(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) --- China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) has unveiled its strategy for further growth and expansion of its existing business.

Chairman Lim Jit Poh said: “CAO’s strategy sets out the developmental direction for CAO which will complement its current business model of deriving income from jet fuel procurement. CAO will take additional calculated risks to sustain its growth objectives and create the capabilities it needs to compete in the future.”

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) --- Finland’s Wartsila said it will deliver the world’s first planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology unit to produce electric and heating power for the Vaasa Housing Fair site in Western Finland.

Wartsila said the plant is fuelled by biogas or methane originating from a nearby landfill, and will initially produce an electric output of approximately 20 kW and a thermal output of 14 to 17 kW. The plant will produce both electricity and heating for the fair site's needs at very high efficiency. The emissions from a biogas-fuelled fuel cell are very low, which means that the solution supports the development of sustainable energy technology.

(EnergyAsia, March 7, Friday) --- Australian resources giant BHP Billiton said it has approved a US$975 million coal optimisation project which includes utilising reserves across the Douglas and Middelburg Mine Services (MMS) collieries and developing new mines with low strip ratio coal to be fed into a new 14-million-ton-per-year processing plant. The plant will replace the existing, less efficient washing plant at Douglas.

BHP Billiton said the project will enable it to maintain coal exports from the combined Douglas Colliery and MMS at current levels whilst also fulfilling domestic contractual commitments. BHP Billiton’s share is approximately 9.5 million tons per year.

(EnergyAsia, March 6, Thursday) --- A business group including leading companies such as HP, Sony, Nokia and Nike recently released the Tokyo Declaration, a joint call to tackle the urgent issue of climate change.

Signing the declaration at the Climate Savers Summit 2008 held by WWF and Sony in Tokyo, a dozen business leaders highlighted that the world’s greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by more than 50% by 2050. They added that emissions must peak and start to decline within the next 10 to 15 years in order to keep global warming below the dangerous threshold of 2 degrees Celsius.

“At Sony, we believe that it is impossible for a business to flourish in a degraded environment. For this reason we are committed to using our technological ability and know-how to reduce our impact on the planet, and to help our customers reduce their impact at home,” said Sir Howard. “We have always recognized that we have an obligation to act responsibly in all of our business activities to help minimise our environmental impact, and at the same time utilise our unique talents to help solve environmental problems together with our peers and our partners.”

Many signatories have already exceeded the ambitious emission reduction targets they set themselves upon joining the Climate Savers Program. In the declaration they go beyond this with a pledge to reach out to their business partners and urge them to undertake effective steps to reduce climate pollution. The companies also pledge to promote and enable a low-carbon lifestyle among their customers and consumers.

“These companies should be applauded for taking leadership on the issue of climate change and setting a strong example for others to follow,” said Richard Moss, VP and managing director for Climate Change. “They are tackling the issue head-on and using their global presence to talk to other companies, governments, consumers and customers.”

With the Tokyo Declaration, Climate Saver companies intend to emphasise the imperatives and benefits of early, voluntary and innovative action on climate change. The signatories include Allianz, Catalyst, Collins, HP, Nike, Nokia, Novo Nordisk, Sagawa, Sony, Spitsbergen Travel, Tetra-Pak and Xanterra.

Climate Savers is a business initiative organized by WWF to mobilize companies to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. WWF has dubbed Climate Savers ‘innovative solutions for a living planet’.

(EnergyAsia, March 5, Wednesday) --- Taiwan has always been a major place for thin-film technology and the semiconductor industry. Big players in the Taiwanese industry are now using this experience to explore and start new thin-film silicon solar production initiatives.

The share of thin-film in the global supply of solar cells and modules is likely to grow from around 8% in 2007 to 20% or more in 2010.

(EnergyAsia, March 5, Wednesday) --- ‘Deepwater Development Asia 2008’ will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from March 24 to 26.

As wells in Asia continue to deplete, more companies are beginning to realise the potential of deepwater fields. Deepwater development is now a strategically important element for most global offshore operators as most easily accessible offshore hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered and mined for the last five decades.

(EnergyAsia, March 4, Tuesday) --- More than two dozen Australian experts from the renewable energy industry met in Melbourne last week to debate the issues for clean energy investment in emerging Asian and Pacific economies in advance of this week’s WIREC global summit on clean energy in Washington, DC .

Asia was one of three regions targeted by WIREC to conduct stakeholder consultations in preparation for the summit. The Asian consultation was the result of a collaboration between three of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership’s (REEEP) Regional Secretariats – South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

At the consultation, Hydro Tasmania chairman David Crean said: “We believe WIREC will play a key role in continuing to build global policy momentum and prioritisation on the increased deployment of renewable energy technologies. The previous Ministerial events in both Bonn 2004 and Beijing 2005 helped to bring together all the renewable energy sources and potential, provided a status check on global trends in technology developments, and synthesised the various commercial and regulatory drivers needed to ensure appropriate deployment policies were developed rapidly.

“WIREC is the next major step and we’re pleased an Australian perspective can be part of necessary international developments.”

Participants at the REEEP forum included several members of the Australian Clean Energy Council along with investors, electricity generators, policy and legal experts, federal government representatives and the US Embassy.

“The forum confirmed that the technology is ready right now, but what’s needed is both political stability and long term policy and regulatory frameworks. These are fundamental to ensuring that Asia develops clean energy and a low carbon economy,” said REEEP’s Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional Manager, Amy Kean.

The outcomes of the consultation will become part of a broader, consolidated report that Ms. Buyelwa Sonjica South African Minister for Minerals and Energy will be presenting at the Ministerial Meeting in Washington.

