A group of armed men claims to have taken control of the rare earth mines in Myanmar
A group of rebels fighting Myanmar's ruling army has claimed control of a mine hub, a major supplier to China of rare earth oxides. This will likely disrupt shipments of materials used in clean technology and other technologies. In Kachin State, around the towns Panwa & Chipwe and adjacent to Yunnan Province in southwestern China, rare earth mining is concentrated.
B.Grimm Power, Thailand's B.Grimm Power, seeks LNG supply for short- and long-term periods
A company executive revealed at the Asia Gas Markets Conference on Tuesday that B.Grimm Power, Thailand's largest power firm, is looking to purchase five to seven cargoes of liquefied gas for delivery between 2025 and 2026. Andrew Kirk, B.Grimm Power's head of LNG, has said that the company is looking to secure a long-term LNG deal of up to one million tons after these initial short term cargoes.
LNG to FSU Conversion Completed at Sembcorp
Ship managers Synergy Group converted a 1992-built, 126,000 cubic meters capacity Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier into a Floating Storage Unit (FSU). The conversion was performed at Sembcorp Marine’s Admiralty Yard in Singapore.Synergy will manage, maintain and operate the FSU, which has a projected lifespan of 15 years.
New Offshore Acreage Licensing to Drop 60% in 2020, Rystad says
Newly licensed offshore oil and gas exploration acreage is likely to fall by about 60% and onshore acreage by 30% compared with 2019 levels, Rystad Energy has said, as the Norwegian energy market analytics company expects more than half of the world’s planned licensing rounds to be canceled this year due to the combined effect…
Woodside Sees Reserve Base Tripling
Australia's Woodside Petroleum on Tuesday laid out plans to triple its gas and oil reserve base as it pursues projects worth over $36 billion in Australia, Senegal and Myanmar.Success in those projects would result in its reserve base reaching 3.7 billion barrels over the next seven years and help Woodside expand production by 6% a year over the next decade…
Southeast Asia Bullish on OFS Market
Offshore project sanctions in Southeast Asia could lift greenfield investments in the oilfield services market by nearly 70 percent in 2020, said Rystad Energy.According to Norwegian energy research firm, the growth will be driven by a handful of new mega-projects across Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, according to the latest…
SE Asia to Expand Floating Solar Set to Grow
Floating solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are making a splash in Southeast Asia. Development of floating solar PV power plants is expected to increase 100-fold in the region over the next five to 15 years, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy. Projects plans are in the works in Thailand and Vietnam as large-scale floating PV installations…
Seadrill Ivory Coast Contract Terminated
Seadrill Partners, the deep-water drilling contractor for the petroleum industry, has received an early termination notice from an unnamed operator for the West Vencedor rig contract offshore Ivory Coast.The contract was expected to start in 3Q 2019. In January, the rig received a six-well contract with three option wells.The…
Natural Gas Consumption Up 10% in China
According to the preliminary estimate, the consumption of natural gas in China exceeded 27 million cubic meters in 2018, registering a YOY increase of more than 10%, said a report.The growing Chinese economy and stricter environmental protection policies drive the growth of natural gas consumption in China. In 2018, the Chinese…
ASEAN Adopts Oil Spill Contingency Plan
International Maritime Organization (IMO) technical assistance and institutional support has been instrumental in the recent adoption of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan.IMO said that the plan was adopted by the 24th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting, held in Bangkok, Thailand (8 November).
China Becomes Top Natural Gas Importer
China has overtaken Japan to become the world's top importer of natural gas, as Beijing's crackdown on pollution boosts its demand for the more environmentally friendly fuel, while the restart of nuclear reactors in Japan reduces its LNG imports.China's total natural gas imports over January to October this year via pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) were at 72.06 million tonnes…
Nine People Injured in China Gas Pipeline Blast
A gas pipeline exploded late on Sunday in China's southwestern province of Guizhou, seriously injuring nine people, official news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.The blast occurred on a pipeline owned by PetroChina at Jiangbaying, near Shazi in Guizhou province, Xinhua said. No deaths had been reported.The route is a domestic…
China to take action against 'uncontrolled' hydro on Yangtze
China's has urged local governments along the Yangtze river to survey the environmental damage done by the "uncontrolled" development of small-scale hydropower, warning that some plants could be closed, according to a government notice on Wednesday.Local authorities have been instructed to conduct a survey into hydropower construction along the Yangtze River Economic Belt…
IKM Subsea Secures PTTEP Drilling Contract
IKM Subsea Singapore signed a contract with PTTEPI for their appraisal campaign offshore in Myanmar. IKM Subsea will be providing a Merlin WR200 electrical propulsion system together with a BOP intervention tool and an IKM Technology designed and built diamond wire cutter for this project onboard the rig. This marks as IKM’s…
Asian Oil, Gas Producers Stepping up Activity after Long Lull
Asia's oil and gas producers are starting to revive projects aimed at deflating years of ballooning energy imports after new investment dried up following the 2014 industry crisis. Spending has so far been driven mainly by state oil companies such as India's ONGC, Thailand's PTTEP and PetroVietnam, which need to produce more oil and gas to ensure their countries' energy security…
McDermott to Bid for Asia Offshore Oil, Gas Contracts
U.S. engineering and construction company McDermott International plans to bid for $5 billion in contracts in the next few months in Asia Pacific as the region's offshore oil and gas sector recovers, company executives said on Tuesday. The value of contracts available for bids are up from $4 billion six months ago, the McDermott executives said.
PTT Exploration and Production Plans Asia Investment
Thailand's largest oil and gas explorer PTT Exploration and Production Pcl (PTTEP) is planning new investments or an extension of its operations in fields in Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar, it said on Tuesday. In Thailand, state-owned PTTEP would bid to extend its concession to operate the Bongkot gas field beyond the existing expiry date of 2023…
China to top Japan as World's Biggest LNG Importer
Pollution fight drives surge in pipeline, LNG imports but Japan remains world's biggest importer of LNG. Beijing's crackdown on pollution has put China on track to overtake Japan this year as the world's biggest importer of natural gas, used to replace dirtier coal. China - already the biggest importer of oil and coal - is…
Bangladesh Inks Deal with Indonesia for LNG Imports
Bangladesh signed an agreement with Indonesia on Sunday to open talks on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the South Asian country turns to the supercooled fuel to fill a shortfall of domestic natural gas. A letter of intent was signed between two state energy companies, Petrobangla and Pertamina, after a meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indonesian President Joko Widodo…
Asia's Soaring Gas Demand Beckons New LNG Projects
Global LNG imports rose by 20 percent in 2017; new demand emerges across South, Southeast Asia. Soaring gas demand from China, India and Southeast Asia is sucking up an LNG supply glut previously expected to last for years, opening opportunity for new production from East Africa to North America that had been deemed part of the overhang.
