SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore-based Asia Pacific Exchange (APEX) will launch a low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) futures contract on Friday aimed at helping shipping and energy firms manage price fluctuations as stricter global marine fuel rules kick in from 2020, it said.
New International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations cutting the allowed sulfur content in shipping fuel to 0.5% from 3.5% in a bid to combat air pollution will apply from Jan. 1 next year.
The new contract aims to help the energy and shipping sectors to hedge risk in the relatively new market for 0.5% LSFO delivered marine fuels, or bunkers, the spokesman said.
“Risk management demand for delivered bunker LSFO prices has become more significant due to factors such as the uncertainty in LSFO specifications, and the disconnection between cargo and delivered prices,” said the spokesman.
The cash-settled, U.S. dollar-denominated LSFO futures contract will be for 10 tonnes of fuel oil, and will use the Argus Bunker Index (ABI) Singapore LSFO 0.5% as the settlement price, according to APEX and Argus company websites.
The Argus LSFO 0.5% index represents the price of bunker fuel delivered within 4-12 days of the trade date, for volumes between 500-3,000 tonnes, with viscosity of less than 380-centistoke (cst) and sulfur content below 0.5%.
The LSFO futures contract is APEX’s second fuel oil contract and follows the 380-cst high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) contracts it launched in April.
“Since the launch of the HSFO contract, we have been closely monitoring the demand and pain points of the market, and will continuously design new products and improve our services based on market’s feedback,” the spokesman said.
The new contract is expected to help users cope with the change in marine fuel regulation, he added.
Since its launch the APEX 380-cst HSFO contract has seen average daily trading volume of some 23,000 lots, representing 230,000 tonnes of fuel oil, and an average daily open interest of around 3,600 lots, or 36,000 tonnes, the spokesman said.
HCM City (VNA) – The Tam Sinh Nghia Investment Development JSC on October 16 kicked off construction on a waste-to-energy plant with a daily capacity of 2,000 tonnes of waste at the Tay Bac Solid Waste Treatment Complex in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City.
To be built at a cost of 5 trillion VND (216.58 million USD), the plant, the second of its kind in Ho Chi Minh City, will generate 40 MW of electricity annually.
According to the company’s General Director Ngo Xuan Tiec, the plant will use German Martin Grade technology which is now available in 40 countries worldwide to generate electricity and produce recyclable by-products.
“This advanced technology helps reduce the volume of buried waste, reuse treated wastewater and effectively control odours.”
The first phase of the project is being built on an 8ha area in the 20ha facility run by the Tam Sinh Nghia Investment Development JSC.
Construction will take 18 months, and the plant will begin operation after a four-month trial period.
The plant’s second phase will be built on the remaining 12ha and it would increase the processing capacity to 3,000 tonnes of waste per day, he said.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong, praised the company for acquiring the technology, saying the city is taking various measures to treat daily waste by modern technology to ensure environmental hygiene and make the best use of natural resources.
The city generates around 9,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, of which more than 72 percent is buried and the rest is burnt, recycled or used to produce fertilisers.
It aims to process 50 percent of the waste to produce electricity by next year.
“I hope waste treatment companies join hands with the city to achieve the target,” he said.
The People’s Committee approved the construction of three plants to generate electricity from waste using advanced technologies in August.
On August 28, construction on the first plant began at the Tay Bac Solid Waste Treatment Complex in Cu Chi. The 400 million USD plant is being built by Vietstar JSC, and in the first phase can process 2,000 tonnes per day.
Tasco Joint Stock Company is expected to begin construction of the third plant by the end of this year./.
Gas-to-power deals offer Hanoi a quick route towards reducing its trade surplus with the US and avoiding President Trump’s attention
US pressure on Vietnam to reduce its trade deficit is creating a rare opportunity for US LNG producers to access a fast-growing Southeast Asian economy, fortuitously at a time when trade tensions are dampening their hopes for exports to China.
In the latter half of 2019—while Trump administration officials stepped up threats to impose tariffs over the $39.5bn trade deficit—deals for LNG imports and LNG-related power generation worth over $5bn have been signed between US firms and the Vietnamese government.
In the largest deal, the Vietnamese government chose Arlington-based power company AES on 2 October to develop an LNG-to-power 2.2GW combined cycle gas turbine power plant in the south-central province of Binh Thuan. The Vietnamese ministry of industry and trade confirmed the $5bn deal for the Son My 2 plant, which will be built under a 20-year build-operate-transfer contract, after a visit to Washington by minister Tran Tuan Anh.
