(EnergyAsia, March 27 2013, Wednesday) — A subsidiary of China’s Wison Group has agreed to provide support services to two European firms developing export-oriented liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in North America. EDF Trading and Exmar NV are looking to export LNG by using offshore barge-mounted natural gas liquefaction facilities that have been jointly developed (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 26 2013, Tuesday) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said global liquid fuels consumption exceeded production in the first two months of 2013, resulting in a 1.1‐million b/d average draw in global oil stocks Despite the gloom surrounding the European and Japanese economies, the agency has kept its forecasts for record world (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 25 2013, Monday) — After the “dream run” of 2011 and 2012, shipping demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) could be headed for the doldrums through 2015, predicts Drewry Maritime Research. In its latest LNG Insight report, the UK-based firm said its LNG Freight Index fell four percent in February as a result (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 22 2013, Friday) — UK’s BG Group Plc said it has secured a 20-year agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India’s Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) from 2015. The Reading-based company said it will initially supply 1.25 million tons a year in 2015, potentially doubling the volume after two years. The (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 22 2013, Friday) — Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will become Australia’s second-largest export earner after iron ore, rising more than five times from A$12 billion in 2011 to over A$61 billion by 2017, said the Bureau for Resources and Energy Economics (BREE). (US$1=A$0.96). The start-up of several LNG projects in coming years will (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 21 2013, Thursday) — China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO), Asia’s largest physical jet fuel trader, said it has secured 18-month contracts to supply a total of 120,000 metric tons of aviation fuel to Air China planes at international airports in London, Madrid and Los Angeles starting April 1. CAO said it (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 20 2013, Wednesday) — China has appointed the chairman of its largest oil and gas producer to lead and transform a powerful agency overseeing the country’s non-financial assets worth some 70 trillion yuan. (US$1=6.25 yuan). Jiang Jiemin, who has been credited with leading  the expansion of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and subsidiary (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 19 2013, Tuesday) — More than 75% of 49 Asia Pacific countries are experiencing a serious lack of water security, with many already near crisis level, says a new study prepared jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF). The study found that 37 of the developing countries in (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 18 2013, Monday) — Japan’s dependence on oil, gas and coal to generate electricity surged 21% last year as almost all its nuclear power capacity remained offline as a result of the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami tragedy, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) giant Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 18 2013, Monday) — China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will pay US$4.21 billion for a 20% stake in a giant Mozambique gas field from Italian oil and gas company ENI, the two companies have announced. ENI will still hold a 50% stake in the field, described as one of the world’s largest discoveries (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 15 2013, Friday) — Brent crude’s premium over US WTI will weaken over the course of 2013 but stay above US$10 a barrel, predicts US energy consultant ESAI. WTI will strengthen as “long-awaited pipeline and rail takeaway capacity in the US midcontinent promises to reduce crude oil inventories in Cushing at some point (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 15 2013, Friday) — Unconventional hydrocarbon sources will play an increased role in meeting the world’s growing energy demand which is expected to reach 113 million b/d of oil equivalent (boed) by 2040, a 30% increase over 2010 levels, said Exxon Mobil in its latest annual outlook for the sector. With increased use (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2013, Thursday) — US coal consumption will surge 5.8% to 941 million short tons (mmst) this year and rise by another 1.4% to 955 mmst in 2014, predicts the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The Department of Energy agency expects power companies to increase their use of coal to partly displace natural gas (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2013, Thursday) — India’s heavy reliance on coal to fuel 111 of its largest power plants is causing between 80,000 and 120,000 premature deaths and as many as 20 million asthma cases each year, said Greenpeace. In a new report researched by a former World Bank official, the environmental group blamed coal (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2013, Thursday) — US major ExxonMobil said it plans to invest a total of US$190 billion to raise production from 4.24 million b/d of oil equivalent in 2012 to 4.8 million boed in 2017. For this year, the major said production could fall by 1% this year as it cuts back on (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 13 2013, Wednesday) — Australian freight operator Aurizon and India’s GVK Group have agreed to jointly develop rail and port infrastructure to open up the massive coal reserves in Queensland state’s Galilee Basin. GVK Coal Infrastructure (Singapore) Pte Ltd signed on behalf of the group whose Australian subsidiary, GVK Hancock, owns the Alpha, (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2013, Tuesday) — Australian freight operator Aurizon said it has secured a new long-term, performance-based contract with BM Alliance Coal Operations Pty Limited (BMA) and BHP Billiton Mitsui Coal Pty Limited (BMC) to haul up to 65 million tonnes per year (t/y) of coal from their combined mine operations in Queensland state. (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2013, Tuesday) — Two years after the earthquake-tsunami disaster that shut down its vital nuclear energy sector, Japan is forced into a worsening dilemma over whether to revive its dormant reactors for the sake of the energy-hobbled economy or bow to widespread public fears that the country cannot risk another meltdown as (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2013, Monday) — The following is an edited version of a comment by Boston, US-based consultant Energy Security Analysis Inc (ESAI). “Although there were rumours that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died on December 30, his death was officially announced on March 5, triggering a 30-day countdown to the election of a new (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2013, Friday) — Canada’s Prophecy Coal Corp said its wholly owned Mongolian subsidiary, Prophecy Power Generation LLC, has been granted the use of a 532.4-hectare plot of land for the proposed construction of a 600MW power plant in the electricity-short Asian country. The Vancouver-based company said the Mongolian government granted the rights (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2013, Friday) — Australia’s Cougar Energy Limited announced it recently raised A$1.043 million while continuing talks to attract investors to participate in its two conventional coal assets in Queensland state’s proven coal rich Bowen and Surat Basins. (US$1=A$0.97). The company said its sale offer of 208.6 million shares to sophisticated and professional (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 8 2013, Friday) — Global oil demand will grow at a “robust” rate of nearly 1.4% per year through 2017 while production will increasingly run into constraints as non-OPEC supply peaks out in 2015 and OPEC members reduce exports to meet rising domestic demand, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) in a (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2013, Thursday) — Australia should promote the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a shipping fuel as it makes financial as well as environmental sense, said an industry study led by Norwegian classification and inspection firm DNV. In replacing traditional bunker fuel with LNG, the four-month study found that Australia gains (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2013, Thursday) — Citing a study that it commissioned, Australia’s Modun Resources Nuurst said its Nuurst coal mine in Mongolia could deliver as much as 84.7 million tonnes of sub-bituminous thermal coal over a 30-year operation. The study undertaken by Brisbane’s Bluefield Group has bolstered the Australia-listed company’s confidence to develop Nuurst (more…)

(EnergyAsia, March 7 2013, Thursday) — Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka could collectively slash greenhouse gas emissions by a fifth by 2020 at little long-term cost by introducing a variety of clean technologies, according to a new study from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The South Asian countries are projected to produce (more…)