Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) have been told to consider using hydro or gas to generate electricity in Lahad Datu as an alternative to the RM1.3 billion coal-fired power project that the state government has rejected for Silam within the district.
Responding to a TNB article in “TNB Talks” that Sabah [...]

China Coal Energy Co , the country’s No. 2 coal producer, plans to more than double capital spending in 2008 as it pushes a rapid production expansion plan.
Executive Director Yang Lieke told reporters on Thursday the firm intends to set aside 16.16 billion yuan to spend on its core coal and coal chemicals businesses this [...]

An Adelaide-based company has struck a deal to provide clean coal technology to an energy consortium in the United States.
GTL Energy Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding for the technology to be used in an electricity plant in North Dakota.
It is expected that the technology will transform low-grade coal into a cleaner fuel, to [...]

Oil prices jumped close to 106 dollars on Friday as investor sentiment was driven by the weak US dollar, tight energy supplies and more bad news on the US economy, analysts said.
On Friday, New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, jumped 1.92 dollars to 105.75 dollars per barrel, after earlier [...]

With prices for key commodities at record highs, Indonesia — Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and a key exporter — should, at first glance, be enjoying good times.
But with high oil prices leading to a government fuel subsidy blowout and rising food prices hitting the poor, analysts say most Indonesians are being squeezed.
Indonesia is the world’s [...]

Among the sector activity stories for Wednesday, March 26, from AP Financial News:
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of companies that produce nickel, a key ingredient in making stainless steel, rose Wednesday on fresh evidence of China’s growing appetite for the commodity.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of regional banks fell Wednesday after an analyst said bad [...]

Oil futures rose slightly with the dollar’s latest decline pushing concerns about the economy and demand into the shadows.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 36 cents to settle at $101.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The modest gain was hardly part of a trend, and followed a session in which prices alternated [...]

Oil prices soared more than $4 a barrel as lower-than-expected fuel inventories and another dollar drop brought buyers out in force for the first time in a week.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose $4.68 to settle at $105.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gasoline [...]

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and privately held Virent Energy Systems, Inc. of Madison, Wis., will work together to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline blend components, rather than ethanol.
The aim is to create new biofuels that can be used at high blend rates in standard gasoline engines. They could also eliminate the need [...]

South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni said the price of oil is unlikely to drop any time soon, hampering efforts to contain inflation and adding to pressure for higher interest rates.
“On the inflation picture, what is of serious concern is that it doesn’t seem like oil prices are going to be of assistance to [...]