“Hanoi wants to be on better terms with the US government and realises that it has to address the trade imbalance. These LNG agreements are probably one of the quicker ways to rectify it,” says Greg Vesey, managing director and CEO of Houston-based LNG Limited.
Vesey’s firm secured a 2mn t/y, 20-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) on 2 September with the government of the coastal province of Bac Lieu. It has agreed to provide supply from its planned Magnolia LNG export terminal in Louisiana, which is scheduled for FID later this year, to a 3,000MW LNG-to-power project in Bac Lieu that is being developed by Singapore’s Delta Offshore Energy.
“Our alliance with LNG Limited allows the [Vietnamese] government to have a stronger relationship with US market [participants] and [gain from] the long-term stability of the Henry Hub index, which fits perfectly with the Vietnamese national power development plan,” says Bobby Quintos, engineering managing director of Delta Offshore Energy.
In a separate deal, Arlington-based Gen X Energy confirmed in September plans to work with authorities of the southern province of Vung Tau on a $6bn LNG storage complex. A further deal has been struck by Houston and Paris-based oilfield service company TechnipFMC on 15 October to provide engineering, procurement and construction for the second phase of PetroVietnam’s Nam Con Son 2 project.
Carrot and stick
Vietnam wants to build 10 LNG import projects by 2030, almost all for LNG-to-power, raising imports from zero to 10mn t/y. While domestic reserves of natural gas are rapidly depleting, the government estimates in its seventh power development plan that power demand will grow from 48,600MW to 129,500MW by 2030, due to rapid economic growth and urbanisation.
The LNG deals follow a series of US trade missions and diplomatic approaches in recent months designed to secure a significant US role in Vietnam’s energy transition. The US Department of State and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (USTDA) has been forging links with Vietnamese officials through regular “energy security dialogue” meetings since last March, and in May the USTDA offered state-run utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) a $1.4mn grant to support a feasibility study on a $1bn LNG import terminal in southern Vietnam.
“The Vietnamese government sees the benefit of buying something—which it absolutely needs—from the US,” says Vesey. “North America has had a huge LNG resource base for a long time, and it’s made for a very stable price environment. We are all out there just looking for places to sell LNG, given the current stalemate with China.”
Beijing raised import tariffs on US LNG to 25pc, while earlier this month the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the US State Department signed a memorandum of understanding that established a mechanism for long-term LNG cooperation.
The cosier diplomatic ties and proposed US deals represent a major turnaround from two years ago, when a World Bank-sanctioned roadmap towards development of the domestic gas industry noted that the principle LNG importers being considered by Hanoi were “Middle East countries, Russia, Australia and China”.
The progress in Vietnam offers respite to the US LNG industry, which is suffering from the impact of US tariffs elsewhere. In any case, taking an early lead in a strategic market provides an important boost to the growing export industry.
However, recent economic development is posing an increasing threat to Cambodia’s environmental future. This is particularly troubling in the capital Phnom Penh, where population growth due to rapid industrialization has led to an uncontrolled increase in waste production: in the last 10 years, waste in one of Phnom Penh’s main landfills has more than doubled.
To help resolve this pressing issue, Cambodia has regularly engaged with the international community, and has ratified the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm conventions. In this same spirit, Cambodia has recently partnered with the Chemicals and Waste Management Programme on an important three-year project to strengthen key institutions in order to promote a more efficient and coordinated implementation of these international agreements.
The project will seek to bridge gaps in and contribute to the implementation of Cambodia’s national environmental strategic action plan 2016-2023. This will involve firstly the strengthening of inter-sectoral coordination to improve monitoring and facilitate the implementation, reporting and compliance of the conventions. It will also enhance the existing Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group in Charge of Facilitation and Implementation of the Basel, Vienna, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions.
Building on previous national assessments of chemicals and waste management, Cambodia will undertake a systematic analysis of its national obligations under each convention. Past challenges with reporting and potential compliance or technical issues will also be identified. Based on this analysis, a joint approach for implementation of the conventions will also be outlined to make the best use of Cambodia’s limited resources.
Cambodia will also create a robust and transparent mechanism for information management and data exchange on relevant chemical management initiatives and activities among different government ministries and national stakeholders. The platform will facilitate access to relevant information, experiences and expertise, allowing wider and faster communication of important information, and enabling quick and effective decision-making. The platform will be an investment in the effectiveness and sustainability of Cambodia’s future environmental policy.
