TOP STORIES:
Indonesia may loosen export ban on metal ores Reuters 28 Aug 2013
Indonesia will push for a relaxation of its controversial 2014 ban on metal ore exports amid a scramble to support the rupiah and restore confidence in Southeast Asia's largest economy. Indonesia is the world's top exporter of nickel ore, coal and refined tin and its mining industry contributes around 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
ADB to Fund Sarawak-West Kalimantan Hydroelectric Power Project The Jakarta Globe 28 Aug 2013
Indonesia’s state-owned power company will build a 145-kilometer-long electric line linking customers in West Kalimantan with hydroelectric plants in neighboring Sarawak, Malaysia, under a plan that has been heralded as a commitment to green energy in Indonesia but is rife with environmental concerns in Malaysia. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project is expected to provide 8,000 homes in West Kalimantan with cheaper electricity and cut carbon emissions by 400,000 tons a year by 2020. The state-run Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) currently uses oil to provide power to the province.
LOOKING AHEAD: 2013 USABC Energy Business Mission, Sept. 24-26.
Cambodia
Solar street light campaign kicks off for Cambodia pv magazine 26 Aug 2013
Fosera Lighting, a spin-off company from Singapore's Solar Energy Research Institute (SERIS), began a crowdfunding campaign earlier this month to use solar energy to bring street lights to three villages in the Kimpong Chhanang Province of Cambodia. The campaign hopes to raise $33,500 for the lights and there are 12 days remaining to make contributions. Fosera has developed an integrated solar powered street and community light, called the Commlight.
UK to Request Extradition of Biofuel Company’s Chairman Cambodia Daily 26 Aug 2013
The U.K.’s fraud office plans to request the extradition of a British national currently detained in Cambodia, after it brought charges against four people for their part in a $36 million Ponzi scheme involving a biofuel plantation. Gregg Fryett was arrested in Phnom Penh in March and charged by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court after an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) into a deal to purchase land from the wife of former Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Commander-in-Chief Ke Kim Yan.
Indonesia
Private sector steps up to boost domestic biogas use The Jakarta Post 28 Aug 2013
The private sector is taking the initiative to boost the use of renewable energy biogas technology by providing technical assistance and financial aid to rural households and cattle farmers throughout the country. “The eco-friendly biogas technology can help users to use less energy and save more money,” program manager for Indonesia Domestic Biogas division from House of Energy and HIVOS, Robert de Groot, said during the dedication of domestic biogas reactor funding on Monday.
SBY to Argue for ‘Green’ Palm Oil The Jakarta Globe 28 Aug 2013
Indonesia will use its status as host of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to push for crude palm oil to be included on a list of environmentally friendly goods eligible for a tariff reduction. Indonesian CPO producers would benefit from an import tariffs cut of up to 5 percent from APEC member nations from 2015 if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono successfully makes his case at the Bali forum that starts on Oct. 1, a government official said. Yudhoyono had urged the 21 APEC member nations to include CPO on the group’s green goods list at last year’s forum in Russia, but the proposal was opposed by the United States and other developed nations.
Freeport and Newmont MoUs Not Enough: Hatta The Jakarta Globe 27 Aug 2013
Indonesia will not exempt US-backed gold miners Freeport Indonesia and Newmont Nusa Tenggara from next year’s export ban despite both mining giants having signed memoranda of understanding to supply their concentrates to local smelters, a senior minister says. Hatta Rajasa, the coordinating minister for the economy, on Tuesday said the signing of MoUs was not enough to grant miners extensions of the export deadline. “If the ground breaking is already done and the financial closing has been made, we can consider granting them extensions,” said Hatta, who leads the government’s negotiations with the mining companies. He said miners would not be allowed to export their commodities without domestic processing. “The mining export ban will still be imposed,” he said.
