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Renewables

Malaysia Aims to Create 200,000 Green Jobs by 2023 in ASEAN

6 December 2018

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Malaysia

Malay government is in talks with ASEAN countries China, Japan and South Korea for the brighter future of green jobs in South-east Asia

Malaysia puts its focus on promoting green industries and jobs in the ASEAN countries. The south-east Asian country hopes to promote the identification of the potentials and prospects for green industries and jobs in the ASEAN member countries during its tenure as the chairman of ASEAN labour sector, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The government of Malaysia is looking at developing the corresponding regional policies to promote green industries in the three-year period, said the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Bin Mohammad, in the 25th ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting.

The Malay government is also in talks with ASEAN countries China, Japan and South Korea for the brighter future of green jobs in South-east Asia.

He also talked about the boom in the employment rates of green industries across ASEAN. According to the 2017 Annual report by the Developmental Bank of Singapore, over the last two years, employment has grown by 3.2 per cent compared to the overall economic growth of five to six per cent, which is almost 1.4 million new green jobs created, as reported in the Development Bank of Singapore Annual Report 2017 on Green Job Opportunities in ASEAN.

“In the same vein, we have seen strong growth, particularly in the renewable energy sector such as wind and solar power, as well as the production of equipment and installations for heating and energy saving that subsequently create jobs in the region,” said Dr Mahathir.

“Looking forward, as technology evolves, we can expect an increase in the creation of new green jobs, and stronger growth in current occupations and greening industries,” he said.

The Malaysian government is targeting revenue of RM 180 billion while creating more than 200,000 green jobs by 2030.

The Prime Minister Dr Mahathir said the Malaysian government aims to boost the growth of its green technology sector, with a targeted revenue of RM180 billion while creating more than 200,000 green jobs by 2030.

He added that the greening of the regional economy also demands that the people in the region specialise in the right skills, adapt to changes and seize the new opportunity.

The Prime Minister showed his optimism for the future prospects of the green industry sector. In the meeting, he said, now is the time for the government and workers’ and employers’ organizations to explore more into the green industries and skills across the Asia Pacific.

Electricity/Power Grid

Anticipating the future to avoid sudden shocks with ICPT implementations

6 December 2018

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Malaysia

With the ICPT mechanism, govt can manage fuel price fluctuations should situations where fuel prices go sky-high or rock bottom occur

Over the past three months, some Malaysians may have been cautiously smiling on the quiet when crude oil prices surged past the US$80 (RM336) a barrel mark. Their elation could have stemmed from their belief that higher oil prices could also mean better revenue from petro-dollars.

Therefore, more money for the government’s coffers to spur greater development in the country from 2020 and beyond.

From another standpoint, higher fuel prices also translate into higher costs for power producers, who rely mostly on fossil fuel to generate electricity, primarily coal and gas, in the case of Malaysia. And having a reliable and sustainable power supply is also part and parcel of development.

But thanks to the geopolitical manoeuvring, crude oil has temporarily fallen off the cliff to below US$70, thus providing some brief respite to power producers. That has also put liquefied natural gas prices on a bearish tone amid ample supplies and poor demand, where prices have dipped to US$9.925/mmBtu (one million British thermal units) from US$12 in October. That’s only one part of the equation.

Coal prices, on the other hand, have risen to past US$100 a tonne, especially the higher quality types with lower pollution compared to US$50 a tonne two years ago. As the demand for coal as a fuel source remains undiminished, there is no telling that the price may dip, especially with an increasing number of power producers opting for more environmentally friendly coal.

The prognosis is that demand for coal in Asia, particularly China and Japan, will remain steady. That could make coal prices stay on the high side.

Taking all these factors into consideration, power producers can rest easy in the immediate term.

But, as soon as oil producers get their act together and agree on their proposed production cuts to shore up prices after the first week of December, any upward price movement could mean higher costs again. And this is exactly where Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), the country’s major power producer, is walking on a tight rope to manage costs.

Thanks to the government’s foresight in anticipating situations where fuel prices may go sky-high or even rock bottom, it had implemented the imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) mechanism, an adaptive measure to manage fuel price fluctuations.

This mechanism, which was introduced in 2014, allows energy providers to adjust tariffs based on the changing prices of fuel required for electricity generation. Such measures provide a framework that helps the electricity supply industry remain flexible against any price volatility.

Resulting from these adaptive measures, Malaysia has been able to cushion the price impact and provide reliable energy supply. This has seen the country having a more sustainable electricity sector for greater development to benefit both commercial and residential consumers.

