(EnergyAsia, July 29, Tuesday) --- Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube (Singapore) Pte Ltd,  a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group BV, said it has been awarded an initial US$38 million contract to supply carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel and incoloy pipes, fittings and flanges for the Saudi Kayan Olefins Plant project in Saudi Arabia. (US$1=S$1.35)

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company’s complex in Jubail city is capable of producing six million metric tons of petrochemicals per year. It includes a 1.3-million-ton per year olefins plant at the Saudi Kayan cracker complex.

Kellogg Brown & Root Singapore will be responsible for the project’s engineering, procurement and construction management.
 

Van Leeuwen regional managing director Hans Weerstra said the award is an “acknowledgment of Van Leeuwen's successful strategy to support energy-related industries worldwide with the supply of steel piping material and enhanced services in logistics and project management.”
 
Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group BV, an international trading company specialising in steel pipes, pipe components and valves, was founded in 1924 and has since been active in virtually all industrial sectors. The group currently has 37 locations throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. It employs more than 1,100 staff and generates an annual turnover of 750 million euros.  (US$1 = 0.63 euros).

(EnergyAsia, July 28, Monday)--- August Energy Pte Ltd will be holding a workshop on ‘Bunkering: Principles, Management & Operations’ at the Bestway Building, off Shenton Way, in Singapore from September 2 to 3.

Bunker fuel prices are probably the largest cost components for the shipping industry today. The cost of bunker fuel recently climbed to a record of more than US$770 a tonne FOB Singapore, double what it was a year ago. Any company exposed to the bunker fuel market today must train its staff to understand both the technical aspects and market practices associated with the volatile nature of this commodity.

Topics addressed include the structure of the oil markets in general and the bunker markets in particular, the impact of the US credit crisis, the crackdown on malpractices, supply-demand balances, Singapore as a major hub in the global bunker supply chain, operational and management practices, and government policies.

The event will also examine the role of surveyors and inspectors, bunker contamination, dispute handling, MARPOL rules and requirements, auditing practices and policy in Singapore.

Speakers at the event include Lee Hong Liang (Bunker World), Douglas Rait (IBIA Asia Exco), Captain Zein (Hong Lam Marine Pte Ltd), Yee Peng Fei (PSB consultant) and Dave Cheng Loon (Certification International Pte Ltd).

Who should attend: crew and staff of bunker companies, shipping lines, bunker purchasing department, brokers, banks, financial institutions, oil companies, government agencies dealing with the marine and maritime industries, traders, operations staff of trading firms.

For more information on ‘Bunkering: Principles, Management & Operations’, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

(EnergyAsia, July 25, Friday) --- Economic growth in emerging East Asia will moderate to 7.6% in 2008 and 2009 from 9.0% in 2007 as the region weathers a global economic slowdown, sharp rise in food and energy prices and volatility reigns in financial markets, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The region’s slowing yet solid growth outlook remains vulnerable to a higher-than-expected spike in inflation, protracted slowdown in the US and any further tremors in global financial markets, says the July issue of the ADB’s Asia Economic Monitor (AEM).

(EnergyAsia, July 25, Friday) --- ‘National Power Australia’ will be held in Sydney, Australia from September 1 to 3.

With a national emissions trading scheme due to start up by 2010, and a mandatory renewable energy target of 20% by 2020, energy companies will have to re-evaluate their business models and formulate new strategies to secure a profitable and sustainable energy future.

(EnergyAsia, July 25, Friday) --- The ‘Biodiesel Success & Alternative Feedstock’ workshop will be held at the Traders Hotel in Singapore from August 25 to 26.

With rising fuel and food prices, biodiesel, especially those produced from non-food sources, represent a potential new market for sustainable energy and chemical development. Companies and governments will have to better understand the biodiesel industry.

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Wednesday) --- SABIC Shenzhen Trading Company Ltd, a SABIC subsidiary in China, said it has agreed to market Saudi Aramco Sino Company Ltd’s 25% share of polyolefin products produced by the Fujian Refining and Petrochemicals Company of China. Saudi Aramco Sino Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco.

