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Saudi Aramco agrees fuel plants upgrade deal
Saudi Aramco has awarded a contract to upgrade fuel plants to local firm M.S al-Suwaidi Industrial Services, Reuters has reported, citing two sources close to the deal. It involves upgrading 14 bulk plants in several regions of Saudi Arabia and aims to raise the storage capacity for gasoline, diesel and fuel oil. The value of the procurement and construction contract is around $200m and the construction work is expected to finish in about two-and-a-half years, one source said.
Iraq to sign terms on Rumaila oilfield project
Iraq has agreed commercial terms with BP and China's CNPC International for a joint venture to almost triple production at the giant Rumaila oilfield, AFP has reported. Under the agreement, Iraq state marketer SOMO will be allocated Baghdad's 25% stake, while BP has reduced its stake from 50% to 38% and CNPC has boosted its slice from 25% to 37%. The 20-year deal, which is expected to cost $14bn - $20bn, is expected to be signed within weeks.
Iraq bans Sinopec in oil and gas auction
Chinese oil firm, Sinopec was banned by Iraq from its upcoming auction of oil and gas licenses due to its failure to relinquish its oil contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan, The National has reported. The deputy head of the Iraqi oil ministry's petroleum contracts and licensing directorate, Abdul al Ameedi has said, Sinopec's pre-qualifican has been cancelled and will only be lifted from the blacklist if it changes its position and withdraws from its contracts in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
Sharjah hikes power tariff
Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) has announced new charges on power tariff, with the industrial sector to pay 40 fils per kilowatt hour (kWh), while commercial and residential sectors will pay 30 fils per kWh, instead of 20 fils, Gulf News has reported. The new tarfiif would mean Sharjah residents will have to pay 50% increase on their power bills. In a radio interview, Sewa's acting director Ebrahim Bin Deemas has said the hike was due to the increase of production cost.
Taqa completes DSM purchase
The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (Taqa) has said that its wholly owned subsidiary, Taqa Energy, has completed its EUR285m acquisition of 100% of the share capital of DSM Energie Holding from Netherlands based Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company Royal DSM N.V. The sale includes non-operated interests in the pipeline company Noordgastransport, three other pipelines and 20 producing oil and gas fields in the Dutch North Sea.
Qatraneh group to build $455m plant
A business consortium, registered as the Qatraneh Electric Power Company, will build an electricity generation plant in the Jordanian town of Qatraneh, at a cost of around $455m, the Jordan Times has reported. The plant will be built on a build-operate-own basis over a term of 25 years to generate electricity at a capacity of 373MW. The project is the second of its kind in the kingdom, implemented by a private entity and it is expected to cover the growing demand for electric power between 2010 and 2013.
Qatar Petroleum: Full Asia November volumes
State oil company Qatar Petroleum has notified at least three Asian term buyers that it will supply crude oil at full contracted volumes for November, Gulf Times has reported. The buyers were informed that full supplies of both its main Marine and Land grades will be maintained in November.
EAX begins Seychelles seabed survey
Dubai-based East Africa Exploration (EAX) and partner, UK-based Avana Petroleum, have started a second seismic survey of part of the Seychelles' seabed estimated to hold more than one billion barrels of oil, Reuters has reported. 'The survey area includes some very large structures in both shallow and deep water targets and is close to the wells drilled by Amoco in 1980/81,' EAX said.
Kuwait crude exports to Japan down
Japan's Natural Resources and Energy Agency has said that Kuwait's crude oil exports to Japan fell by 26.6% in August compared to a year earlier to 8.85 million barrels, or 285,000 barrels per day (bpd), for the second straight month, Kuna has reported. Kuwait had supplied 8% of the nation's crude oil in August, compared with 9.4% in the same month of last year, the agency said.
Austra to supply Jordan solar steam boiler
US-based Ausra has announced it has been selected as the solar steam boiler supplier for a proposed 100-megawatt concentrated solar thermal power project in Ma'an, Jordan. The project is expected to enter operation in 2013 and will be the largest Concentrating Solar Power project in the world using direct solar steam generation. The power plant will rely on Ausra's compact linear Fresnel reflector technology to power the plant's solar steam cycle and generate up to 100 MW of electricity.
South Korea's Mideast oil imports down
According to official figures, South Korea's Middle Eastern crude oil imports stood at 83.6% in the first seven months of 2009, down 2.8% from the same period last year, KUNA has reported. Imports from the Middle East had dropped 5.8% year-on-year in the January-July period, while imports from Asia, including Australia and Russia, had climbed 17.5%, figures by state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) showed.
First solar energy unit in Egypt to operate in 2010
Egypt's Minister of Electricity Hassan Younes has said that the country's first solar power station will operate at full capacity in 2010, Reuters has reported. The new station, which will have a 140 megawatts capacity, is part of a larger facility that also includes three non-solar units and is expected to generate 2,900 megawatts once it comes onstream, he said.
Korean company wins Jordan power contract
Jordan's Samra Electric Power Generating Company has awarded Hanwha, a private South Korean company, to implement the Samra Simple Cycle Phase III Project for Electricity Generation, which aims to increase the kingdom's electricity generating power, the Jordan Times has reported. The project involves setting up two gas turbine stations with a total generating capacity of 285.740 megawatts (MW), which will cover expected future loads, meet increasing demand and support the kingdom's electrical network.
Kuwait resumes talks with BP over China refinery
Hussain Esmaiel, president of state-run Kuwait Petroleum International, has said that the country has revived talks with British Petroleum (BP) as a potential partner in a $9bn joint venture refinery it plans to build with China's Sinopec Corp, Reuters has reported. 'We understand that BP is interested with this project and location and BP has done some surveys and evaluation of the Zhanjiang site,' he said. BP was linked with the project in 2007, but last year appeared to be out of the running when Kuwait shortlisted Royal Dutch Shell and Dow Chemical Co. as potential partners for refining and petrochemicals respectively.
Enoc hires trader to cover crude in Singapore
Emirates National Oil Co (Enoc) has hired a former BP trader to cover crude in Singapore, as the firm joins others in expanding in a sector that is emerging from the downturn. Adrian Querzoli, who is from Adelaide, Australia, is covering both Middle East and Asia-Pacific crude grades for Enoc.
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