlun Energy Company Limited, a Hongkong-listed company controlled by state PetroChina Company Limited, has affirmed its commitment to become a major natural gas player with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its key plank. Kunlun Energy announced its intention in a media statement updating its past year’s expansion activities and (more…)