Showing posts with label oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil. Show all posts

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Tilted jack-up rig in Jurong Shipyard restored

Tilted jack-up rig in Jurong Shipyard restored
Posted: 15 January 2013 1241 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Jurong Shipyard has restored and floated the jack-up rig that tilted in 2012 to its original upright position.

Eighty-nine workers were injured in the incident at the shipyard on 3 December.

Sembcorp Marine said on Tuesday that with the rig now back to its upright position, Jurong Shipyard and the authorities will focus on investigations into what caused it to tilt.

Repairs and restoration work will start when the stop-work is lifted.

The three-legged rig was scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2013 but this has been rescheduled.

The rig is expected to be delivered by the end of third quarter of 2013.

Sembcorp Marine said the repairs and change in the delivery date are not expected to have any material impact on its net tangible assets and earnings per share for the year ending 31 December 2013.

- CNA/ck

- wong chee tat :)

Monday, April 11, 2011

Electricity price hike could have been higher

Electricity price hike could have been higher
Posted: 11 April 2011 1733 hrs

SINGAPORE: The 6.1 per cent electricity price hike for the next three months from April to June may have hit some pockets.

But Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said in Parliament on Monday tariffs would have been even higher, if not for the strong Singapore dollar.

Unrest in the Middle East and the nuclear crisis in Japan have caused oil prices to increase by about 14 per cent to S$113 per barrel in the first quarter of the year.

But any impact on electricity prices here has been cushioned by global currency movements.

"An appreciating Singapore dollar has helped to cushion the effects of rising fuel oil prices which are denominated in US dollars," Mr Iswaran said.

"Since the beginning of 2010, the Singapore dollar has appreciated by about eight per cent against the US dollar.

"Without this, the electricity tariff in the second quarter of this year would have been five per cent higher."

Mr Iswaran also said the move away from oil-fired steam plants by power generation companies since 2001 to more efficient gas-fired combined cycle gas turbines has also reduced the impact of price hikes in oil.

"Had we continued to use steam plants, the electricity tariff today would be about 15 per cent higher," he said.

Assuming that household electricity consumption does not change, the six per cent tariff increase means that those living in four-room flats would have to pay on average, S$4.85 more each month.

But Mr Iswaran said there is targeted assistance for those who have trouble paying their bills.

This year alone, the government will give out S$250 million in utilities rebates, starting from this month.

Those in four-room flats will receive S$320 -- enough to offset their bill for the next three-and-a-half months.

Those living in three-room flats will get S$340 in rebates to cover five months' worth of electricity consumption.

Overall, the amount given to families in three-room flats is five-and-a-half times more than the actual increase in their bills in the past year.

Since 2007, about S$800 million worth of electricity rebates have been given to some 800,000 households.

Mr Iswaran added that there are programmes to help businesses become more efficient in energy use.

These include schemes to raise awareness on energy management and available energy efficient technologies, provide support for companies which are trying to adopt such technologies, train energy management professionals, and encourage sharing of best practices in energy efficiency among companies.

These are administered by the Energy Efficiency Programme Office (E2PO), a multi-agency committee led by the National Environment Agency and the Energy Market Authority.

-CNA/wk

- wong chee tat :)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Asia now price setter for oil: experts

 
 
Photos 1 of 1

   
 


 
SINGAPORE : Asia has become the price setter for oil, on the back of increased demand from China.

Experts said this is changing the way players in the region handle the trading of oil. However, they noted that it will take some time for Asia to establish a strong pricing market.

Oil prices may have settled around the US$70 to US$80 a barrel mark, but they have been on a roller-coaster ride - up sharply in 2008 before going on a downward spiral and then picking up again.

According to some experts, demand from Asia, especially China, has been driving oil prices to where they are now.

Last year, China surpassed Japan as the world's second largest oil consumer, and industry watchers said it wants a say in pricing.

Jason Feer, senior vice president & general manager, Asia Pacific, Argus Media, said: "Traditionally in Asia, the major importing countries for energy commodities and other commodities have been price takers so the price that Asian importers are paying for oil is typically set by other people, traders, or perhaps, futures exchanges in other regions.

"The Chinese are no longer content to be passive price takers and so they are much more active in the commodities markets and the spot markets than the traditional economic powers in the region - like the Japanese, Koreans, the Indians.

"(They) have also become more assertive about participating in markets, about having an influence on what the price is, and that's a real shift."

But while some said Asia is a determining factor in the increase in oil prices, they added that it remains underdeveloped when it comes to pricing markets, in comparison to those in the West such as NYMEX. They said that is because Asian buyers traditionally have not hedged their price risks.

And in some cases, pricing environments are dominated by price controls or subsidies.

But on the other hand, others argued that speculation, rather than demand, has been driving prices.

Valery Golovushkin, president & CEO, Socar Trading, said: "I don't think there is any connection in the rising oil prices and Chinese demand. I don't think there is any connection to the fundamentals, to the supply and demand. Oil prices in the last couple of years are driven by speculation."

Demand for oil in China has grown by about 8 to 10 per cent annually, compared with the global increase of around 1.5 per cent.

- CNA/al


- wong chee tat :)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Fish farms prepared to run tests to ease oil contamination fears

Fish farms prepared to run tests to ease oil contamination fears
By Jessica Yeo & Ng Lian Cheong | Posted: 31 May 2010 2053 hrs
 
 
Photos 1 of 1

Fish farm
   
 
Related News
MPA says efforts to clean up oil spill show "positive results"
Oil slick patches spotted in Malaysian waters
 Video
Fish farms prepared to run tests to ease oil contamination fears


 
SINGAPORE : Eight local fish farms said they are prepared to fork out their own money to conduct tests on their products to prove that their seafood is safe for consumption.

According to a researcher from the National University of Singapore, some locally-produced and locally-caught seafood may be affected due to the oil spill following the collision of two vessels last Tuesday.

Her advice is to eat less locally-produced seafood over the next two weeks.

"Within the two weeks of the spill, the contaminated seawater may still be pushed back to Singapore waters. Although they will be removed over time, there may still be residual oil. This may contaminate fishes from the kelongs or those caught by fishermen," said Dr Ng Ngan Kee, an instructor of Systematics & Ecology Laboratory at National University of Singapore.

Fish farmers disagree, and are willing to put their fish to the test.

"If there are such concerns, then we can send the fish for a third-party independent lab to do an autopsy and a full analysis to look for any chemical residue. For the consumers, they'll have a peace of mind when they eat the fish," said Lee Van Voon, chairman of the Singapore Marine Aquaculture Cooperative.

MediaCorp understands that fish farms have stopped feeding their fishes since the oil slick last Tuesday (25 May).

This prevents the fish from surfacing and consuming the oil stains.

Fish farmers said fishes can easily survive a week without food as they can survive on their own body fats. 

- CNA /ls

- wong chee tat :)