Its working mechanism calls for ICPT to be assessed and adjusted every six months on Jan 1 and July 1 of each year to ensure that electricity prices can adapt to changing fuel prices. It is an essential tool for TNB to ensure continued economic sustainability for the power.

It must be emphasised that the ICPT is not a ploy to boost the revenue of TNB, but it is primarily for the energy provider to adjust tariffs based on the changing prices of fuel required for electricity generation.

So far, these ICPT price adjustments have seen total rebates amounting to RM6.3 billion being enjoyed by power consumers in the last four years.

On July 1, 2018, there was an increase of 1.35 sen/kWh for business users but not residential consumers. The current ICPT adjustment, which will last until Dec 31, has not impacted residential consumers, who number about 80% of TNB’s nine million consumers.

Come January, there will be another price adjustment to reflect the current scenario in the energy and power supply industries. If we were to assess what has been happening to consumers in the neighbouring countries, we see that Singapore and the Philippines have raised electricity prices, while Vietnam and Indonesia are still grappling with challenges in the absence of price increases.

In the case of Malaysia, the anticipatory or impending picture has been factored in because of the six-month interval of the ICPT mechanism. It has put in place a scheduled and flexible way to adjust prices to contribute to a conducive, efficient and competitive environment to help in the continued development of the country. That implies no sudden increases in electricity rates to shock the business and non-business community.

Malaysian power producers mostly depend on gas and coal for 90% of their power generation needs. Adapting to price changes for these fuels is exactly what the ICPT is designed for.

In the last few months, we have seen the price of coal going up to a six-year high and by more than 32% year-on-year. Natural gas prices have also been trending up as mirrored by crude oil prices compared to last year or the year before.

In Malaysia, we have seen that the changing natural gas prices have been influenced by a steady shift towards market prices from a previously subsidised fuel cost. The liberalisation of the gas supply market is set to support a more competitive price scenario by 2019. Under such a scenario, any short-term cost rises will be balanced by offsetting with a more sustainable and competitive market.

In a landscape that is constantly shifting, certain trends are indicative of where prices are heading. It is inevitable that the rapidly growing economies in Asia will continue to drive demand for coal and natural gas against a backdrop of steady prices, if the recent international price trend is anything to go by.

In that energy supply canvas or picture, the ability to be flexible is crucial. To meet Malaysia’s growing energy needs, a fair pricing framework is therefore needed to reflect the changing costs for electricity.

This also requires consumers to pay for their part for a sustainable and reliable electricity supply industry. We have to anticipate that likely scenario emerging not too long from now.

Oil & Gas

Vitol Inks Deal with Petronas for LNG Canada Supply

6 December 2018

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Malaysia

International Swiss trading firm Vitol Group, one of the largest energy traders in the world, has stepped forward as a customer for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the 25% share in the LNG Canada project owned by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas.

The new export terminal, under construction on the northern Pacific coast of British Columbia, would be the primary source for a 15-year supply deal providing up to 800,000 metric tons/year (mty) of LNG, or 100 MMcf/d, the firms said Thursday.

Pricing is expected to evolve with market conditions after supplies become available from the new Kitimat terminal in 2024, with Vitol Asia Pte Ltd. picking up tanker cargos from the Petronas share of LNG production.

Vitol said the deal serves a company commitment to “long-term development of the LNG market and its evolution to become a more flexible and tradeable commodity.”

The supply agreement for gas from the LNG Canada export terminal extends until at least 2038 an LNG trading relationship with Petronas that began in 2005, Vitol said. The Malaysian firm echoed Vitol by describing the deal as “able to provide flexible solutions within a changing and evolving LNG market.”

Prices for U.S.-sourced Vitol supplies from LNG exporter Cheniere Energy Inc. are indexed to Henry Hub trading. Vitol in September Vitol Inc. inked a 15-year contract with Houston’s Cheniere for 70,000 mty of LNG.

Vitol, already the world’s largest oil trader, is “committed” to developing a long-term LNG market, Group CEO Russell Hardy said in September. “We believe that LNG has an important role to play in the future energy mix and that its evolution will require a more flexible and tradeable LNG market,” he said.

Oil & Gas

Bumi Armada falls to record low as oil outlook stays bearish

6 December 2018

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Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Bumi Armada Bhd’s share price fell as much as three sen or 16% to 16 sen so far today amid broader market losses and after analysts said crude oil markets remained bearish.

At 12:30pm, oil and gas (O&G) support services provider Bumi Armada shares settled at 16.5 sen with some 154 million units traded. Bumi Armada was Bursa Malaysia’s most active stock.

