May 2012
37 posts
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Nigeria oil bill waters down its reforms
Nigeria’s long-awaited oil law, when it finally comes, looks likely to be a botched job that gives favorable tax terms to foreign oil firms while doing little to satisfy calls for transparency and reform of a corrupt and wasteful sector.
A new draft of the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is close to being finalized, potentially ending years of uncertainty that has blocked...
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Rinehart gets go signal for $6.4b coal mine
from the Sydney Morning Herald
Gina Rinehart and India’s GVK Power & Infrastructure have cleared a key hurdle towards developing their $6.4 billion Alpha coal project, winning state environmental approval for what would be one of Australia’s biggest coal mines.
The Alpha project is being run by Hancock Coal, 79 per cent owned by GVK and 21 per cent owned by Ms Rinehart, the...
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Gas project in Papua New Guinea faces risks
by Jo Chandler | Canberra Times
THREE years after work began in earnest building the hardware to extract and pipe gas from the mountains of Papua New Guinea, initiating what is spruiked as a game-changing bonanza for the fragile nation, many local people remain excluded, frustrated and suspicious about the $US16 billion project.
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Welfare communications to assist staff retention:...
WA’s booming mining economy has resulted in an influx of experienced mining workers, however there is fierce competition to keep the best staff and companies are doing what they can to keep them. One way of doing this is to offer the best conditions and technologies for miners on-site. This is done through satellite technology.
Mining Camp Entertainment Systems are a hot topic in 2011 and R-...
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Where next for EU renewable energy policy?
An energy policy vacuum is looming in the European Union after a firm set of policy goals for renewable energy, carbon cutting and energy saving expires in 2020.
To open up the debate on policy direction for renewable energy, the Commission has put together a communication, expected to be published officially next month.
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South Africa Mine Union Supports Resource Tax
by Stephen Gunnion for Bloomberg
The South African National Union of Mineworkers supports the ruling African National Congress’s proposal for a resource-rent tax for the mining industry as an alternative to nationalizing mines, Business Day reported, citing the union.
The additional taxes raised should be used for a sovereign wealth fund and a state-owned mining company, the union proposed at...
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Australian mining boom: strong recruitment for... →
The Australian mining boom has seen shortages in miners’ skills, especially in the engineering department. Now, the international resource giants working down under are looking and recruiting experienced mining engineers from India, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.
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New Zealand Oil and Gas getting bigger stake in...
NZ Oil and gas reportedly has plans to get a 60% share in one of most sought after fields offshore in Taranaki. The company made a conditional offer to purchase 15% stake in the Kaheru exploration permit from AGL Upstream Gas.
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S.Africa stocks rise, gold miners in favour
South African stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday in tandem with global markets with gold miners such as Harmony the top gainers on the local bourse, lifted by stronger bullion prices and bargain chasers.
Third-biggest producer Harmony surged 6.4 percent to 82.04 rand as bullion prices snapped three days of losses to rise as high as $1,577.50 an ounce.
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The Offshore Technology Conference Mission
The Offshore Technology Conference is the world’s foremost event for the development of offshore resources, primarily oil and natural gas, in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection. It is a conference and exhibition which started in 1969 and was since then held annually until today during the first week of May. Reliant Park, formerly Astrodomain, a...
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Qld coal miners set to strike again
MORE strike action by central Queensland coal miners is expected to hurt the BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), which maintains it still can’t meet all of its supply contracts.
Enterprise bargaining talks between three mining unions and BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) continued in Brisbane today.
But the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says the strike, involving about...
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Nigerian Oil Minister Touts 'Robust' Oil, Gas...
Despite strikes, protests and an investigation that showed $6.8 billion had been stolen from the Nigerian public through the oil industry, Nigeria’s petroleum minister says investment and development in the oil and gas sectors have never before been more robust. Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke says by the end of the year, the country will have access to 1,800 more megawatts of...
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Call for inquiry into coal seam mining
A MULTI-PARTY report by Victorian MPs has called for a public inquiry into coal seam gas mining.
