Thailand’s demand for all fuels and power is expected to rise 5.1 percent to 1.64 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2007, compared with estimated demand growth of 2.4 percent in 2006, the Energy Ministry said on Monday.
Demand for oil products in 2007 was projected to rise 1.7 percent, versus an estimated fall [...]

Energy ministers from the U.S., China, India, Japan and South Korea are gathering in Beijing Saturday for a meeting aimed at boosting China’s influence over key energy markets while alleviating worries over its huge and growing appetite for oil.
The talks, hosted by China’s top economic planner, Ma Kai, are part of a broad diplomatic offensive [...]

A South Korean consortium led by state-run Korea Resources Corp. will invest a total of $1.1 billion to develop a nickel mine in Ambatovy, Madagascar, the commerce ministry said on Monday.
The mine, which is estimated to have 125 million metric tons of nickel, will produce up to 60,000 metric tons of the metal a year [...]

China has raised the capital threshold for projects converting coal to liquid fuel to brake a possible overheating in the coal-chemical industry, as excessive development of the fossil fuel pollutes the environment and strains the water supply.
On July 7, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s industrial watchdog, issued a circular requiring local governments [...]