In the broader market, the FBM KLCI fell 1.35 points or 0.08% to settle at 1,694.99 while Bursa Malaysia’s Energy Index dropped 21.76 points or 2.38% to 892.04.

Besides Bumi Armada, O&G support services providers Velesto Energy Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd also fell among Bursa Malaysia’s most-active stocks. Velesto settled three sen lower at 20 sen while Sapura Energy fell one sen to 33 sen.

Reuters quoted Lukman Otunuga, an analyst at futures brokerage FXTM, as saying that as concerns on excessive supply and worries about falling demand become the primary themes weighing on oil markets, “the outlook for Brent Crude and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) remains bearish”.

It was reported that crude oil has lost almost a third in value since early October because of an emerging supply glut following a global surge in production, including from the US, Russia and by the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It was reported that to rein in the glut, OPEC and its main partner Russia are moving closer to an agreement around further production cuts.

Oil prices firmed on Friday on expectations that OPEC and Russia will agree to some form of production cuts next week, although swelling US supplies kept markets in check. It was reported that international Brent crude oil futures were at US$59.81 (RM250.30) per barrel at 0347 GMT, up 30 US cents or 0.5% from their last close. US WTI crude futures were up 20 US cents, or 0.4%, at US$51.65 per barrel.

Oil & Gas

Drilling success for Malaysian duo at UK North Sea cluster

6 December 2018

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Malaysia

A new central North Sea sidetrack well has come up trumps for Malaysian firm Hibiscus Petroleum and its partner.

Hibiscus said the sidetrack on the Guillemot A field was completed in September and was making a “positive contribution”.

It is capable of flowing at 3,697 barrels of oil per day and could yield 1.5 million barrels in total.

Guillemot A is part of the Anasuria cluster, 110 miles east of Aberdeen.

The cluster is operated by a joint venture between Hibiscus and Ping Petroleum, who bought the assets from Shell and ExxonMobil in 2016 for close to £70m.

The package also included the wholly-owned interests in the Anasuria vessel, the Teal and Teal South fields, and 38.6% of Cook, which is operated by Ithaca Energy.

Hibiscus said the sidetrack well was its first major capital expenditure programme on the cluster and was expected to cost £17.9m in total.

Partners on Cook intend to drill a water injection well on the field and install a subsea pipeline next year.

It is hoped that by pumping water into the well, reservoir pressure will increase, resulting in higher production.

Hibiscus said its “total capital commitment” was likely to be around £11.5m.

The company unveiled the plans in its results for the three months to September 30, which showed pre-tax profits of £30.9m, a huge increase on a surplus of £1.8m in the same period last year.

Total revenues came to £67.2m in the quarter, up from £10.9m a year ago.

Two crude off-takes were completed from Anasuria during the quarter, in which 524,000 barrels were sold at an average oil price of $73.88 per barrel.

Hibiscus managing director Kenneth Pereira said the company managed to remain profitable through the recent oil price convulsions thanks to its ability to keep a lid on unit production costs at Anasuria and its North Sabah assets off Malaysia.

Mr Pereira said: “The careful management of costs to maintain low operational expenditure and the delivery of production enhancement projects are key towards achieving low unit production costs. This remains an area of focus for the group.”

The company recently added to its North Sea portfolio, with the £28.5m acquisition of 50% stakes in blocks 15/13a and 15/13b from London-registered Caldera Petroleum.

Caldera is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aban Singapore, whose parent company is India-headquartered Aban Offshore.

The blocks are contained within licence P198, 155 miles north-east of Aberdeen, and are thought to contain 60 million barrels of oil.

Energy Cooperation

Energy Deal Deepens Once Unimagined Sino-Philippine Friendship

6 December 2018

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Philippines

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — A maritime energy exploration agreement is being seen by some as an attempt to continue improving relations between China and the Philippines, countries once so opposed that their rift over maritime sovereignty went to a world arbitration court.Philippine and Chinese officials inked a memorandum of understanding Nov. 20 to look together for oil or gas under the South China Sea. The two countries contest sovereignty over parts of the sea, leading the Philippines to file for arbitration and win its case against China in 2016.

Over the past two years, China has extended economic aid to the relatively poor Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in turn set aside the sovereignty dispute, saying there’s no way his country could win a war with China.

But the Philippine government says it will accept no less than 60 percent of any joint fossil fuel discoveries, and China is expected to comply as a way of building stronger ties with a still skeptical Philippine public.

“Joint exploration demonstrates at least superficially on the Chinese side that they are trying to engage in diplomacy and to build bilateral relations through various kinds of joint activities, so I think that’s a win for China diplomatically,” said Stephen Nagy, senior associate politics and international studies professor at International Christian University in Tokyo.