Indonesia may miss oil output target this year as operators wary after graft scandal The Jakarta Post 26 Aug 2013
Indonesia, formerly Southeast Asia’s sole representative at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), may miss its crude oil production target this year following the uncovering of a graft case that has highlighted the uncertainty in the country’s upstream oil and gas sector. Gde Pradnyana, the secretary of the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulator Special Task Force (SKKMigas), said over the weekend the provisional upstream regulator was now struggling to calm down wary oil and gas contractors over the country to keep operations going, following the recent detention of Rudi Rubiandini in bribery allegations.
Indonesia's power cable industry heads for a shakeout Reuters 25 Aug 2013
Indonesia may lose three-quarters of its power cable makers in the next two to three years as thin margins drive weaker players to accept buyouts, leaving a handful of larger companies to feed the fast-growing economy's electricity demand. Cable industry revenues in Southeast Asia's biggest economy rose to around $2.5 billion last year, up 20 percent from a year earlier but still tiny compared with larger emerging market such as China or India. Indonesia has earmarked $174 billion for infrastructure development over the next 12 years, and about 40 percent of that will go to building power and energy projects in the power-starved archipelago where nearly a quarter of the population lacks basic electricity.
Renewable Sector Hopeful Despite Regulatory Knots The Jakarta Globe 22 Aug 2013
Fazil Erwin Alfitri, president director of Medco Power, a private utility firm, is confident that the company’s core business, renewable energy, offers an abundance of opportunities. “Renewable energy is a good business. The return is very attractive,” Fazil said. One factor giving him confidence is the government’s move to raise the price floor paid to generators by state utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara for renewable energy sources including geothermal and hydro power. The government has set the floor purchasing price of power generated from geothermal at 11 cents to 18 cents per kilowatt hour, depending on location. Solar sources may fetch 25 cents to 30 cents, depending on local components content.
China, Indonesia to join Exxon at giant Iraqi oilfield Reuters 22 Aug 2013
China and Indonesia are set to join Exxon Mobil's $50 billion project to develop Iraq's West Qurna-1 oilfield, company and industry sources said on Thursday. Various scenarios for farming out Exxon's 60 percent stake in the giant oilfield are still under discussion, but at this stage China's biggest energy firm PetroChina is expected to take 25 percent and Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina 10 percent, they said.
Construction on first RI bioethanol plant started The Jakarta Post 21 Aug 2013
The Indonesian government, in cooperation with a Japanese counterpart, on Tuesday launched the development of its first bioethanol plant in Mojokerto, East Java. “It is our first molasses–based ethanol plant. The project will later run in other state-owned enterprises but with other crops, such as sorghum,” said State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan. Dahlan was speaking at a ceremony that marked the start of the bioethanol factory project, which is owned by state-owned plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) X, on Tuesday. The factory, which is being developed on 6.5 hectares of land in Gedeg district in Mojokerto, will have a production capacity of 30 million liters of bioethanol with a purity level of 99.5 percent.
Laos
Egco reports 14% profit rise in Q2 national multimedia 23 Aug 2013
Electricity Generating's second-quarter net profit before foreign-exchange items rose 14 per cent to Bt2.04 billion. In the first half, Egco earned Bt4.05 billion on revenue of Bt9.23 billion. President Sahust Pratuknukul said yesterday that in the second quarter, Egco made progress in its initiatives, acquiring assets in projects, with a continued focus on power generating, and investing in projects with power purchase agreements (PPA). The company has also sold all its shares in a joint venture whose PPAs have only a few years left to fund new projects, he said.
Malaysia
Transmission link will bring hydropower from Malaysia to Indonesia Penn Energy 28 Aug 2013
Indonesia and Malaysia are to be linked by a new transmission line. The line will join West Kalimantan in Indonesia with a hydropower plant (pictured) Malaysia hydropower in Sarawak, Malaysia, and construction is expected to be completed by December 2014. Funding for the Indonesian side of the project has been agreed, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) providing $49.5m itself, as well as administering another $49.5m loan from French development agency Agence Française de Dévelopment. A further $2m will come from the Multi-Donor Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.
