News Clipping Archive - Page 1049 of 1301

Electricity/Power Grid

16 September 2019

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Myanmar

Myanmar is producing over 5,600 megawatts of electricity from state owned and private owned power plants across the country and Ministry of Electricity and Energy has another three power projects in Kanpauk, Ahlon and Milaunggyine for future plan, according to the ministry.

More than 4.9 million out of over 10.8 million family households in Myanmar are using electricity and the ministry is planning to provide electricity up to 50 per cent of family households at the end of this year, said Dr Tun Naing, Deputy Minister for Electricity and Energy.

It is required to increase the electricity production to meet the demand and the ministry is planned a 1,230-megawatt power plant in Kanpauk in Taninthayi Region, a 377-megawatt power plant in Ahlon in Yangon Region and a 1,390-megawatt power plant in Milaunggyine in Ayeyawady Region. A total of 250 megawatts of electricity will be generated in 2021-22 FY and up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity will be produced in 2025-26 FY.

The highest electric consumption in Myanmar is 3,483 megawatts currently and Myanmar is generating 2,400 megawatts from 28 hydropower plants and 1,083 megawatts from 16 thermal power stations including gas turbines, said Win Khaing, Minister for Electricity and Energy.

“At the present, electric consumption in Myanmar is increased from 15 to 19 per cent year by year. We expected the electric consumption will be increased to 4,531 megawatts by 2020-21 FY and we are planned to increase the electricity production to 2,757 megawatts,” said the minister.

The ministry is planning to produce about 3,000 megawatts of electricity from hydropower plants, gas-fired turbines, solar power stations and LNG power stations as the production of natural gas will be declined in 2020.

The minister said they are planned to implement electrification ratio to 100 per cent in Yangon Region in 2020-21 FY.

The ministry is planning to increase electrification ratio to 55 per cent by 2020-21 FY for the whole country and it is planned to distribute more electricity for people, to reduce the time of electrical power failure and to improve electrical power system, said the minister.

Renewables

Scope for growth in Malaysia renewables: report

16 September 2019

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Malaysia

THERE is increasing scope for Malaysia’s non-hydro renewable energy sector — particularly solar energy — to grow, with strengthening government support and rising investor interest in the past two years, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said in a Sept 13 report, identifying “substantial untapped … potential” in that area.

Government support

The report noted recent and upcoming moves that increase government support for the sector, in light of which there is “an upside risk” to Fitch Solutions’ forecast for the sector.

Ministry restructuring. Following the 2018 elections, the government restructured parts of ministries to form the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment & Climate Change, indicating a shift in focus toward energy and environmental sustainability.
Incentives. Regulations have been put in place to encourage investment in the renewables sector, including feed-in tariffs, tax incentives, and renewable energy auctions.
Green financing support. The government is looking to introduce more financing incentives for the sector, as well as enhancing green energy trading in the private sector.
Renewable Energy Transition Roadmap. The government plans to launch a Renewable Energy Transition Roadmap 2035, aiming to raise the share of renewables in Malaysia’s power mix to 20 per cent by 2025. Expected to be launched by end-2019, the roadmap may include strategies such as peer-to-peer electricity trading or transitioning toward a mandatory renewable energy certificate market, said the report.

Fitch Solutions’ current forecast is for net non-hydro renewables capacity growth of over 1 gigawatt (GW) over the coming decade, taking total installed non-hydro renewables capacity to 3.1 GW by 2028. But this will likely be revised upwards upon “more concrete announcements and developments” in the coming quarters, said the report.

Solar potential

The report highlighted the solar sector as being “particularly well poised for more growth”, not least given the success of recent capacity tenders.

Besides relatively high solar irradiance levels, Malaysia has an established solar manufacturing sector. Although most of the output is currently for export, this domestic manufacturing base will ensure a reliable and low-cost supply chain for local project developers.

“We believe that this will be a key supportive factor to the Malaysian solar industry over the coming year, as greater numbers of manufacturers set up in the country,” said the report.