Students burn a Chinese flag as they protest against the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a demonstration outside the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 20, 2018.

Memorandum of understanding

The two countries inked their exploration pact as one of 29 agreements signed during a state visit to the Philippines by Chinese President Xi Jinping. It calls for establishing a joint steering committee as well as at least one working group with representatives from each side’s major oil drillers. The committee will negotiate more precise deals on where to look for fuel.

The memorandum does not specify where the two sides would explore — some locations are more sensitive than others — or who would take how much of any fuel discovered.

“Nothing has been really set in stone with respect to the respective oil and gas joint development at this point,” said Jay Batongbacal, a University of the Philippines international maritime affairs professor. “The agreement literally is merely a framework for the two countries to continue negotiating specific agreements on oil and gas exploration, so actually the substantial part of it is probably going to come much later.”

Specific agreements may be hard to reach, he said, because the Philippine constitution and other laws limit joint work in certain tracts of sea. Some Filipinos worry that a more detailed deal could concede Philippine sovereignty to China.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim all or parts of the sea. All claimants prize the waterway for its fisheries, marine shipping lanes and the prospect of energy under the seabed. Some have explored jointly for oil before in the contested tracts.

In 2012 Chinese vessels pushed Filipino fishing boats out of the tiny South China Sea islet of Scarborough Shoal, which is west of the Philippine island Luzon. The incident led to world court arbitration case.

FILE - A Chinese Coast Guard boat approaches a Filipino fishing vessel off Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, Sept. 23, 2015. — FILE – A Chinese Coast Guard boat approaches a Filipino fishing vessel off Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, Sept. 23, 2015.

Something for both sides

The Philippine foreign minister was quoted saying earlier this year that China was willing to take a minority stake in any joint oil or gas discoveries.

Even if later deals are hard to reach or no one finds fuel, the 60-40 concession would help Beijing deepen its friendship with the Philippines, analysts say.

“I think this is one way of signaling that China is willing to be a different kind of aid giver,” said Alan Chong, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Today many Filipinos — more accustomed to strong Manila-Washington relations — remain leery of tie-ups with a country that disputes sovereignty with their own. Some wonder too whether Beijing’s billions of dollars in of economic aid pledges over the past two years will materialize or, conversely, leave their country indebted to China.

Oil exploration has been “politicized,” said Christian de Guzman, vice president and senior credit officer with Moody’s in Singapore. But he expects state-to-state ties will improve anyway through Duterte’s term into 2022.

“It is quite clear that for the duration of the Duterte administration that the tensions vis-a-vis China have eased,” he said.

FILE - Protesters display placards during a rally at the Chinese Consulate to protest China's artificial island-building at the disputed islands, reefs and shoals off South China Sea, June 12, 2017 at the financial district of Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines. — FILE – Protesters display placards during a rally at the Chinese Consulate to protest China’s artificial island-building at the disputed islands, reefs and shoals off South China Sea, June 12, 2017 at the financial district of Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines.

The Philippines also seeks new sources of oil and gas to avoid paying the rising prices of imported fuel, a contributor to inflation since August. Both China and the Philippines are looking for fuel elsewhere in the sea, but the Philippines leans heavily on foreign contracts to cover gaps in funding and expertise.

China will probably kick in most of the money and expertise for joint projects, given its wealth of experience, experts expect.

The joint effort would give Beijing access to valuable data on sea currents and underwater topography, Nagy said. It can use that data, he said, to develop submarine warfare.

Over the past decade, China has riled the other maritime claimants, including the Philippines, by landfilling tiny islets throughout the sea and militarizing some.

Renewables

ASEAN countries lag on renewable energy

6 December 2018

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ASEAN

The bad news is that oil prices have gone up after years of low prices. The good news is that this will drive green energy up to its highest levels in the next decade or sooner.

It is good to note that the rising prices of oil have prompted tidal moves towards renewable energy development, which surged in 2017, with around two-thirds — or 165 gigawatts — of net new capacity coming from clean sources. (1)

“The fact that South-East Asian countries are not on this bandwagon is a pity. This region is probably the most appropriate for the development of nature-sourced and nature-driven energy, whether solar, wind, ocean, river, rain or geothermal energy.”

Crispin Maslog

Renewable energy sources include mainly biomass, waste to energy technology, wind, solar, run-of-river, impounding hydropower sources, ocean, geothermal and hybrid systems.

