Green Dragon on track with strong first half of 2015
Green Dragon Gas, the China-focused independent, has increased revenue and cut its loss from $69.3million to $1.4million in the first half of the year.
china
Ship disruptions persist at Tianjin as some oil cargoes barred
Shipping and logistics companies reported delays and disruptions after the deadly blast at the Chinese port of Tianjin as some oil cargoes were still barred from one of its wharves. Freight companies including Auckland, New Zealand-based Mainfreight Ltd. and Japan’s Sankyu Inc. said the blast will cause delays or impact their businesses. Ships at Tianjin Port’s North wharf other than those carrying crude and hazardous products can enter and exit normally, according to a post from the official microblog of the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration at 10:44 a.m. local time Friday. Tianjin is the 10th-busiest container port globally and has become a northern gateway for ore, coal, automobiles and oil into China, the world’s biggest user of energy, metals and grains. About 17 percent of the nation’s ethylene imports, 15 percent of its wheat deliveries and 30 percent of steel exports in the first half of 2015 were transported via the Tianjin customs area, government data show.
Firefighter pulled from wreckage of China explosion after 32-hour ordeal
Rescuers have pulled out a firefighter trapped for 32 hours after responding to the massive explosions in Tianjin. Meanwhile authorities moved forward gingerly in dealing with a fire still smouldering amid potentially dangerous chemicals. The two explosions late on Wednesday at the Chinese port city - one of them the equivalent of 21 tons of TNT - killed at least 50 people and injured more than 700.
Video: Explosion hits Chinese port leaving at least 17 dead
Huge explosions in an industrial area have sent up massive fireballs that killed at least 17 people and injured hundreds in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. China’s state broadcaster CCTV said 32 people among the 300-400 taken to hospital were in a critical condition. The Beijing News newspaper said on its website that nine firefighters were among the dead. The blasts, originating at a warehouse for hazardous material, blew doors off buildings in the area and shattered windows up to several miles away.
China crude oil imports rise to record high
China’s crude oil imports rose to record on a monthly basis driven by imports by small, private refineries amid low oil prices. Overseas purchases by China increased to 30.71 million metric tons in July, equivalent to about 7.3 million barrels a day, according to preliminary data released by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Saturday. It was higher than December’s level at 30.4 million tons, a previous monthly record. The world’s second-largest oil consumer imported a record 7.4 million barrels a day in April and 7.2 million in June.
Freeport-McMoRan plans $1billion equity offer
Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan may issue up to $1billion in common shares as it grapples with a global market slowdown for natural resources.
China oil imports rise to record as private plants boost buying
China’s crude oil imports rose to record on a monthly basis driven by imports by small, private refineries amid low oil prices. Overseas purchases by China increased to 30.71 million metric tons in July, equivalent to about 7.3 million barrels a day, according to preliminary data released by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Saturday. It was higher than December’s level at 30.4 million tons, a previous monthly record. The world’s second-largest oil consumer imported a record 7.4 million barrels a day in April and 7.2 million in June.
Shell to sell stake in Chinese lubricant supplier Tongyi
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Tongyi Lubricants in China, in the energy company's latest step to restructure its global refining business. Shell said it expects to complete its exit from Tongyi, in which it bought a 75 percent stake in 2006, by late 2015 or early 2016. The value of the sale to Huo's Group, its partner in Tongyi, and private equity firm Carlyle International, was not disclosed. The Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company will remain present in China's growing lubricant industry, which produces liquids such as engine oils and greases.
Oil slumps to six-month low on Iran supply plan, China slowdown
Oil fell to a six-month low in London as Iran vowed to boost production immediately after sanctions are lifted and manufacturing in China slowed. Brent futures declined as much as 2.6 percent, extending an 18 percent drop in July that was the biggest in seven months. Iran can raise output by 500,000 barrels a day within a week of sanctions ending, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. A Chinese private factory gauge released on Monday fell to a two-year low in July, while an official index on Saturday slipped to the lowest in five months.
China state firms to start pumping new oil in Iran
China's state oil giants are set to start pumping a combined 160,000 barrels a day at two projects in southwestern Iran from around October, company sources said, contributing to Tehran's plan to boost output ahead of sanctions being lifted. Chinese energy firms had earlier put on hold or slowed work on energy projects in Iran from late 2010, worried about penalties that might be imposed by Washington as it led world powers to press Tehran to curb its nuclear ambitions. Iran and six world powers, including China and the United States, clinched a landmark deal on July 14 that limits the Islamic nation's nuclear activities in return for lifting sanctions that have more than halved its oil exports since 2012.
Sturgeon hails new Hong Kong low carbon centre
Nicola Sturgeon has attended the official opening of a new carbon innovation centre in Hong Kong. The centre is managed by a group based at Edinburgh University and will work on projects promoting sustainable construction, energy efficiency and air quality. The launch took place at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park as part of the First Minister’s trade mission to east Asia.
Sgurr Energy in jobs boost with China deal
Sgurr Energy has signed a deal worth several million pounds with Chinese lidar manufacturer Oasis. The agreement was announced as Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Beijing. The company said the deal will complement their package of wind farm SgurrOptimiser services.