“A broad range of renewable energy industry representatives - including nabCapital’s renewable energy financing specialists - contributed to lively discussion with common themes emerging for REEEP to take to Washington.  These themes centre on regulatory framework certainty, the development of regional emission trading schemes and their potential future linkage,” said nabCapital’s head of Carbon Solutions Group, Rachel O'Neill.

(EnergyAsia, March 4, Tuesday) --- Four events – Metering Asia Pacific, Billing and CRM/CIS Asia-Pacific, Transmission & Distribution Asia and Energy Efficiency/ ESCO Asia – will be held during ‘Asian Energy Week 2008’ at the Shangri-la Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from May 26 to 29. The event will provide a platform for industry players to share insights and information on technologies, trends and the future of electric utilities.

Organised by Synergy, the events will focus on energy supply, asset management, network planning and operations, transmission and distribution networks, energy efficiency, energy services and management, metering and regulatory framework, smart metering and strategic challenges in metering and billing/CRM.

Two post-event seminars will be held at the same venue on May 29. The Advanced Metering Workshop, conducted by Howard Scott from Cognyst Consulting, will discuss methods to prevent theft of electricity. It will provide an analysis on worldwide trends, technology and deployment options available to electricity, gas and water utilities, and the practical aspects of exploring vendor offerings.

Pierre Langlois of Econoler International, who will be conducting the second workshop on International Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), will be presenting the new IPMVP 2007 and will be discussing the different methodologies that can be applied in the European and international market.

This would provide participants with a hands-on understanding of the proven IPMVP savings measurement methods and related risk mitigation strategies that were successfully employed in global projects.

‘Asian Energy Week 2008’ is expected to attract 500 key players and will feature more than 80 speakers and over 50 international exhibitors.

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(EnergyAsia, March 4, Tuesday) --- Riding on record oil prices and strong growth in exploration and production, Asia’s leading oil and gas exhibition and conference, OSEA2008, which will be held at the Suntec exhibition hall in Singapore from December 2 to 5, is expected to attract over 14,000 industry players.

Organised by Singapore Exhibition Services, OSEA2008 will feature more than 1,000 major oil companies from 50 countries which will showcase solutions that will enhance efficiency and productivity.

The conference will highlight upstream technologies for seismic, exploration and production activities including facilities management, maintenance and repair, well completion equipment, lifting equipment, cranes and winches, LNG, LPG and GTL production technology, enhanced recovery systems, monitoring and testing technology, reservoir engineering, evaluation and more.

Singapore Exhibition Services project director Tee Boon Teong said:
“Building on the success of the prior 16 editions, we are thrilled to announce that the event will once again be providing a major avenue for the region’s oil and gas industry. With Asia being the fastest growing oil market, exploration companies are continuously intensifying their programmes to keep up with demand.

“This has led to a surge in demand for oil and gas equipment as companies look to profit from the sheer amount of business going on in Southeast Asia at this time. Taking place at a lucrative time, OSEA is the region’s premier event for companies to showcase and source for cutting-edge technologies and to network with fellow professionals.”

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(EnergyAsia, March 3, Monday) --- Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering Limited has announced a record after-tax net profit of S$52.8 million for the full year ended December 31 2007, up 50% from FY2006. (US$1=S$1.4).
 
The group’s turnover hit a new high of S$510.2 million, an increase of 17% over S$437.4 million from the previous year. The increase in turnover is largely accounted by contributions from several on-going projects on Jurong Island.

Rotary, a leading provider of engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, has been developing a niche as a builder of oil storage terminals and depots.

Chia Kim Piow, Rotary’s chairman and managing director, said: “We are happy to have completed our mega-project, Universal Terminal, ahead of schedule. We also managed to secure a number of new projects in the year and this has enabled us to enjoy some economies of scale.

“Overall, it has been a good year although there have been ups and downs. The results show that we have the capabilities to deliver services to our clients’ satisfaction, the necessary foresight to make the right strategic moves in a competitive market, and a strong management team that is able to lead our people in the right direction.”

The group also registered a stronger gross profit margin of 24.4% and PATMI (profit after tax and minority interest) margin of 10.4% compared to 18.4% and 8.0% respectively the previous year.

Earnings per share for the year under review rose to 9.3 cents against 8.7 cents in the preceding year.

Quarter-on-quarter, the group’s net profit after tax and minority interest stood at S$12.4 million, 54% up from S$8 million it recorded in the previous corresponding quarter. Its turnover performance this quarter dipped 16% to S$98.9 million from S$117.3 million previously due to recognition of revenue as a result of completion of several major projects in the last quarter of 2006.

Rotary said its overseas activities contribute about 18%, or S$93.9 million, to its revenue, up from 14% previously.

Thailand was the biggest contributor with S$73.2 million, due to the execution of projects secured over the past two years.

The group’s persistence in forging a presence in oil-rich Middle East paid off with a modest contribution to revenue of S$4.5 million in FY2007.

Rotary said its financial standing remains robust with net tangible assets of S$175.2 million and a strong net cash position of S$123.8 million. Its market capitalisation exceeded S$550 million at end of February, while its total order book to date stands at a record S$640 million.

Mr Chia remains upbeat on the outlook for the oil-and-gas industry.

“There are projects coming up on Jurong Island such as ExxonMobil’s second world-scale petrochemical project and Neste Oil’s largest next-generation biodiesel manufacturing plant. The oil industry continues to be important to the Singapore economy. These are factors that are favourable for our business,” he said, adding that Rotary would also be actively looking to tap overseas markets, such as the Middle East and China for further growth.