After significant oversubscription of solar auctions in their first two capacity tenders, the Energy Commission of Malaysia issued a request for proposal for the development of large-scale photovoltaic power plants with a targeted capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) at the start of 2019, which closed in August 2019.

As of September 2019, Malaysia has launched 365 MW. Bid prices went to a record low of RM0.1777/kWh (kilowatt-hour), lower than the price for gas-fired power. The government has since announced plans to host more bids for large-scale solar projects.

Improving investment environment

There are also government efforts to further liberalise the power sector, creating a more favourable investment environment and encouraging private participation.

Retail market. The Malaysia Energy Supply Industry 2.0 initiative, which includes the liberalisation of the electricity retail market, is expected to be launched in late 2019. “The issue is still being studied at present and we believe that the government may seek to emulate the success with countries such as Singapore and Japan by first introducing a wholesale market,” said the report.
Restructuring of state-owned energy company. In July 2019, majority state-owned Tenaga Nasional Berhad proposed an internal restructuring of their generation, transmission, and retail divisions. This is expected to be completed by Q3 2020, with the transfer of legal assets and liability to begin in H1 2020. “The increasing liberalisation bodes well for private investments, and could improve competition and investments in the sector,” said Fitch Solutions.

Malaysia already performs better than the world average on the Fitch Solutions Power Risk/Reward Index, although its renewables sector is below the world average. Said Fitch Solutions: “This reflects a continued preference for thermal sources in the country, but shows the amount of scope the renewables sector could still grow in should the government improve investor environment and procure more capacity.”

Others

Fitch Ratings assigns PetroVietnam at ‘BB’ for first time

16 September 2019

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Vietnam

HÀ NỘI — Fitch Ratings has assigned the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group’s (PetroVietnam or PVN) first-time long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘BB’ with a positive outlook.

The agency has also assigned PVN a senior unsecured rating of ‘BB’ and standalone credit profile (SCP) at ‘bb+’, reflecting the company’s high degree of integration, diversification and conservative financial profile.

PVN’s IDR is constrained by that of its parent, the Việt Nam sovereign (BB/Positive), under Fitch’s government-related entities (GRE) rating criteria.

This is a positive credit rating that helps PVN improve its ability to mobilise capital in the international market and diversify the mobilised capital sources for investment projects in the context of restrictions in loans guaranteed by the Government.

It proves PVN’s strong financial status and business performance as well as its positive business prospects in the future, which bring confidence to domestic and foreign investors, financial institutions and strategic partners, especially in the period that PVN is promoting its restructuring.

In the statement, Fitch highlights the robust State linkages with PVN. Fitch assesses the status, ownership and control factor under our GRE criteria as ‘Very Strong’. PVN’s annual targets are set and approved by Vietnamese Government and its management is State-appointed. PVN is also Việt Nam’s national oil company and benefits from exclusive rights to the country’s oil and gas reserves by regulation. Fitch regards the support record as ‘Strong’.

“PVN has not required tangible financial support in at least five years due to its strong financial profile, although we expect support to be forthcoming if required,” Fitch said.

Fitch assesses the socio-political implications of a PVN default as ‘Very Strong’. Any disruptions in PVN’s operations would have material implications for the entire energy value chain in Việt Nam.

PVN holds interests in all of Việt Nam’s upstream oil and gas assets, accounts for about a third of the country’s refined product output, and supplies gas for power plants which make up about 15 per cent of Việt Nam’s power generation. PVN also accounts for about 80 per cent of Việt Nam’s fertiliser production.

Meanwhile, PVN’s power generation revenues are based on long-term power purchase agreements with the State power utility, Vietnam Electricity (EVN, BB/Positive), and include cost pass-through mechanisms.

Earnings from gas distribution are generally based on fixed selling prices that are increased annually and are sold mostly to EVN and PVN’s power plants. Earnings from these two segments account for about 40 per cent of PVN’s gross profit and help reduce volatility from its upstream and downstream businesses.