It has also called for mining companies to properly inform landowners and councils of mining applications in their area.
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Kyocera Shipping Solar Panels To Arizona Power...
Kyocera Corp. (6971), the Japanese electronics company, began shipments of 34 megawatts of solar panels for a 127-megawatt project in southwest Arizona.
The company’s Kyocera Solar unit expects to complete the order for the Arlington Valley Solar Energy II project in March, Kyoto-based Kyocera said today in a statement.
LS Power Group is developing the solar farm, which will span about 1,160...
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Siemens receives its first wind power order in...
Siemens Energy has received an order for a total of 50 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 115 megawatts (MW) for the El Arrayan wind power plant in Chile. This wind project will be developed as a joint venture between Pattern Energy and AEI, two leading independent energy companies developing projects in Chile because of its great potential for sustainable energy development and its...
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Protesters line gas hub road →
About 30 protesters have lined the road to Woodside Petroleum’s proposed $30 billion gas hub at James Price Point this morning.
The group met early this morning at the corner of Cape Leveque Road and Broome Highway.
From 9am, a steady stream of about 25 police vehicles arrived, each carrying four or five uniformed officers.
Twenty six police from the public order response team formed a...
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Massive gas discoveries add to East Africa's...
To East Africa’s assets of spectacular wildlife, abundant land and shimmering beaches you can now add gas — so much gas it could transform global energy flows along with some of the world’s poorest countries. Finds announced just last week off Tanzania and Mozambique are estimated to hold enough gas to supply France, Germany, Britain and Italy for at least a year — possibly much more.
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Aurora Oil & Gas raising A$120 million for...
Aurora Oil & Gas (ASX: AUT, TSX: AEF) is looking to raise A$120 million to fund the increase in development costs associated with its recent acquisition of an additional 6% working interest in the Sugarloaf Area of Mutual Interest (AMI).
This will increase its net cash to about US$233 million while additional liquidity is available through its undrawn US$85 million revolving credit...
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Mining sector leads nation on pay increases
The mining sector has led a 1.5 per cent increase in the total hourly rates of pay for West Australian workers in the three months to March, Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveal.
WA not only had the biggest wage rise in the quarter, but was the only state to make a greater increase in the March quarter this year compared to the same time last year, with other states stagnating or turning...
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GE snaps up mining specialist
THE Australian sharemarket may be trading ”ex-resources boom” but the appetite of international investors for local specialty mine service companies continues, with General Electric yesterday offering $470 million to buy Industrea.
Acting via a scheme of arrangement, shareholders are to be offered $1.27 a share, although the final amount they receive could be higher, if Industrea is...
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Antwerp Welcomes South Africa's Minister of...
On Wednesday May 16, an official delegation led by her excellency Ms. Shabangu, the Minister of Mineral Resources of the Republic of South Africa, was welcomed by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre’s (AWDC) vice president, Stephane Fischler, and chief executive, Ari Epstein.
The visit of the high-level delegation underscores the excellent relationships South Africa and Antwerp have enjoyed...
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Pöyry helps Eastern Africa in the search of...
Pöyry’s Energy business group has been awarded a Consulting Contract by the African Union Commission (AUC) in cooperation with the KfW Development Bank for the establishment and operation of the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) for Eastern Africa. The value of the contract amounts to EUR 3.5 million and it has been booked in the first quarter order book. The duration of the...
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Forest of fossils faces threats from coal mines
Had it not been for coal mining, Wang Jun may never have made his most important discovery: a forest buried by a volcanic eruption almost 300 million years ago.
To be able to excavate the site, just west of Wuda district in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, he needed both the mining industry and the authorities on board in 2007.
“We wouldn’t have got access to the large areas...
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S Africa: mining safety debate masks deeper...
Rarely, if ever, will a speech by Susan Shabangu, South Africa’s mineral resources minister, be complete without a reference to safety in the country’s mines.
It is a central theme of the ruling African National Congress, in part because of the dire treatment heaped on black mine workers during the decades of apartheid and discrimination. And last week, as she delivered her department’s budget...
