Palm Oil Journal: Closer to US$400
The benchmark November 2015 contracts of crude palm oil (CPO) dropped further by RM35 to RM2000 per ton on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Thursday (Aug 20) as investors were worried about milder impact of El Nino to major producing areas in Indonesia amidst weak demand from China and India.
10% Participating Interest in Oil & Gas Blocks
Minister of energy and mineral resources Sudirman Said has on Thursday (Aug 20) handed over 10% participating interest in two oil and gas blocks in West Java and Central Java province to respective governors. Still, there are many questions remained unanswered, especially financial aspects of the ‘mandatory farm-out/farm-in’ to the State and existing interest holders.
BlackGold’s Indonesian Acquisition & Kotjo
SGX-listed BlackGold Natural Resources Limited has decided to diversify its business beyond coal, which has been under significant pressures in the past few years. The Company plans to acquire an operating gold mine in Indonesia for US$100 million.
Palm Oil Journal: How Low CPO Would Go?
KPB Nusantara, the joint marketing office of state plantations, was forced to withdraw nine out of 10 CPO packages auctioned off Wednesday (Aug 19) due to low bids submitted by buyers. KPB only sold one package of 1500 tons at Rp6670 per Kg (VAT 10% included), lower than the previous day’s ideal price, even when rupiah lost further ground against the greenback.
Oil & Gas Trading: Why We Should Act Now?
Indonesia recorded trade surplus of US$5.74 billion in the first seven months of 2015 against deficit of US$1.09 billion in the corresponding period of 2014. This was attributable to, among other things, almost 49% fall in deficit of oil and gas to US$4 billion. While this looks good for the current account, the country should act now to boost investment in oil and gas sector.
Palm Oil Journal: El Nino?
KPB Nusantara, the joint marketing office of state plantations, was forced to withdraw nine out of 15 CPO packages auctioned off Tuesday (Aug 18) on low bids, even as rupiah fell further to Rp13831 per USD. Five other packages, meanwhile, were sold at Rp6736 per Kg (VAT 10% included), which means net price of Rp6124 per Kg (US$445/ton).
Coal Production Cutbacks (II)
Indonesia booked US$10.02 billion of revenues from export of coal in the first seven months of 2015, dropped 22.17% from the corresponding period of 2014, despite a surprise 3.4% increase in July over June. Looks like that Indonesia exported less coal in volume because average price of Indonesian reference coal declined only by 17% in the period.
Coal Production Cutbacks: How Much Would be Enough?
Glencore Plc, one of the world’s mining giants, fulfilled its commitment to cut coal supply by significantly reducing output from its coal mines in Australia. In the first half, thermal coal production from Australia reached 25.9 million tons, down from 28.7 million tons in the same period of 2014. We’re talking about 10% cutbacks.
Sinarmas Group in First Half (2): GEMS + BRAU
Golden Energy Mines (GEMS), coal producing unit of Sinarmas Group, booked net profit of US$5.12 million in the first half of 2015, an increase of 8.9% from the same period of 2014. Unlike other producers, GEMS boosted its output significantly in the period.
SGX-Listed Plantations in First Half
KPB Nusantara, the joint marketing office of state plantations, was forced to withdraw eight out of 13 CPO packages auctioned off Thursday (18,000 tons) due to low bids. Five other packages were sold at Rp6720 per Kg (VAT 10% included). That means net price for producers was around Rp6109/Kg or US$450 per ton only.