According to Fitch, PVN’s upstream cash flow is relatively more sensitive to oil price fluctuations compared with other APAC national oil companies due to costs. The upstream segment contributed to 17 per cent of consolidated gross profits in 2018.

Fitch expects PVN’s upstream operations to account for about 25 per cent of its consolidated gross profit in the next three to four years, based on Fitch’s oil price assumptions.

PVN’s investment is projected to rise significantly to VNĐ321 trillion (US$13.95 billion) over the next five years, from VNĐ38 trillion last year. PVN estimates over half of its expected consolidated capex and investment will be used to develop its upstream resources, mainly gas fields.

“This positive credit rating results were thanks to the close direction of the Party and State leaders, the effective and close coordination of ministries and branches for PVN, as well as the solidarity and efforts of all PVN employees in recent years. The results are also one of the bases for PVN to review and improve its corporate governance, especially financial indicators, to ensure that the ranking is continually maintained and improved in the future,” Lê Mạnh Hùng, General Director of PVN, said, adding with the care and direction of the Party and State leaders, as well as great efforts made by all EVN’s employees, PVN will continue to contribute more to the successful development of Viet Nam.

Nirukt Sapru, CEO – Vietnam, ASEAN and South Asia Cluster Markets, Standard Chartered Bank, which is the only consultant for PVN in the rating, said: “We are honored to support PVN in its first time international ranking and we congratulate PVN for the achieved excellent rating results. This is a testament to the robust and integrated financial management in PVN’s business activities. Credit rating is a solid first step for PVN in raising capital in the international market, and we believe it will help attract the attention of international investors. Standard Chartered has a strong commitment to Việt Nam, the market we have been in for 115 years. We are delighted to be able to leverage our in-depth understanding of the local market with a wealth of international expertise, and we are committed to continuing to support PVN in realising its growth targets.” — VNS

Read more at http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/535465/fitch-ratings-assigns-petrovietnam-at-bb-for-first-time.html#WR39PIlF8cfv29oQ.99

Oil & Gas

LNG Ltd to supply gas to Vietnam from Louisiana project

16 September 2019

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Vietnam

Sept 16 (Reuters) – Australia-listed Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd said on Monday it signed a deal with a province in Vietnam to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Louisiana-based Magnolia project.

The Vietnam project includes an LNG import terminal, and a 32,000-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in the coastal province of Bac Lieu, where the Houston-based company will supply gas and Vietnam-based Delta Offshore Energy will generate electricity and sell it.

Two million tonnes of LNG per year will be supplied from its Magnolia project, which locks in a buyer for 25% of the supply from the project.

The deal comes at a time when LNG Ltd has been struggling to lock in sales agreements for its Magnolia project due to the U.S. trade dispute with China, which has been seen as a key potential customer for U.S. LNG projects.

“Our alliance with LNG Limited will allow the Government of Vietnam to have a stronger relationship with the U.S. market,” Bobby Quintos, engineering managing director for Delta Offshore Energy, said in a joint statement.

Pending government approvals, the project is expected to begin operations in 2023. (Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Others

Nickel mining indefinitely suspended in southern Philippines: official

16 September 2019

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Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) – A nickel mining hub in the southern Philippines, which produces mostly high-grade material, has suspended extraction operations indefinitely as the regional government conducts an industry audit, a top government official told Reuters on Monday.

The government of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has suspended operations of all four mining companies in its jurisdiction, said Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Minister Abdulraof Abdul Macacua.

The Philippines was the world’s second-largest nickel ore producer in 2018 after Indonesia, with both Southeast Asian nations as the top two suppliers to biggest buyer China.

By next year, when Indonesia bans nickel ore exports, China is expected to rely mainly on the Philippines for supply of the material for stainless steel and electronic vehicle battery.

The suspension was based on a memorandum order dated Aug. 5 issued by the regional government, Macacua said in an e-mail reply to Reuters’ queries about the status of mining in the region’s Tawi-Tawi province.

Latest available industry data showed that 2.34 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) of high-grade ore, or nearly 90% of 2.66 million wmt of the high-grade material the Philippines exported to China in the first half of 2018 came from Tawi-Tawi.