Under the project, Cambodia will also organize a series of training workshops on national implementation of the conventions. This training will include practical working sessions to address specific issues related to chemicals and waste management, and thus ensure a more efficient and effective implementation of the conventions. Training will also introduce more recent policy issues, especially on chemicals in products, hazardous substances within the life cycle of electronic products, and highly hazardous pesticides, which have recently become a cause of greater concern in Cambodia.
Finally, Cambodia will undertake a nationwide awareness-raising and education campaign on chemical safety through development and dissemination of informational material across various media (newspapers, radio and television), as well as field visits to agricultural regions, industrial facilities and others. The approach will be tailored to each audience, targeting government officials, farmers, industry workers, students, researchers and more.
Through these efforts, Cambodia will strengthen knowledge, understanding and skill sets for sound chemical and waste management from the ground up. This will allow Cambodia to not only respond to the most pressing concerns facing the country now, but to also build a firm institutional foundation, ensuring an effective policy response for years to come.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan urged state electricity firm PLN to expedite the provision of electric vehicles or EV charging stations (SPKLU) following the signing of MoU with 20 companies.
“I am glad the PLN director can mobilize this [MoU], but we should not stop here,” said Luhut during the signing event at BPPT building, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, Oct. 16.
According to Luhut, the program needs to be expedited since Indonesia is dealing with severe pollution. If it cannot be curbed immediately, the next generation will suffer the impact.
“Pollution is our enemy regardless of ethnicity or religion. So we have to lower the pollution from motorcycles, cars and divert to electric ones,” he underlined.
The PLN’s acting director Sripeni Inten Cahyani has inked the cooperation with PT Pertamina, PT Angkasa Pura II, PT Pos Indonesia, PT Len Industri, PT Jasa Marga, dan PT Jaya Ancol, Grab, Gojek, PT Blue Bird, PT Transjakarta, PT Mobil Anak Bangsa (MAB), PT Gesits Technologies Indo, PT Bank Central Asia (BCA), Lippo Malls, Nissan, Mitsubishi, PT Bakrie Autoparts, BMW, Prestige, and DFSK.
Sri explained that the MoU was a follow-up of Article 23(2) of Presidential Regulation No. 55/2019 on the program acceleration of battery-based electric vehicle for land transportation issued on August 12, 2019.
Competition is getting fierce in solar panel installation, with many companies investing heavily in their own power generation via solar rooftops on office buildings.
A key indicator is that independent power supply in Thailand increased from less than 2,000 megawatts in 2014-15 to 8,000MW as of June.
There are three renewable resources — solar, biomass and biogas — available for independent power supply.
Sopacha Dhumrongpiyawut, chief executive of Gunkul Engineering Plc, said solar panel providers and distributors have enticed corporate clients to invest in self-generated power with competitive prices and after-sale services.
Both installation costs and service fees are declining, shortening the break-even period to 6-8 years, Ms Sopacha said.
New players in the solar panel market provide fully integrated services for corporate clients, including requests for power generation permits, design, engineering, construction, installation, operation and maintenance through the contract period.
“Concerns about clean energy consumption are another key factor for the solar rooftop market,” Ms Sopacha said. “Gunkul has been in the market for two years ago and has secured installation and service contracts of more than 100MW.”
Littee Kitpipit, executive director of Scan Inter Plc, said his company introduced solar installation services this month with an ambitious target to secure purchase orders of 110MW within four years.
The company is a natural gas trader and distributor through service stations. Solar power is part of a business diversification strategy as the government moves to support solar panel operators.
“Thailand has plenty of room for the solar market in the next five years, although the government is planning to collect tax from property owners who have self-generated power because the new capacity from each property will make an operational burden for the state grid,” Mr Littee said. “But the power market cannot avoid the fast growth of renewable energy in the near future.”
Wisate Chungwatana, chief executive of WHA Utilities and Power Plc, said WHAUP is providing services for solar panel installation to clients of WHA Corporation.
Earlier this month, WHAUP installed 4.88MW of solar rooftops at the parking lot of a car factory operated by SAIC Motor-CP.
The project occupies 31,000 square metres at an investment of 175 million baht by the client.
“It is the largest solar car park in Thailand and will generate annual revenue of 20 million baht throughout the 20-year contract, and WHAUP expects to complete the installation by next March,” Mr Wisate said.
