(EnergyAsia, October 29 2012, Monday) — Dutch oil and chemicals logistics giant Royal Vopak said it has raised a total of US$1 billion in various currencies from a new notes programme through a private placement in the US. Comprising a senior tranche of US$900 million and a subordinated tranche of US$100 million, the programme was (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 25 2012, Thursday) — Norwegian classification and inspection firm Det Norske Veritas (DNV) said it has teamed up with nine Australian companies to conduct a four-month study into the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a shipping fuel to protect the environment. Similar to a pioneering study launched in Singapore in 2010, (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 25 2012, Thursday) — Western companies again dominated the elite in the latest rankings of the world’s top 250 energy companies by Platts that featured more companies from Asia led by China and India. At an award dinner ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday, global energy media Platts announced that the Asia Pacific region (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 25 2012, Thursday) — Australian upstream company Santos made two landmark announcements the past week. It has claimed the country’s first production of natural gas from shale as well as admitted the first Asian businessman into its board of directors. Santos said its Moomba-191 shale well in the Cooper Basin is producing around (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 24 2012, Wednesday) — France’s Technip and its consortium partner, China Offshore Oil Engineering Co Ltd (COOEC), have secured a 200-million euro contract to provide engineering, procurement, installation and construction services for an offshore oil and gas exploration project. Technip said the contract was awarded by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Deepwater (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 23 2012, Tuesday) — UK major BP said it has signed heads of terms to sell its 50% share in TNK-BP to Rosneft, the Russian integrated oil and gas company. Rosneft has agreed in principle to buy BP’s share in TNK-BP, Russia’s third largest oil company, in two tranches. This includes the sale (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 23 2012, Tuesday) — Gaylin, a Singapore-based oil rigging and lifting services provider, has launched an initial public offering (IPO) of 110 million shares at S$0.35 each for listing on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (US$1=S$1.22). At S$0.35 per share, the offering is priced at a price earnings ratio (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 22 2012, Monday) — Australia’s gas pipeline association said the government should not implement regulation for its own sake as the nation already has in place the “most appropriate” environmental rules. Speaking at the opening session of the recent annual convention of The Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) in Brisbane, its President, Kevin (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 22 2012, Monday) — With the global economy stalling and oil demand growth curtailed, oil prices will become “somewhat disconnected” from market fundamentals for the remainder of 2012, said consultant Ernst & Young. Fears of demand destruction were underscored when Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of oil, expressed concern about the impact (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 19 2012, Friday) — A globally acceptable pricing system and support from key stakeholders must be in place for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be developed into a viable bunker fuel source, said Lloyd’s Register. The inspection and classification company released these and other findings in a detailed study, “LNG fuelled deep-sea shipping (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 19 2012, Friday) — Singapore has announced a slew of measures to improve the quality of bunker fuel supply and trade in the world’s largest market for shipping fuels. In opening the 17th Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON), transport minister Lui Tuck Yew announced the introduction of an information sheet on (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 18 2012, Thursday) — InterOil Corporation said it and its subsidiaries, EP InterOil and InterOil Limited, have secured a five-year US$100 million term loan facility with BNP Paribas Singapore (BNP), Bank South Pacific Limited (BSP), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (PNG) Limited (ANZ). Borrowings under the facility will be used for (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 18 2012, Thursday) — Russia’s Gazprom said it has secured a new order to sell up to one million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) adding to an existing agreement for the supply of 1.6 million tonnes. The Russian gas monopoly’s wholly-owned subsidiary Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 18 2012, Thursday) — Thanks to growing investments in deepwater oil and gas projects, global expenditure in floating production facilities is expected to double to US$91 billion in the 2013-2017 period, with 29% of that taking place in Latin America, said UK upstream consultant Douglas Westwood (DW). In its latest World Floating Production (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 17 2012, Wednesday) — Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd, a NYSE-listed company engaged in the storage and distribution of oil products in China, said it has started operations at its recently acquired Huajie fuel storage depot in northern Shanxi province. The company began delivering fuel to customers on October 11 after receiving its (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 16 2012, Tuesday) — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said it has raised S$400 million from a very successful first-ever sale of 10-year bonds denominated in Singapore dollars. (US$1=S$1.23). With a coupon rate of 4.1%, the bond was among the lowest paying long-tenor issue by a foreign public company, but was quickly snapped up (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 16 2012, Tuesday) — The following article features a Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2012 interview with John Ng, CEO of YTL Power Seraya, the Singapore subsidiary of Malaysia’s YTL group. Q1: How and to what extend has the power generation sector been affected by the economic crises of recent years? What insights (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 15 2012, Monday) — Chevron Oronite Company said it will significantly enhance its analytical testing capabilities in China following an agreement with Intertek Group for the use of its testing services and laboratory in Shanghai. “The addition of the Shanghai testing facility is part of a longer term strategy for China that supplements (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 15 2012, Monday) — Indonesia’s biggest listed oil company, PT Medco Energi Internasional, will sell a 63.88% stake in its fuel storage and distribution unit, PT Medco Sarana Kalibaru (MSK), to Switzerland’s Puma Energy LLC, the two companies have announced. Neither company revealed the value of the transaction that will include the formation (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 15 2012, Monday) — Events over the last two years have enabled the world’s disparate regional natural gas markets to become more “interconnected”, with implications for price, said consultant Wood Mackenzie. In a presentation on the gas market outlook to 2020, Noel Tomnay, Wood Mackenzie’s Head of Global Gas Research, predicts increased competition (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 12 2012, Friday) — Myanmar has the potential to triple its per capita income and become a middle-income nation by 2030 through growing its economy at annual rates of 7% to 8% if it continues to implement sweeping reforms, said an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study. Consultant GlobalData made a similar pitch for (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 11 2012, Thursday) — India has made its first tentative venture into the booming US shale gas business with two state-owned firms jointly acquiring a 30% stake in a Colorado asset for US$82.5 million. Oil India Ltd (OIL) will own the larger 20% stake and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) the remaining 10% in (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 11 2012, Thursday) — The Australian government has approved a plan by India’s GVK and its local tycoon partner Gina Rinehart to expand an export terminal as part of its proposed US$10 billion development of the Alpha coal project in Queensland state. With the approval for the expansion of the Port of Abbott (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 10 2012, Wednesday) — Germany’s Oiltanking GmbH said it has agreed to fully acquire Singapore-based Helios Terminal Corporation Private Limited and its holding company Chemoil Storage Limited subject to regulatory approvals. Commissioned in 2008, Helios’ terminal on Jurong Island has the capacity to hold 503,000 cubic metres (cbm). It is equipped with blending facilities and a finger (more…)

(EnergyAsia, October 10 2012, Wednesday) — Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, the Singapore-based world leading oil rig builder, has announced several new appointments in its senior management following the death of its former marine managing director Nelson Yeo last month. Replacing him is Michael Chia, 59, who will oversee Keppel O&M’s marine division which includes (more…)