Tawi-Tawi accounted for 27% of overall nickel ore exports, totaling 15.8 million wmt, to China during the six-month period.

“The suspension order was due to the ongoing review of mining policy in BARMM,” Macacua said.

The audit is being conducted as the local government prepares to push for the enactment of a Bangsamoro Responsible Mining Law that will serve as a road map for the region’s mining industry, Macacua said, without elaborating.

A “performance assessment and evaluation team” has been created to review the mining firms’ operations, with no definite timeline as to how long the suspension will be, he said.

The BARMM suspension order covers four mining companies actively operating in Tawi-Tawi out of seven that have been given permits, Macacua said, without identifying the four.

Tawi-Tawi is where SR Languyan Mining Corp, the country’s top supplier of high-grade material to China, operates.

SR Languyan is expected to shut its mining operations later this year as ore deposits at its project are nearly depleted, Jaynul Ali Sambarani, head of mines and geoscience services at BARMM’s environment ministry, told Reuters last month.

SR Languyan’s average monthly ore exports this year is around 416,500 wmt, Macacua said. There is no government data available about the size of ore deposits left at SR Languyan’s project.

The bulk of the Philippines’ total nickel ore output usually comes from the main mining region of Caraga, also in the south.

Philippine nickel miners may ramp up ore output by next year as they expect the Indonesian ore export ban and brisk demand to keep prices elevated.

Their production capacity, however, is limited by a number of factors, including government-imposed mining curbs, industry executives said at a Philippine mining conference last week.

Oil & Gas

Locsin warns PH will be ‘deeply’ affected by Saudi oil attacks

16 September 2019

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Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – After drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities slashed the output of the world’s top producer by half, Philippine Foreign Secretary Tedoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr said the incident will affect the Philippines “deeply.”

“This is serious,” Locsin tweeted. “It will – not could – affect us deeply; to put it bluntly, an oil shortage or steep rise in oil price will rock the Philippine boat and tip it over.”

Oil prices soared more than 10% on Monday, September 16, after Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighboring Yemen hit two sites owned by Saudi state-run oil giant Aramco on Saturday, September 14, effectively shutting down 6% of the global oil supply. (READ: Drone strikes on Saudi Arabia ripple across oil market, diplomacy)

Tensions also heightened as US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the attacks and raised the possibility of a military strike on the country. (READ: Trump says U.S. ‘locked and loaded’ to respond to Saudi oil attack)

Stable for now: According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the effects of the attacks on Saudi oil plants have yet to be felt on the Philippines as supplies remain sufficient.

DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero said initial reports showed oil firms in the country had enough supply for now and that the agency was set to meet with representatives of local oil companies later this week to assess the situation further.

“Base sa monitoring natin, may enough minimum inventory requirement sila base sa report nila. More than the minimum inventory requirement ang ating supply na nasa bansa,” Romero said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

(Based on our monitoring, oil companies reported having enough minimum inventory requirement. Current supply is more than the minimum requirement.)

Philippine Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi likewise sought to assure the public, saying concerned energy agencies were closely monitoring the situation after an emergency meeting was held on Sunday, September 15, at the Department of Energy’s headquarters in Taguig City.

“We are seeking to ensure that the energy family will be sufficiently prepared to face the potential impact of this unfortunate incident, if any, on the country,” Cusi said on Monday.

The agency reiterated impact of the incident was still premature and that impact on prices, if any, may be felt by Tuesday next week. Despite this, Senator Win Gatchalian said the DOE should “formulate a contingency plan that will temporarily replace Saudi oil in the short term until supply is normalized.”

Gatchalian added the incident highlighted the need for DOE to diversify the Philippines’ oil supplier portfolio as some 33.7% of the Philippines’ crude oil is imported from Saudi Arabia as of 2018, making it the country’s top source.

Impact of attacks: According to Middle East expert James Dorsey from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, attacks on Saudi oil plants were most likely to affect the Philippines economically.

