Energy

SKorea's Hyundai wins 1.3-bn-dlr order from Saudi

South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction said it has won a 1.3-billion-dollar order to build a gas processing plant in Saudi Arabia. Under the 2-05 trillion-won deal with Saudi Aramco, Hyundai Engineering said it would build the plant at Khursaniyah to process natural gas extracted from an offshore oilfield in the Gulf. "Construction will begin this month," a company spokesman said, adding the plant would start processing about 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas a day in 2012.

Kuwait to establish nuclear energy commission

The cabinet of the Gulf state of Kuwait approved legislation to establish a national commission for nuclear energy uses, an official statement said. The commission, to be headed by the prime minister, will design policies needed for a peaceful nuclear programme in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, a statement by the cabinet said. Last month, Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al- Sabah said that a French firm was studying a plan by the Gulf state for a civilian nuclear programme to produce power.

Nippon Oil Seeking To Develop Oil Field In Iraq

Nippon Oil Corp. and two other Japanese firms have proposed to the Iraqi government a project to develop an oil field and build a refinery and power plant there, Chairman Fumiaki Watari said. With major Italian and Spanish oil companies also vying for rights to develop the same fields, Watari said the matter will probably be decided within a month or two. Although Watari did not disclose details, such as the name of the oil field, the Japanese trio is said to be competing with Italy's Eni SpA and Spain's Repsol YPF SA.

News Analysis: Middle East goes green

The Middle East is becoming a leader in the global rush to go green. The search for sustainable energy, the drive to reduce power usage and alter lifestyles to become more eco-friendly, are all gaining ground in the region's hitherto unfertile sands. Countries across the region are now realising that going green does not only protect the environment. It makes money. The enthusiasm for clean energy is now rapidly spreading. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been collectively described by one American expert in green technology as making "a concerted push to become the Silicon Valley of Alternative energy."

Iraq to award oil servicing contracts in 2009

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani said the first bidding round of oil field servicing contracts would be awarded by mid-2009, and the second round by the end of the year. He said he expected the total additional crude oil produced from these new fields to reach 3.5 million barrels per day. "We hope to finish awarding these contracts in the middle of this year, for the first bidding round. And we hope that the second bidding round would be awarded by the end of this year," Shahristani said. "The total amount of additional crude oil produced from these fields will be 1.5 million bpd for the first round and another 2 million bpd for the second round. So the total would be 3.5 million bpd," he said.

Qatar gas investments touch $50bn

The Qatari Emir’s economic advisor Ibrahim al-Ibrahim said the Emirate managed to cut gas production and liquefaction costs by 40 percent, which helped curb the impact of the global financial crisis. "We are more capable compared to other countries of coping with the implications of the global crisis…fortunately, most of our investments in LNG went to low-cost projects," he added.

J. Ray McDermott wins Karan project in Saudi Arabia

J. Ray McDermott, S.A. a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc. has been awarded the Karan Offshore Platforms and Subsea Pipelines project by Saudi Aramco. The project involves work in Saudi Arabia itself and outside the Kingdom. Once completed, the facility will have a production capacity of 1,800 MMSCFD of raw sour Khuff gas."

Kuwait Zour oil refinery not cancelled, official says

Kuwait has not cancelled plans to build a fourth oil refinery in the Gulf Arab state, even though it has cancelled a tender to build the plant, an official at the state's refining firm said. The decision to scrap a tender to build the $15 billion refinery does not mean the project will be dropped, Abdulla al-Ajmi, clean fields project manager at Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC), said.

Petrochemical industry key to Gulf economies

The petrochemical industry has been described as a “cornerstone for economic diversification plans in GCC member-states” by a recent report by the Federation of Gulf Chambers of Commerce & Industry. The report underlined that the petrochemical industry accrues added value for the Gulf bloc and minimises dependence on petroleum revenues. Capitalising on cheap natural gas supplies from the Gulf to feed the regional petrochemical industry, petrochemicals speedily transformed aggregate production from 4 million in 1985 to 44 million in 2005. The report expects Gulf petrochemical output to hit 76 million tons by 2010. The six GCC member-states combined produce 7 percent of global petrochemical output, forecasted to lift to 13 percent by 2010. Gulf investments in the petrochemical sector are set to muster $120 billion by 2010.

Iraqi oil chief says France good bet for bids

French oil company Total is well placed to bid for contracts in Iraq's oil sector, the Iraqi oil minister said. Iraq plans to sign contracts this year for developing selected oil fields, and Total is among several global companies expressing interest in participating in a "fast track process," Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said. "Total is well placed to fulfill those contracts. We will choose the one that gives Iraq the best deal and the best income," al-Shahristani said in Paris, after meeting with French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and signing a series of agreements on improving Franco-Iraqi business ties.