China coal producer Shenhua plans $1 bln wind farm IPO in Hong Kong
China's biggest coal producer, Shenhua Group, plans to list its wind farm assets in an initial public offering in Hong Kong valued at up to $1 billion, IFR reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plans.
China says it has every right to drill in East China Sea
China said on Friday it had every right to drill in the East China Sea close to waters disputed with Japan, adding that it did not recognise a "unilateral" Japanese median line setting out a boundary between the two in the waters. Japan this week called on China to halt construction of oil-and-gas exploration platforms in the East China Sea close to waters claimed by both nations, concerned that Chinese drills could tap reservoirs that extend into Japanese territory. Patrol ships and aircraft from both countries have been shadowing each other in the area over the past couple of years, raising fears of a confrontation and clash.
Russia becomes second largest exporter of oil to China
Russia became the second largest supplier of oil to China after Saudi Arabia in the first six months of 2015. The country's oil exports increased by 27% as compared with the same period of the previous year to almost 786,000 barrels per day.
Former senior Chinese energy executive stands trial
A former senior Chinese energy executive has gone on trial this week, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday, part of the government's sweeping crackdown against deep-rooted corruption. Wang Yongchun was a deputy general manager at China's biggest oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), until he became caught up in a graft probe last year. Wang's trial on charges of "holding a huge amount of property with unidentified sources" and "abuse of power by a staff member of a state-owned company" opened on Monday in Xiangyang, central Hubei province, Xinhua said.
CNOOC starts production from Luda 10-1
CNOOC Limited has started production from the Luda 10-1 comprehensive adjustment project in the Bohai Sea off China. A wellhead platform has also been built at the oilfield in Liadong Bay, where there are currently 13 producing wells.
China to surpass South Korea and Russia in nuclear output
China is set to become Asia’s nuclear powerhouse as it is predicted to surpass South Korea and Russia in generating energy capacity by 2020. The country has been increasing its nuclear output in recent years which, according to new analysis, it plans to leverage so it can take an “ownership role” throughout the entire supply chain. Data from the EIA (Energy Information Administration) shows nuclear output currently makes up slightly more than 2% of the country’s total power generation.
China oil imports rebound as new emergency reserves open
China’s crude imports rebounded last month to near a record as the world’s second-largest oil consumer began filling tanks at a new strategic petroleum reserve site. Overseas shipments rose to 29.49 million metric tons in June, a 27 percent increase from May when shipments were the least since February 2014, according to preliminary data released by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Monday. Oil imports last month were equivalent to about 7.2 million barrels a day compared with a record 7.4 million in April, Bloomberg calculations show. China’s crude imports rose as it began filling the second phase of emergency reserves in the eastern city of Qingdao that have a capacity of 3 million cubic meters (about 19 million barrels). Oil imports may climb in the third quarter from the previous three months as another storage site in the southern Chinese city of Huizhou is scheduled to open, ICIS China, a Shanghai-based commodity researcher, said July 1.
Chinese firm invests in East Siberian oilfield
A small Chinese energy firm has signed a deal with a state-controlled Russian oil company to invest in an East Siberian oilfield project. CEFC China Energy signed the deal with Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russia's top natural gas producer, on July 6, according to a statement on the Shanghai-based company's website. The private chemicals and fuel company said it is investing in three blocks holding 1.9 billion barrels of oil in the Baikal project, 90 kilometres away from the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline that supplies China with Russian oil.
China gives independent Shandong Dongming crude oil import quota
The Chinese government has given independent refinery Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group approval to import 7.5 million tonnes of crude oil a year, or 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), the state economic planner said on Tuesday. It is the first independent plant to win crude oil quotas since the introduction of new regulations allowing more private participation in a sector long dominated by state oil giants.
Plexus signs new China deal
Plexus Holdings has agreed a deal to catapult its technology into the Chinese marketplace. The company, which produces its proprietary POS-GRIP® friction-grip method of wellhead engineering, has reached a collaboration agreement with China Oilfield Services Limited to explore opportunities in shallow water subsea and crossover wellhead production systems for oil and gas field activities.
Russia extends oil-sales lead with second China pipeline
Russia is set to strengthen its position as the biggest oil supplier to China in the coming decade with a planned second pipeline link to Chinese refineries, according to a unit of Fitch Group Inc.
Siberian oil deal dees BP bet on Russia’s pivot toward China
BP Plc’s $750 million purchase of a Siberian oilfield stake is as much a bet on China as it is on Russia. Taas-Yuriakh Neftegazodobycha LLC’s blocks near China’s northern border will supply the planned Tianjin refinery on the east coast, according to OAO Rosneft, which sold the 20 percent holding last week. BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley predicts the unit’s natural gas reserves will prove strategic as Russia develops its Far East and builds ties with the world’s biggest energy consumer. “You have to make a judgment on whether it will have value,” Dudley told Bloomberg News on June 19 in St. Petersburg, referring to the gas reserves. “We believe it will, eventually.”
Chinese rig move accelerates downturn in Vietnam’s tourism industry
China's provocative parking of a giant oil rig near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea was at the heart of tensions that have caused a slump in Chinese tourist visits to Vietnam.