WHAUP has increased its power generation from solar to 25MW in 2019, up from 15MW in its previous estimation. The company has a solar rooftop portfolio of 35MW.
“Many industrial clients are interested in green energy, which helps reduce costs, save energy and protect the environment,” Mr Wisate said. “WHAUP is maintaining its five-year target to provide solar installation of 100MW by 2022.”
In related news, Tetra Pak Thailand has completed installation of 3,076 solar panels at its factory in Rayong.
The panels will provide 1,350MW of renewable electricity each year.
Managing director Bert Jan Post said Tetra Pak has engaged in various initiatives that increase the use of renewable electricity, including the purchase of international renewable energy certificates.
“The Rayong factory is generating an additional 1MW of renewable electricity from solar panels,” Mr Post said. “The solar panels will save over 850 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.”
He said these projects will contribute to achieving Tetra Pak’s goal of reducing emissions and carbon footprint.
According to Tetra Pak, Thailand imports 70% of its energy at present but aims to increase the proportion of renewable power from 14% to 30% by 2036 as part of the country’s sustainability plans.
TIANJIN: As Singapore and China work together on creating smart, sustainable cities, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has called on Singapore companies to seize the opportunities that come with it.
These could be in areas such as urban planning and design, as well as on the technology front.
Mr Heng made the comments to the media on Wednesday (Oct 16) during his first visit to Tianjin Eco-City – the second government-to-government project between Singapore and China.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heng-swee-keat-singapore-china-collaboration-sustainable-cities-12006616
Now in its 11th year of development, Mr Heng said both countries are looking at they can set the vision for the “next level of development”.
For instance, Singapore is working with China to turn the Eco-city into a Zero Waste City.
It was selected by China to be one of 16 such cities in April and is the only international collaboration project involved.
During the trial period, which ends in December next year, both sides intend to develop a zero-waste masterplan, implement policies to support innovation and experimentation, and test out advanced waste management technologies.
These could possibly be adapted and transposed to other parts of China eventually.
Making the Eco-City a smart city is also on the cards, with the likes of autonomous public buses and smart carparks being tested.
During his visit, Mr Heng visited an operations centre built last year, where city-wide data is monitored and analysed to allow better delivery of services.
There are plans to pilot a live digital modelling tool to improve city planning next.
“There is a lot of benefit because we are working with various parties to try different ways in which we can pilot new ideas and look at how we can bring it to scale,” said Mr Heng.
“In that way, what is tried here can be brought back to Singapore, and what is tried in Singapore can be extended to other places. In fact, we can look at how these projects which we are doing can be extended to many other parts of the world.”
Mr Heng added that there are broad opportunities for Singapore companies.
“Singapore is an excellent testbed for many of these new developments and innovation. But to realise its full potential, we will have to extend this across the whole world and in particular, Asia,” said Mr Heng.
“Asia is going through a period of rapid urbanisation. What works in one city is likely to be useful to many other cities around the world. For us, if we put a strong emphasis on what works for Singapore, then I think we have many opportunities to extend our solutions to others.”
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Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat during his first visit to Tianjin Eco-City – the second government to government project between Singapore and China – on Oct 16, 2019. (Photo: MCI)
REPLICATING THE TIANJIN ECO-CITY EXPERIENCE
Another key goal moving forward is to replicate the Eco-City development experience in other Chinese cities, as well as in countries along the Belt and Road.
A memorandum of understanding on this was signed on Tuesday in Chongqing.
Speaking to Singapore media at the Eco-City, Second National Development Minister Desmond Lee said replication work had begun even before the agreement was signed.
Mr Lee, who was appointed as Singapore’s Minister-in-Charge of Tianjin Eco-City in August, said many officials from other parts of China have visited the Eco-City to see how it is planned, maintained and continues to “push the boundaries of green sustainable living”.
Water rehabilitation methods used in the Eco-City are also being looked at to clean up the Baiyangdian lake basin in the Xiong’an area.
“Work has already begun in earnest. We’ll work together with our partners, inter-government, corporate to corporate, to explore opportunities in different cities and countries along the (Belt and Road),” said Mr Lee.
“Each city, each country will have a different pace of development, different needs, and applying the learning from Tianjin Eco-City as well as from the joint research we’re going to undertake together will allow our companies from both China and Singapore as well as other partners to be able to explore such developments in those places.”
Earlier on Wednesday, a new one-stop co-working office initiative was launched at the Eco-City.