Khalid G. Buainain, Saudi Aramco’s senior vice president for refining, marketing and international operations, said marketing studies, conducted by Sino Saudi Aramco Company, revealed that the distribution and marketing of the polyolefins production of Fujian Refining and Petrochemicals Company would cover a large base of customers inside China.

(EnergyAsia, July 21, Monday) --- ‘POWER-GEN Asia’, a conference and exhibition for the power generation and transmission and distribution industries organised by Pennwell, will be held at the KLCC convention centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from October 21 to 23.

POWER-GEN Asia will feature over 75 presentations and will include two plenary sessions on ‘Regional Fuel Developments - Implications for the Power Sector’ chaired by Norman Kegler from Hong Kong-based Independent Power Producers Forum, and ‘Acquisition & Investments’ chaired by Daniel Liew from Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.

Pennwell conference director Nigel Blackaby said: “We are excited by the quality of this year’s conference programme. The strategic and technical content provides great information and educational opportunities for all power industry executives to observe, learn and update their skills and knowledge of emerging technologies and key topics that will affect the future of the region’s power generation industry.

“This year’s programme offers a great range of speakers, from across the industry and around the world, sharing their experiences and skills. We are delighted that presentations will also be made by some of the key industry policy makers and establishments, such as Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission) and Pusat Tenaga Malaysia, which will provide great interest to the industry.”

Penwell’s event director, Glenn Ensor, said, “The sustained growth of POWER-GEN Asia is important in maintaining the on-going support of organisations such as the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and the Energy Commission. We are delighted with their endorsement, and the on-going support of existing exhibitors, whilst welcoming new companies who will experience the benefits and opportunities of being involved with POWER-GEN Asia.”

For more information on ‘POWER-GEN Asia, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

(EnergyAsia, July 21, Monday) --- The G8 Summit early this month ended with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and the US promising to tackle a host of issues pertaining to the climate food and energy crises. Despite the pledges in a long statement, the summit is unlikely to accomplish much as the leaders are more concerned about the immediate health of the their national economies and the spreading impact of the US credit crisis.

Oil was also on their minds as prices continued to set new highs, surging past $147 a barrel shortly after the summit in Hokkaido, Japan which was also attended by the leaders of 15 other countries including China, India, Brazil, Australia and eight African states.

Americans are finally reacting by driving less and ditching their SUVs and fuel guzzlers for smaller vehicles. Truck drivers and fishermen in the US, Europe and Asia are regularly staging protests , demanding their governments “do something” to bring down fuel prices. The airlines industry is on life support  while the shipping industry fears world trade could slow down or even decline if bunker fuel cost continues to escalate.

Meanwhile, reports of fuel shortages are becoming more frequent and severe in many of the world’s poorer countries which practise price controls. The poor and even lower middle income earners in many countries are increasingly being priced out by $140 oil.

Now, what if oil surged to $200, as increasingly predicted by authoritative analysts?

The consequences on the world economy and political stability will be devastating. World trade will decline sharply while air travel will revert to the days when only the rich and famous could afford to fly. Energy guzzling industries will shut down and vehicle traffic will be reduced.

If you were an environmentalist, all the above developments would be unmitigated good news. Painful as it is in the short term, $200 oil would be the most effective solution to much of our climate problems.

Most of the G8’s promises to address the world’s climate issues would be immediately made redundant, and exposed for what they really are: rhetoric.

In one fell swoop, $200 oil would override carbon trading schemes, efforts to establish a post-Kyoto agreement and technological innovation to combat climate change.

In brief, demand destruction or a drastic and immediate reduction in fossil fuels consumption would be the “real” solution to combating global warming and climate change.

 The full version of this story is available in the July 2008 issue of Renewables Report.

(EnergyAsia, July 18, Friday) --- ‘Workplace Safety and Occupational Health’ will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Singapore from August 21 to 22.
The conference will discuss safety leadership and culture, improving safety performance with behaviour-based safety, work injury compensation and claims under the Work Injury and Compensation Act, key challenges and buy-in techniques to nurture a safety culture, the importance of a safety culture, accident investigations, development of systematic and effective training programmes, corporate manslaughter and the importance of workplace safety, construction risks and safety performance, process safety management, how to develop a risk management structure, implementation of an effective system of evaluation and international workplace safety and health standards.