The current renewable energy surge is due largely to booming solar panel deployment in China and throughout the world. It grew by 50 per cent to around 74 gigawatts, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA Renewables 2017 report said that “sharp cost reductions and improved policy support are paving the way for continued growth in the renewables sector”.

“Record performance in 2016 ‘forms the bedrock’ of the IEA’s electricity forecast, which predicts renewable energy capacity will expand by 43 per cent — or more than 920 gigawatts — by 2022…Solar power will continue to dominate the renewables market, generating far more electricity in the next four years than wind and hydropower,” the report added.

The Asia Pacific Urban Energy Association (APUEA), which referred to this upward renewable energy trend as the “Fourth Wave of Environmental Innovation”, said this “Fourth Wave” seems to be reaching the shores of most parts of the world except South-East Asia with its 640 million people. (2)

ASEAN lags

The fact that South-East Asian countries are not on this bandwagon is a pity. This region is probably the most appropriate for the development of nature-sourced and nature-driven energy, whether solar, wind, ocean, river, rain or geothermal energy.

After all, we have sunshine most days of the year. Here is one statistic: Singapore has 200 hours of sunshine per month on the average. Then we have the string of 17,000 islands in the open seas between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia which provide ocean currents, ebbs, tides and waves waiting to be harnessed.

Furthermore, Indonesia and the Philippines sit astride the Pacific Ring of Fire, with numerous volcanoes that can provide geothermal energy. Typhoons visit the region at least a dozen times each year, bringing rain that can be caught in dams to run turbines for industry.

Unfortunately, we meet nature only in their violent moods and have not been able to harness its power. ASEAN governments need the proverbial political will to catch up and jump onto the bandwagon of renewable energy.

“Singapore — the only first-world country in the region and one that should be leading by example — remains disappointingly in denial of the potential of solar power and electric vehicles with hardly any deployment at all,” APUEA complained.

Indonesia — a nation with solar and wind power across its 10,000 islands — continues to use petroleum and diesel rather than seek clean energy. (1) Why? Perhaps because it has plenty of oil underground and has a thriving petroleum industry.

It is interesting to note that Malaysia has the distinction of being the “only country where the number of solar panel installations has actually declined in recent years”, APUEA claimed. (2)

In the meantime, Malaysia’s neighbour, Thailand, has stopped expansion of renewable energy, while Vietnam talks solar even as it pushes coal, which is cheaper.

In sum, APUEA castigates ASEAN as a region lagging in renewable energy development and transport sector electrification.

One notable ASEAN exception is the Philippines. This country is going big into solar energy production and has introduced this year renewable portfolio standards that will make a difference if enforced.

The National Renewable Energy Board of the Philippines has endorsed rules on renewable portfolio standards to the country’s Department of Energy. A renewable portfolio standard requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources and relies on the private market for its implementation.

Once implemented, this will require distribution utilities to get a portion of their power supply from eligible renewable energy sources. The goal is to bring the renewable energy share of the national energy mix to at least 35 per cent by 2030.

Others

BMW To Start Manufacturing Electric Car Batteries In Thailand In 2019

6 December 2018

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Thailand

BMW will assemble battery packs in Thailand, too.

In the case of BMW Group, the primary battery pack production site is in Dingolfing, Germany, but step-by-step the company is launching also other smaller sites around the world to localize battery assembly.

There is already a BMW battery facility in Spartanburg, U.S. as well as in Shenyang, China (operated by the BMW-Brilliance Automotive joint venture).

Now, the fourth place scheduled for battery production turns out to be Thailand, where also Daimler wants to produce battery packs.

BMW intends to produce battery packs in Thailand in collaboration with the Dräxlmaier Group. The packs will be used in iPerformance plug-in hybrids like the 5-series, 7-series and X5 produced in Rayong.

The workforce has been in training at the Dingolfing plant since September and production should begin in 2019.

Mr. Christian Wiedmann, President, BMW Group Thailand said:

“We are very excited to be taking another big step forward in our electro-mobility strategy. The start of local battery production will enable us to better respond to growing demands for electrified vehicles across ASEAN markets. Furthermore, this new capability adds to the strengths of Plant Rayong, which has already been serving as an automotive production hub in the region. With four BMW plug-in hybrid models already rolling out from our assembly lines at Plant Rayong, local battery production will certainly complement our production of plug in-hybrids,”.

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“The fact that South-East Asian countries are not on this bandwagon is a pity. This region is probably the most appropriate for the development of nature-sourced and nature-driven energy, whether solar, wind, ocean, river, rain or geothermal energy.”

Crispin Maslog

BMW will assemble battery packs in Thailand, too.

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