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The opening of the Singapore Centre – a new one-stop co-working office initiative was launched at the Eco-City. (Photo: SSTEC)
Known as the Singapore Centre, it will support businesses looking to grow their presence in the Eco-City, as well as in Tianjin and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
There are now more than 100,000 people living or working in the Eco-City, up from 20,000 compared to 2014.
There are 8,200 registered companies, covering areas such as information technology and energy conservation.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heng-swee-keat-singapore-china-collaboration-sustainable-cities-12006616
James Dyson’s decision to cancel his electric car project in Singapore can’t have been easy. His engineering company had devoted four years and millions of pounds to the vehicle’s development but has now decided it isn’t commercially viable. Perhaps there isn’t room for another would-be Tesla to challenge the established automotive industry with a novel electric car and leapfrog the challenges of manufacturing.
We feel personal sympathy, as one of us (Harry) was involved in the development of a “from scratch” electric taxi, EVA, in Singapore from 2011 to 2014. Like Dyson’s car, the design also got shelved. The lesson was that new players typically lack the capital and manufacturing expertise needed to start a car production line and compete with existing manufacturers.
But there’s another important conclusion to be drawn from looking at the potential market for electric vehicles, specifically focusing on Southeast Asia. It goes to the heart of why successfully developing high-end cars isn’t going to be enough to electrify personal transport when the market gives so many reasons for the incumbent fossil fuel-based system to resist.
The vehicle market in Singapore has a big share of rather expensive cars, but its absolute volume is dwarfed by that of almost all larger neighbouring cities. Not only do cities like Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok have many more cars registered than Singapore. They also suffer more serious air pollution from their vehicle fleet. But that wouldn’t improve much even if all cars were electrified.
For example, in Bangkok, only 40% of roadside primary organic aerosol (POA) pollution stems from cars. The other 60% comes from two-stroke engine scooters, even though they use only around 10% of fuel sold. Each two-stroke engine in a scooter or three-wheeled tuk-tuk is as harmful as 30 to 50 modern petrol cars. This is because two-stroke engines mix lubrication oil into the fuel. It is the price paid for their simple construction and affordability.
One two-stroke engine pollutes more than 30 petrol-based passenger cars.Energy Lancaster
This means that electrifying scooters and tuk-tuks would produce much higher improvements in air quality per vehicle than doing the same for comparatively clean cars. And given that these vehicles can easily run on today’s batteries, it should technically be an easy job to convert the fleet. China has achieved quite a lot in this sphere.
But other countries in Southeast Asia, where scooters have been around for generations and are part of the economy and culture, may require a systemic market change.
Owners of scooters, motorbikes and tuk-tuks rely on an important support network of businesses to provide fuel, maintenance and spare parts. Without such a support network in place, no shiny new vehicle can conquer a relevant market share. And if those who benefit from the current petrol-based transport system are left out, they have no incentives to support electrifying transport.
Anecdotally, a similar problem has already been seen in the power generation sector. Much effort has recently been made in communities not connected to a power grid to replace diesel generators with solar panels and batteries. What sounds like a technical no-brainer can be hindered by unexpected circumstances: this technology does not come with many jobs for the local community after installation. The people who currently sell diesel, maintain the generators and sell the electricity would need another source of income. It seems likely those people understandably do little to support such a transition.
A systemic market change that could drive electrification must learn from local entrepreneurs. It would have to address the challenge of higher capital costs for buying batteries and electric motors compared to two-stroke engines. And it would have to replace declining income from selling fuel and lubricant oil with other services such as battery charging or swapping. In China, the transition towards electric two-wheelers was achieved by regulation in combination with local mass-manufacturing.
There are lessons here for manufacturers as well. Vehicles in the scooter class don’t need the latest generation of expensive lithium ion batteries. How much energy they can store is less important than the ability to easily exchange or even repair the batteries. Where possible, vehicle spare parts such as wheels or brakes should be identical to what is available in the respective local markets.
In the Philippines, the large-scale roll-out of “e-trikes” saw some delays, but it taught important lessons: don’t start too big, and make sure that an ecosystem is in place to support the new vehicle beyond the point of sale.
The challenge of electrifying the transport sector requires these kind of economic and sociological insights as much as technical ones. It needs industry to work with governments and banks in a concerted effort to replace billions of noisy and dirty engines. Local product design in combination with local manufacturing means a paradigm shift: the transformation of sheer markets for predominantly Japanese motorcycles into players in clean transport technology.