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Renewable energy hit hard in budget
Published in collaboration with The Conversation, a website that features commentary, research and analysis from Australian universities and the CSIRO.
Not surprisingly, there was little excitement on the environmental policy front from this year’s Federal budget. This partly reflects the extensive environmental policy in the government’s Clean Energy Future Policy (CEFP) and partly their...
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What Tanzania can learn from Africa`s richest...
Tanzania, like many African countries blessed with minerals and other natural resources, is poor not because of God’s order, but due to the poor management of its resources caused by both external and internal factors.
In researching these articles, I came across various researches which strongly confirm this school of thought beyond any reasonable doubt.
From Dar es Salaam to Lagos, Accra to...
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APPEA 2012 : Satellite Communication for Petroleum... →
NewSat, the leading independent satellite communications and teleport provider of Australia, will be participating at the 52nd Annual APPEA, to be held from May 13 to 16 in Adelaide, SA. The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association Ltd (APPEA) is the organizer of the 52-yrs old trade event, giving the regional energy industries indispensable learning, business and networking...
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Higher oil prices boost Repsol profit in Q1
Spanish oil company Repsol saw its first-quarter profits rise 12.4 percent to (EURO)643 million ($833 million), excluding results from YPF and Repsol YPF Gas, the Argentine units nationalized by the Buenos Aires government.
In an earnings report released Thursday, Repsol YPF SA attributed the strong results mainly to higher crude oil and gas prices, the resumption of production in Libya after...
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Yanzhou Coal Said in Talks to Buy Vale’s Stake in...
Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. (1171) is among companies in talks to buy Vale SA (VALE5)’s stake in an Australian coal mine for more than A$500 million ($503 million), said people with knowledge of the matter.
Yanzhou and potential buyers from India are studying data on the Integra coal mine in New South Wales state and may make final offers as early as this month, said the people, declining to be...
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Cash flows as mining tax in Australia wedges Libs
THE first payments from the Gillard government’s cash splash budget will be handed to families with schoolchildren next month after the opposition failed to block the legislation in the lower house last night.
It came after Wayne Swan effectively enshrined the forecast $1.5 billion surplus for next financial year as an election promise by vowing to cut spending further if changed economic...
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Solar energy installation completed at Hawaii high...
With its modules, inverters and mounting systems, the solar expert creates Conergy System Technology, which is efficient solar power systems for private or commercial rooftops, as well as for multi-Megawatt Parks.
Hawaii Pacific Solar Installs Conergy Solar Modules and Mounting Systems for Department of Education at Aeia High School in Honolulu-PPA for Project Provided by RC Energy.
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I might pay no tax, says mine magnate
MINING billionaire Andrew Forrest has claimed the mining tax will raise between nothing and $50 million from his company, Fortescue Metals Group, during the first five years of the levy.
With critics saying proceeds from the tax will fall well short of revenue targets, Mr Forrest yesterday stepped up his attack on the government, blasting forecasts that it will raise $10.6 billion as a...
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Leighton mining wins $604m contract
Leighton Holdings has won a $604 million, three-year, contract for mining services at the Peak Downs Mine in central Queensland.
Under the contract, awarded by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), Leighton Contractors Mining Division will extend the services it provides at the Bowen Basin mine.
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Chevron Tops U.S. Big Oil Contingent
With earnings season essentially having been relegated to history for the major oil companies, it’s difficult not to be impressed by the scope and direction of Chevron, the second-largest of the U.S.-based integrated companies, and Royal Dutch Shell, its Anglo-Dutch peer.
In an overall evaluation of all the companies, including their relative approaches to their businesses and their...
April 2012
19 posts
7 tags
Va. study makes economic case for renewable energy
Pursuing a portfolio of renewable power sources such as solar, biomass and wind power to satisfy Virginia’s energy appetite through 2035 would create tens of thousands more jobs than relying on either coal or natural gas, a George Mason University study concludes.
The study released Wednesday was prepared for Virginia Conservation Network, a coalition of environmental groups and proponents...
