Asia > Petroleum / Mining

Petroleum / Mining in Asia

  • China to purchase Turkmen gas in 2016

    CHINA, 2014/01/06 Once the new linear part of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China is commissioned, China will have an opportunity to use the transit through Kyrgyzstan to purchase Turkmen gas in 2016. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev recently ratified a cooperation agreement between China and Kyrgyzstan on the construction and exploitation of the Kyrgyzstan-China gas pipeline, Kyrgyz president's official website reported on January 2. The agreement on the construction of a gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan to China via Kyrgyzstan is worth $2 billion. China, a major energy consumer, and Turkmenistan, a major energy producer, enjoy a natural chance and huge potential in energy cooperation.
  • OPEC no longer wields the same influence on global oil markets

    EUROPE, 2013/12/06 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations meets today with something new on its schedule - what to do about Iran? It's unlikely the prospect of Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear activities to electricity-related endeavours - as happened in the completed two weeks, and is something that would mean the end of the sanctions that have been imposed upon the country and severely restricted its economic increase - was on the radar at last May's conference. Presently, it's not just Iraq's potential increase in oil production that OPEC must address in terms of whose production within the 12-member group may be trimmed. The prospect of Iran boosting its production as a result of renewed investment is a very real prospect.
  • Viet Nam to open $450m Lao salt mine

    LAOS, 2013/10/10 Construction of a joint US$450 million Viet Nam–Laos project to process salt in Khammouan Province in Laos will start next month, according to the Viet Nam Chemical Group (Vinachem). The Vinachem-backed project, signed in February last year with the Lao Planning and Investment Ministry, is its initial in the field. Vinachem will exploit salt across an area of 10sq.km for 20 years and as well build a factory to process 320,000 tonnes a year. The Lao Government granted the group 196.5sq.km of land to survey for possible salt mines.
  • Indian government approves acquisition of stakes in oil block in Mozambique

    INDIA, 2013/10/04 The Indian government has approved the deals involving national groups Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) to acquire two 10 % stakes in an oil block in Mozambique, Indian newspaper the Economic Times reported. The initial transaction was made in June as part of a partnership between ONGC Videsh, the foreign arm of ONGC and Oil India and involved acquisition of a 10 % stake in the Area 1 block of the Rovuma basin, northern Mozambique, from Indian group Videocon Industries for US$2.475 billion.
  • Iran boosts iron exports to China, India as oil sales slump

    CHINA, 2013/08/28 Iran is raising its exports of iron ore and iron products to China and India in an attempt to replace at least a small part of the massive revenue that has been lost due to sanctions on its oil sales. While Iran’s oil exports have halved in the last few years due to western sanctions over the country’s disputed nuclear program, iron ore exports have grown by additional than 60 % over the same period to an annual rate of about 25 million tons, worth about $3 billion a year at current prices. The additional billion dollars a year that Iran is gaining from the additional iron exports, however, is still very small at the same time as compared with the loss in oil revenue of roughly $35bn a year.
  • Oil rises above $106 a barrel on Syrian crisis

    SYRIA, 2013/08/28 The price of oil rose above $106 a barrel Tuesday next a U.S. official said there was strong evidence that Syria used chemical weapons against civilians, a sign that Washington may be considering a military strike against President Bashar Assad's regime. U.S. benchmark crude for October delivery was up 34 cents to $106.26 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The arrangement fell 50 cents, or 0.5 %, to close at $105.92 on Monday. The price of oil has risen about 15 % in the completed three months on concern that unrest in Egypt and civil war in Syria could disrupt production and exports, particularly in Libya and Iraq. It has as well raised the specter of spreading violence that could block significant supply routes.
  • Coal India likely to issue first import tender for 5mn tonnes

    INDIA, 2013/08/11  Miner Coal India, which produces around 80 % of the country's coal, is likely to issue its initial import tender in 2013-14 for an initial 5 million tonnes if its power producing customers place orders, a senior company source said. The national-run company, the world's top coal miner, has been unable to dig up coal, which India has plenty, fast enough to feed Asia's third-major economy's burgeoning request for power. As coal fuels additional than half of the country's power generation, Coal India has been directed by the government to supply 80 % of the fuel supply needs of its power station customers, even through costlier imports, given its inability to produce sufficient coal locally.
  • South Korea’s Iran crude imports fall, but more cuts needed

    IRAN, 2013/07/20 South Korea’s imports of crude from Iran fell 7 % in June, against the daily average for the previous six months, less than half the rate Seoul has pledged it will cut oil shipments from the sanctions-hit country over the next six months. To meet its pledge to Washington, South Korea needs to import less than 126,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the June-November period, but June’s daily rate came in at 138,157 bpd, based on calculations on import data from the Korea Customs Service on Monday. Nations that import Iranian oil must make continuous cuts to keep getting six-month waivers on U.S. sanctions aimed at cutting Iran’s flow of oil money and forcing it to negotiate over curbing its disputed nuclear program.
  • Middle Eastern and Russian crudes priced

    RUSSIA, 2013/07/20 Asian refiners are snapping up Middle Eastern and Russian crudes priced on the comparatively cheaper Dubai marker, shunning Brent-linked Atlantic Basin grades that have become too expensive as the European benchmark strengthens. Brent's premium to Dubai rose above $5 a barrel this week, the highest since March, and that combined with strong Asian request has pushed premiums for Russian, United Arab Emirates and Qatari grades to multi-month highs. Seasonal request and a recovery in margins, or profits from processing a barrel of crude into products, are as well making Asian refiners ramp up runs, amplifying their call for crude. 
  • Strong energy demand in world’s biggest crude consumer

    EUROPE, 2013/07/20 World oil prices hit a 14-month pinnacle on Wednesday, buoyed by strong energy request in the United States, the world's biggest crude consumer, ahead of US inventories data, analysts said. In early deals, New York's major arrangement, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August, surged to $104.87 a barrel -- a level last seen in May 2012. It later stood at $104.75, up $1.22 from Tuesday's closing level. Brent North Sea crude for August rallied to $108.47 a barrel -- reaching a high last seen in April -- before pulling back to $108.13, but still up 32 cents from Tuesday's close.