Trafigura Merging China Oil Operations in New Shanghai Trading Desk
Swiss commodities merchant Trafigura plans to merge its three-year-old crude oil marketing office in Qingdao, in east China's Shandong province, with an oil desk being set up in Shanghai, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.Trafigura earlier this year created a head oil trader position in its Shanghai office, which has long focused on metals, said the sources. Huang Shufu, from the company's Singapore-based oil team…
Coronavirus hits Supertanker Rates
Freight rates for supertankers on the Mideast Gulf and U.S. Gulf routes to Asia have fallen to their lowest since mid-September as the coronavirus outbreak hit Chinese oil demand, ship brokers told Reuters.China's Sinopec Corp, Asia's largest refiner, and so-called "teapot" independent refineries have reined in operations in the face of plunging consumption."The market has gone back to what it was before the COSCO sanctions came in," one ship broker said, referring to U.S.
China Develops 10MW Offshore Wind Turbine
China’s Dongfang Electric Corp. (DEC) has unveiled what it claims will be the country’s first 10MW offshore wind turbine after successfully developing a direct-drive permanent-magnet generator (PMG) for the super-sized machine.The company reported that it underwent testing and is now ready for commercial operations.The new generator is by far the largest of its kind in the country in terms of rotor diameter and unit capacity…
Sinopec Resumes Output at Most Wells Shut by Typhoon
Sinopec Corp has resumed operations at most of the oil and gas wells at its top-producing oilfield, Shengli in east China, after thousands were shut due to typhoon Lekima, parent company Sinopec Group said on Wednesday.The state oil and gas firm has resumed production at 15,318 of the 16,565 crude wells closed by the typhoon, which hit the weekend before last, Sinopec said on its website.The oil well closures caused total production losses of 44…
First ANS Cargo in One Year on Way to China
One million barrels of Alaskan crude is due in China next week, the first such shipment in almost a year, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon and vessel-tracking firm Kpler.China's imports of U.S. crude have fallen amid the two countries' trade dispute to 41,600 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months ended February, from 377,000 bpd in the first half of 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.Tanker…
Largest Chinese-built FSRU Delivered
PaxOcean’s Zhoushan Shipyard has delivered a 26,000m3 floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Karunia Dewata to Indonesia-based Jaya Samudra Karunia (JSK). The FSRU is the largest to be built in China and will be capable of regasifying around 50 million standard cubic feet per day.The project marks a milestone for China's growing gas shipping industry and will help increase the development of Indonesia’s gas supply chain, where the unit will be based.
Sinopec, Zhejiang to Build LNG Terminal in China
China's Sinopec Corp has teamed with Zhejiang Energy Group Co Ltd on a 3 million tonne-per-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in east China, with the first phase set for operation at end-2021, the state oil giant said on Wednesday.The project, to be built in Wenzhou of Zhejiang province, includes four tanks each able to store 200,000 cubic meters of LNG, a berth to dock tankers of 30,000 cubic meters to 266…
STATS Group Earns the Subsea Pipeline Projects Award
Pipeline technology company, STATS Group, has been awarded the Subsea Pipeline Projects Award by the Pipeline Industries Guild, for its BISEP technology. STATS has invested significant capital in developing its subsea BISEP® technology, which is installed when pressurized pipelines need isolation for repair, modification or tie-in activities. The BISEP technology provides fail-safe double block and bleed isolation deployed through a single hot tap fitting.
East China Sea Dispute: Japan Protests China Drilling Vessel
Japan has protested to China for allowing a gas drilling vessel to operate in disputed waters in the East China Sea, the government said on Friday.
East China LNG Terminal Records 93% Sales Increase
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in east China operated by China National Offshore Oil Company, or CNOOC, recorded an increase of 93 percent in gas sales in the first five months of this year, the state oil company said on Monday,CNOOC's LNG sales from the Ningbo terminal in Zhejiang province hit 2 million tonnes by the end of May, nearly doubling the amount from a year ago, according to a statement posted on CNOOC's website.The gas sales are expected to head higher in the coming few months as dem
Ship Collision; Iranian Tanker Burns; 32 Missing
A tanker carrying Iranian oil and run by the country's top oil shipping firm was ablaze and spewing cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese freight ship, leaving the tanker's 32 crew members missing, the Chinese government said.Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the Sanchi tanker engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship…
China's Giant Floating Solar Plant Goes Live
China's Three Gorges Group started producing power from a 150-megawatt floating solar plant in east China, the largest of its kind in the world, official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The solar power project in Huainan in Anhui province, developed by the new energy unit of state-run Three Gorges Group, is expected to be in full operation in May next year, the report said. The one-billion-yuan Huainan…
Japan Protests over Signs of Renewed Chinese Gas Exploration
Japan has protested to China over signs it is pressing ahead with maritime gas exploration in the East China Sea despite Tokyo's repeated requests to stop, Japan's top government spokesman said on Wednesday. The exploration platforms are on the Chinese side of the median line between the two countries, but Japan accuses China of ignoring a 2008 agreement to maintain cooperation on resources development in an area where no official border has been drawn.
Sinopec to Sell Gasline Unit Stake
China's Sinopec Corp said on Tuesday it would sell half of its premium natural gas pipeline business to investors, a move spurred by Beijing's reform push to boost efficiency and increase infrastructure investment in cleaner fuel. Sinopec, the country's second-largest oil and gas group, said it would hold 50 percent in the Sichuan-East China pipeline project after the completion of the divestment plan that has won board approval.
Japan Slams China Over Maritime Issues
Japan has accused China of being assertive over maritime issues, taking actions that effectively amount to a "fait accompli", reports Strait Times. In its 484-page annual defence white paper on Tuesday (Aug 2), the defence ministry said the aggressive actions by China could "cause unintended consequences", referring to past incidents including one where a China naval frigate entered Japan's contiguous zone this year, near a crop of islets in the East China Sea that has been claimed by both countries.
Traders Lose Millions as LPG Glut Routs Market
U.S. propane buyers cancel cargoes as prices sink. Chinese end-users seek to wriggle out of expensive contracts. Traders in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market face a "career-ruining" glut that has led to millions of dollars in losses as Chinese buyers, far from coming to the rescue, are in a stand-off with oil companies to cancel deals. LPG, a historically niche and dislocated market, has ballooned with the advent of U.S. exports due to the shale boom.
CNOOC Tenders Offshore Blocks, Some in South China Sea
China National Offshore Oil Company, or CNOOC, has issued a tender inviting foreign firms to bid for 18 blocks off China's northern, eastern and southern coast, according to a company statement. The blocks have a total size of 52,257 square km, including three blocks in the Bohai Bay area, one in East China Sea and 14 in the northern part of the South China Sea, the company said on its website www.cnooc.com.cn.
Asia VLCC Rates Hold Steady after Near 4-week High
Freight rates in Asian trades for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are set to hold steady around current levels next week, after hitting a near four-week high on Thursday, as tanker supply matches cargo demand. "I can't see the market crashing, or spiking. There are enough ships - there is no real shortage of tonnage," a Singapore-based supertanker broker said on Friday. Around 32 VLCC cargoes have been fixed…
Chevron Hits First Gas with Chuandongbei
Chevron Corporation announced today that its fully-owned subsidiary Unocal East China Sea, Ltd. began natural gas production from the first stage of the Chuandongbei Project in southwest China. Chuandongbei is one of the largest onshore gas projects developed by an international oil company and a national oil company in China. "First gas for the Chuandongbei Project represents a significant milestone and highlights Chevron's leadership in the development of sour gas resources…
China: 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.