“Worst case scenario would mainly be economic. You’ll have a higher energy bill and that’s going to impact the economy,” Dorsey told Rappler in an interview. As for how long price hikes across the world would last, Dorsey said this would ultimately depend on Saudi’s efforts to mitigate the effect of strikes on oil facilities.

Beyond this, Dorsey said, larger developments in the Southeast Asian region may depend on how the Yemen war evolves.

This is because the Yemen war resonates strongly in Southeast Asia where there are Muslim communities of Yemeni origin. Divisions within Muslim communities across the region, particularly towards Saudis, may also reverberate, he said.

Following this, Dorsey said Southeast Asian leaders should remember to engage with various Muslim communities in their countries moving forward.

Prior to the attacks on Saudi oil plants, Huthi rebels earlier claimed attacks on other facilities were “retaliation” for the Riyadh-led bombing campaign on rebel-held areas in Yemen. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

Oil & Gas

Thailand says no impact on oil imports following Saudi attacks

15 September 2019

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Thailand

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s energy minister said on Sunday the drone attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, would have no impact on Thai oil imports.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s drone attacks on two facilities of state-run oil company Saudi Aramco at the heart of the kingdom’s oil industry, knocking out more than half of Saudi oil output.

Aramco, whose CEO said the situation had been brought under control, has contracts with Thailand’s state-controlled PTT Pcl.

“There is no impact on exports yet as the attacked facilities are in the deserts, which doesn’t affect the oil depot that supplies to PTT Group, so there is no impact on Thailand’s oil imports yet,” Thai energy minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said in a statement.

“Overall Thailand has enough reserves in crude oil, in-transit crude oil, and petroleum products, and there will be no short-term shortages in the event that Saudi Arabia’s oil exports are affected,” Sontirat added.

The ministry has reached out to Aramco after the attacks, but told Reuters that it has not yet received official response from the oil company.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter, shipping more than 7 million barrels of oil to global destinations every day.

Energy Cooperation

Phoenix partners with Brunei LPG firm

15 September 2019

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Brunei Darussalam

MANILA, Philippines — Independent oil firm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is strengthening its network in the Southeast Asian region after it forged a deal to source liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Brunei.

In a disclosure, Phoenix said its wholly owned subsidiary PNX Petroleum Singapore Pte Ltd. signed a partnership with Hengyi Industries International Pte Ltd. (HYII).

The partnership will allow Phoenix to source LPG from Hengyi Brunei refinery’s future production.

This latest LPG venture is expected to support Phoenix’s LPG expansion in both the Philippines and Vietnam.

Phoenix said the offtake agreement is expected to start within the year.

In preparation for the venture, the oil firm acquired PNX Conqueror—which is the company’s first pressurized LPG carrier with 2.5 kilo tons (kT) capacity—and has a long-term charter of Chelsea, another large pressurized vessel with 4.6 kT capacity.

“As we continue to expand the brand internationally and establish strong connections with complementary businesses from neighboring countries, we are relentless in forging ties with companies like HYII to be able to provide quality products and services to more and more communities,” PNX Petroleum Singapore director Henry Albert Fadullon said.

“With another milestone partnership, we are optimistic and excited about the future of this project as it opens new opportunities and possibilities for growth and progress for both companies and countries,” he said.

Given the close proximity between the two countries, the partnership is expected to improve the Philippines’ overall supply situation as Brunei would only need a day to deliver its supply to the country.

The venture would also beef up Phoenix’s petroleum source from its usual suppliers—China, Vietnam, Korea, and Middle East, among others.

Phoenix entered the LPG business in August 2017 when it acquired Petronas Energy Philippines Inc. (PEPI), now PLPI and renamed Petronas LPG to Phoenix Super LPG to reflect its brand.

Since them it has been growing its LPG business through its subsidiaries. Earlier this year, subsidiary PNX Energy International Holdings, Pte Ltd. entered the Vietnam LPG market through the establishment of Phoenix Vietnam Pte. Ltd.

Read more at https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/09/15/1951778/phoenix-partners-brunei-lpg-firm#eRuutFTMSEkEDHAe.99

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