Petrol Malaysia

Dear Reader, My sincere apologies for not updating this blog recently. Thank you for dropping by to read. Introduction: The Two Blocks Recently, ex-premier Tun Dr Mahathir in his blog, Che Det , raised the issue of why nobody raised eyebrows when two oil-rich blocks in Sarawak became part of the state of Brunei. The two offshore blocks, named Block L and Block M, have been claimed by Malaysia based on historical facts. The ex-premier described the two blocks as containing reserves of nearly "almost 1 billion barrels" and remarked that Malaysia stood to lose "at least USD100 billion (about RM320 billion)". (Ref: Tun Dr Mahathir's blog, 12th April 2010. Malaysia's Generosity .) Tun Dr Mahathir had referred to three articles in his piece, namely: The Edge, 22nd April 2010. Murphy Oil says Petronas terminates PSC for 2 blocks. Quote: "... following the execution of the exchange of letters between Malaysia and Brunei on March 16, 2009, the offshor...

What happens when the concept of "peak oil" comes into reality? As most people realise, petrol and other types of fossil fuels, are a finite resource. It is accepted that one day, we may run out of petrol. To this end, efforts to encourage the use of hybrid vehicles have not met with much success in Malaysia. Hybrid vehicles use partly fossil fuels (petrol, diesel) and partly other sources of energy, e.g. electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, solar, etc. An article in The Australian, Shock Therapy For Petrol Addicts , hypothesizes that electric cars are the wave of the future. (Ref: The Australiam Shock Therapy For Petrol Addicts. 31st January 2009. URL: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24984579-13232,00.html) Among other matters, the writer states: Lithium Ion batteries are now adapted for use in electric vehicles; Electric cars will appeal to the next generation of tech-savvy buyers; The "digital generation" is not interested in the car in the same wa...

According to Bloomberg, crude oil prices fell again today to below USD$35 per barrel. The reason: Forecasts by industry insiders that global recession will lead to cuts in petrol consumption. The analysts are, however, positive that the second half of the year will see the price of crude oil bouncing up again. The fall in crude oil prices is despite a production cut by OPEC. An industry insider with Nordea Bank AB in Oslo stated it simply: "Demand is falling faster than oil producers are cutting production. As long as OPEC are one step behind, prices will continue to fall." [Source: Bloomberg.com, 19th January 2009. Crude Falls on Forecasts Global Recession Will Cut Fuel Demand ] OPEC produces about 40% of the world's supply of crude oil. [Source: The Edge Daily, 31st December 2008. 31-12-2008: O&G sector to lose a bit of fluidity in 2009 ] What would a bearish outlook for the O&G sector mean? Mergers may take place as companies consolidate their resources to face...

CNNMoney.com (also, incidentally, Associated Press and USA Today ) reported that a report by Masters Capital Management concluded that speculation could have been the driving factor behind the price increase of petrol. In their report, Masters Capital Management reported: Investors poured USD$60 billion into oil futures from January to May 2008; The price of crude oil increased from USD$95 per barrel in January, to USD$145 per barrel in July; Investors have withdrawn USD$39 billion from oil markets between July 2008 to the present day; These investors became alarmed when US Senate began holding hearings on speculation, starting May 2008; The recent rise of petrol price may have been caused by speculators, not market forces.   The head of Masters Capital Management, Michael Masters, had previously on 20th May 2008, discussed the increasing investment by several new groups. S Dali, in the Star Online, wrote: Masters talked about the resurgence of several groups over the past five years...