Malaysian LNG imports unlikely to falter

February 24, 2015

Delay in rise of industrial gas prices? Ah, shucks.

Dateline 2015-01-15, Interfaxenergy:

A decision by Malaysia’s government to postpone a plan to increase gas prices for the country’s industrial sector is unlikely to reduce LNG imports to the Malaysian peninsula. Instead, imports of the fuel could exceed expectations – as long as low prices and tepid demand for spot cargoes in Asia persist.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak outlined a revised national budget for 2015 on Tuesday that included delaying the price increases. The measure was introduced as part of an initiative to scale back subsidies for gas to encourage further investment in new supplies and promote greater efficiency.

Raising the gas prices for industrial buyers would also help pass through the higher price of LNG, which Malaysia started importing on a spot and short-term basis in 2013, when it received 1.5 mt at the Malacca terminal.

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Posted by Wata

The economics of oil – Tay Tian Yan

February 24, 2015

Really? You couldn’t see this?

The Malaysian Insider, 2014-12-04:

Many people were confused: isn’t it great that petrol prices are lower now? The government can subsidise less and our budgetary deficit could be narrowed.

People no longer need to worry about the additional financial burden as prices of goods are expected to come down and the impact of GST tamed.

This should have been a piece of wonderful news in any way, but why did the equity and money markets slide? As if that is not enough, experts said the country’s economic prospects were gloomy.
The answer couldn’t have been more straightforward: Malaysia is an oil-producing country with oil revenue making up about 30% of the government’s budget. Although the government will have less of fuel subsidy to worry about, the saving would not be enough to offset the drastic loss in revenue.

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Saturday Star 2015-02-21 – Job Opportunities

February 23, 2015

Happy Happy Week. Buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (all 4 books). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me.

  • I hear Hess is looking for a number of metering and measurement engineers. Heck, I should be a shoe in.
  • Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company (KPOC to friends) has an itty-bitty spread. Operations is looking onshore and offshore operations, project engineer (mechanical), offshore installation manager, production supervisor. Apply here, or snail mail to: Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Comp Sdn Bhd, Level 52, Tower 2, PETRONAS Twin Towers, KLCC, 50088 KL, Malaysia.

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? How if you visit Vietnam, how about visiting and updating GoHalalVietnam! for your food needs. For your other needs, talk to your local tour guide/ concierge / man on the street.

As crude prices are low, you need all the help you can get to nail that elusive 2k job:

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking, Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker, The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

Leave a Comment » | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Highest and Cheapest Gasoline Prices by Country

February 22, 2015

Dateline 2014-12-02, Bloomberg:

Malaysia

Price per gallon of gasoline: $2.48
Rank by most expensive gas: 54
Rank by pain at the pump: 35

Malaysia’s extensive fuel subsidies give it one of the lowest gasoline prices.

Cheap gas comes at a cost; despite strong economic growth, Fitch Ratings lowered the country’s credit rating last year. Soon after the rating drop, Prime Minister Najib Razak cut the fuel subsidy. He cut it again in October.

Even though gas remains cheap, the subsidy cuts are sending inflation ripples through the economy. Consumer prices are forecast to climb 4 percent to 5 percent next year, the fastest since 2008.

…

1 Comment | Malaysia, oil and gas | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Malaysia Crudely Treated By Oil Slump

February 21, 2015

Dateline 2014-12-02, Barron’s:

Malaysia may have just set itself up for a major oil shock.

That may seem a long shot as crude prices plummet. But Malaysia is one of Asia’s few remaining net oil exporters and last month it made the decision to scrap subsidies on diesel and unleaded gasoline and instead set their prices more or less in line with market prices beginning this month.

Markets appear to have ignored this watershed. Global investors may not know a lot about Malaysia, but they do know it’s a major commodities exporter whose economy is slowing with exports and whose government depends on oil-related income for 30% of its annual revenues. Stocks in Kuala Lumpur fell as much as 2.3%, the biggest tumble in almost two years, to the lowest since late-October. Government bonds fell, too. Malaysia’s currency, the ringgit, slid as much as 1.4% against the U.S. dollar to its lowest since early 2010.

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Fuel subsidy removal ‘brilliant’ move OR political opportunism: What when oil prices move up?

February 20, 2015

Answer: Reality move. When we gonna get better utilization of the petroleum products we have? Me thinking reliable WAN mass public transportation, legislation of tiffin boxes vs. itty bitty plastic bags (we still need the big ones for trash), nuclear plant next to the residences of our DUN critters.

Dateline 2014-11-29, Malaysia Chronicle:

AFTER so much hesitation in the past due mainly to fears about its political impact, the government took the entire nation by complete surprise last Friday by removing subsidies on the RON95 fuel and diesel.

Their retail prices will from Dec 1 be set by using the managed float system.

This means that from Monday, consumers will enjoy the benefits from any fall in the price of global crude oil, something we have not been getting for the past 31 years when the retail price of petroleum products in Malaysia has largely either remained static or gone up.

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Malaysia’s Petronas Q3 profit falls 12.4 pct on weak oil prices

February 19, 2015

Dateline 2014-11-29, Hellenic Shipping News:

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Malaysia’s state oil company, reported on Friday a 12.4 percent fall in third-quarter profit on weakness in oil prices, the U.S. dollar and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales.

Net profit totalled 15.07 billion ringgit ($4.45 billion) in July-September from 17.2 billion ringgit a year earlier, Petronas said in a statement. Revenue declined marginally to 80.4 billion ringgit.

Excess oil and gas supplies, sluggish energy demand and slowing global growth will mean earnings in the fourth quarter will be even lower, Chief Financial Officer George Ratilal told reporters after the results.

…

 

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Managing a crisis of national proportions: Petronas speaks up

February 17, 2015

Dateline 2014-11-28, Advertising + Marketing:

Petronas occupies a unique position in the oil and gas industry. Owned by the Malaysian government, it is tasked with the country’s oil and gas resources, and is the national oil and gas company (NOC), apart from also being an international oil and gas company (IOC). The company was recently positioned as the world’s sixth most profitable Fortune 500 company in the oil and gas space.

This renders the communications role for Petronas a high-stakes one, and a relatively complicated one at that. Stakeholder relations is core to its communications, over any other forms.

…

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Posted by Wata

Saturday Star 2015-02-14 – Job Opportunities

February 16, 2015

Happy Happy Week. Buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (all 4 books). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me.

  • Nothing this week. I hear that the layoffs from the big umbrella contractors is continuing.

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? How if you visit Vietnam, how about visiting and updating GoHalalVietnam! for your food needs. For your other needs, talk to your local tour guide/ concierge / man on the street.

As crude prices are low, you need all the help you can get to nail that elusive 2k job:

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking, Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker, The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

Leave a Comment » | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

OPEC, non-OPEC oil producers agree ‘price is not good’

February 14, 2015

Duhh.

Dateline 2014-11-26, FMT:

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez said Tuesday that OPEC members and non-member producers agreed that the price of crude oil “is not good”.

“We agreed that the price is not good. Everybody is worried,” he told reporters after OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Venezuela met with officials from fellow oil producers Russia and Mexico in Vienna against a backdrop of sliding crude prices.

“We discussed the situation on the market, we shared our points of view and we agreed to keep in contact, and we will meet again in three months,” he added.

The meeting came two days before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was to hold its most significant meeting in recent years to decide on whether to cut the cartel’s oil production to help stabilise tumbling prices.

OPEC pumps out about one-third of the world’s oil while Russia is itself a major producer.

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Posted by Wata

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