Gazprom and CNPC broadening strategic cooperation in energy sector

The country imported 34.03 million mt of crude in January, down 6.5% from the record high of 36.38 million mt in December despite surging 27.5% on the year.

The average price of spot LNG imports to Japan contracted in January 2017 was $8.40/mn Btu, up from $8/mn Btu in December 2016, the ministry of economy, trade and industry (Meti) said February 9, their highest level for two years. But Japan's IEEJ says that prices have now peaked.

But Lee said that South Korean demand for LNG would keep falling in the short-term due to increased electricity output from nuclear and coal-fired power plants. The country is the world's second-biggest LNG importer after Japan.

Indonesia needs to invest $70 billion to $80 billion in gas infrastructure through 2030 to avoid a potential gas shortage, as domestic consumption growth outpaces supply, state-owned energy business Pertamina said Tuesday.

The executives predicted slower growth as “they forecast oil prices to take a long time to rebound to US$70 per barrel,” the point at which prices started to plunge two years ago, said Wu Yi, DNV’s business development manager for China, South Korea and Japan.

Saudi Arabia's crude oil supplies to Japan rose to a 10-year high in 2016, underlining the kingdom's strong will to defend its share in the ever competitive Asian markets.

China is committed to having talks with the parties directly involved, and in accordance with historical facts and international law to peacefully resolve the issue, and that position will not change, Wang said.

India’s leading state owned oil and gas firm Indian Oil posted a net profit of rupees 153.86bn ($2.29bn) for the nine months ended December 31, 2016, compared with a net profit of rupees 92.36bn during the corresponding period of the previous year, a jump of almost 66%.

Indian ONGC reported profit of rupees 43.52bn ($0.65bn) in 3Q of fiscal 2016-17 as against rupees 14.66bn in the corresponding quarter of last year, a rise of 197%, the company said last week citing higher gross oil realisation as the primary reason.

Japan is putting together a package of plans for Japanese companies to invest in infrastructure and job-creation projects in the United States. Japan is the world's biggest buyer of the gas cooled to liquid form for transport on ships and takes in nearly a third of global shipments.

With India's oil demand showing no signs of slowing, which in turn is attracting a lot of multinational firms to set up shop in the country, the government is stepping up efforts to ensure that state-run oil companies are on equal footing to compete, not just with domestic private players but also with global oil firms.

China will launch the trading of green certificates for solar and wind power on July 1 in a bid to help reduce government subsidies to the renewables sector, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

China's apparent oil demand slipped into the negative territory in 2016, a sharp reversal from the near 7% growth witnessed a year earlier, as the country's slowest GDP growth in 26 years slashed appetite for industrial and transportation fuels in Asia's biggest oil consuming nation.

Shell has reached an agreement with KUFPEC Thailand Holdings Pte Limited, a subsidiary of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), for the sale of subsidiary companies Shell Integrated Gas Thailand Pte Limited and Thai Energy Co Limited, which together hold a 22.222% equity stake held in the Bongkot field, and adjoining acreage offshore Thailand consisting of Blocks 15, 16 and 17 and block G12/48, for USD 900 million.