Sustainable Energy Development Authority seeks extra 1% levy The Star 28 Aug 2013
The Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda) is seeking an additional 1% levy to the renewable energy (RE) fund, on top of the current 1% imposed in electricity bills, according to CEO Datin Badriyah Abdul Malek. “We’re looking at a maximun 1% levy that could increase the RE fund size to spur more development in the RE sector. The RE fund is the lifeline of Feed-in-Tariff (FiT),” she said at Seda’s Raya open house in Putrajaya yesterday.
Last of 2013 private solar power quota out tomorrow The Malay Mail Online 27 Aug 2013
The government will release the remainder of 2013's quota for private home owners under the Solar Home Rooftop Programme over the next two weeks starting tomorrow. The Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda) Malaysia said in a statement today that the 1,500kW quota will be released to successful applicants in three batches of 500kW each on August 28, September 4 and September 11.
Myanmar
Myanmar's oil potential touted istock analyst 28 Aug 2013
Singapore's Interra Resources Ltd. announced it completed drilling its 14th oil well at the Chauk oil field in Myanmar. Interra said it completed drilling development well CHK 1171 in the Chauk oil field, its since the start of the year. The well was drilled to a depth of 3,200 feet and gave up 125 barrels of oil per day during testing. The company gave no indication Monday of the reserve potential in the Chauk oil field but said "several" other projects of its kind were slated for additional testing.
Philippines
Offshore Philippines oil drilling & production update from Otto Energy Penn Energy 28 Aug 2013
Otto Energy Limited (“Otto”) (ASX:OEL), as operator of the producing Galoc oilfield joint venture offshore the Philippines, provides the following update on the Galoc-5H and Galoc-6H drilling campaign in SC14C, part of the Galoc Phase II development approved in 2012.
Dubai oil firm eyes Philippines depot arabian business 28 Aug 2013
Dubai oil firm Kampac International plans to invest in a multi-billion dollar depot project in the Philippines, according to a report in south-east Asia. Manila Standard Today reported that the company, through its Kampic Oil Middle East subsidiary, planned to distribute and sell oil throughout the region with the Philippines at its distribution hub. The depot is located near the boundary of Quezon and Laguna provinces.
Singapore
Energy leaders to address dynamic changes in the global energy sector Eco-Business 28 Aug 2013
This year’s Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) will feature a line-up of esteemed speakers including several government leaders and industry captains who will be speaking at the event for the first time.
Thailand
Following marine oil leakage, Thailand tightens regulations UPI 15 Aug 2013
The Thai government is tightening environmental regulations in the wake of last month's massive oil spill. The July 27 leak occurred in PTT Global Chemical Plc's pipeline at a mooring used to transfer oil from the seabed to a tanker off the eastern province of Rayong, threatening a major tourist site, Ao Prao beach on the island of Koh Samet. Roughly 13,200 gallons of oil leaked into the sea.
Vietnam
Thai Oil Firm PTT Sees Vietnam as Better Investment Bet Than Burma Irrawaddy 28 Aug 2013
Thailand’s state-controlled oil company PTT has begun a feasibility study into funding and building what would be Southeast Asia’s biggest refinery—in Vietnam. The proposals for a huge US$30 billion plant capable of processing 660,000 barrels of crude oil per day could undermine PTT’s previously declared interest in investing in Burma’s dilapidated and inadequate oil refining industry.
Vietnam to build $500 mln nuclear center in late 2015 tuoitrenews 16 Aug 2013
Vietnam will start the construction of a nuclear technology center, possibly in the Central Highlands, which will cost half a billion dollars in two years, an atomic energy official told Tuoi Tre on Thursday. The Ministry of Science and Technology has been assigned to steer a project to build the Nuclear Science and Technology Center with consultation from Russian experts, Tran Chi Thanh, director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute, said at a conference on nuclear technology in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.