Pressure is on Gaddafi

The world community is increasing the pressure for Gaddafi to resign.

USA had imposed the sanctuation and the UN security council is discussing possible sanctuaion against Libya.. Britain, france and Germany is considering to to put Gaddafi for the crime against humanity.

It is not clear how people are being killed, but it was reported in term of 1000. The number is small compared to the number of innocent people killed by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, It is surprising that there is no talk about the crime against humanity.

Probably, the crime is reserved for people like Gaddafi but not Mr Bush.

christchurch hit by major quake

This happen on 22 Feb 2011. The second largest city in New Zealand was hit by major earth quake that toppled tall buildings and churches killing at least 65 people. The city was hit by smaller  earthquake 5 months ago.

The quake caused major traffic jams as electricity was off and buildings were falling down.

Malaysian Private Stage Buses going Burst

It was reported on 21 Feb 2011, the bus stage bus companies in Malaysia is facing financial difficulty.

Stage bus is the bus that service 80% of the route outside Klang Valley. It is different from the tour bus that service the tourist or the express bus that bring the passengers from town to town. Stage bus serve the public, the people in the village, will hail the bus, anywhere as there may not be any bus stop. To stop the bus, just ring the bell.

The main problem is the rising cost. Malaysia, despite an exporter of oil, has experience a hike in the fuel price. The normal reason quoted was, ...' we are still cheaper than Singapore'. forgetting the fact that Singapore is nearly 4 time in term of per capita income.

The price increase include the cost the bus itself, it shot up from rm177,000 to over rm260,000. The price of the airconditioned bus is more expensive.  

Mubarak Resigned

The Egyptian President for 30 years had resigned and pass the button to a millitary council after 18 days of continuous mass protest. That was the front page of most paper on 12 Feb 2011.

The Egyptian military power promised a sooth transition to democracy.

Facing the mounting public pressure, Mubarak initially promised not to participate in  the sept election. Then he hand over the power to the deputy omar sulaieman, but he did not step down.. until yesterday.

Bank Scams

There is an alarming increase in the scam. The criminals are targeting the innocent victims to reveal the ID and passwords for their internet banking.

You may receive an innocent looking email telling about the new updates for the bank you have you account and a link at the bottom. So instead of using your normal link, you click on the given link, the normal and familiar page appears, asking for ID and password. You enter and the screen went blank and the message says... sorry we are facing a small system problem. give us 3 minutes to fix it"

You have 3 minutes before your account will be withdrawn.

There were 1426 report last year compared to 634 in 2009. An alarming figure of doubling within 1 year.

malaysian gas reserve

Malaysia is give a good news. More gas reserve is being found off the coast of sarawak.

In the past 2 year the total production of oil and gas was declining from 1.67 to 1.63 millions barrels per day.

Currently the estimate is malaysia has 85 trillion cu ft of gas  and 5.8 bi barrels of oil.

more from the news..

Tuesday February 15, 2011

New findings a boost for country’s oil and gas reserves

By SHARIDAN M. ALI
sharidan@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The recent findings of new oil and gas fields byPetroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) offshore Sarawak are expected to boost the country's reserves.

Petronas' total average production for oil and gas has been declining for the past two years to 1.63 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day in the financial year ended March 31, 2010 (FY10) from 1.67 million BOE per day in FY08.

The 1.63 million BOE per day comprised 535,000 BOE of crude oil, 974,000 BOE of natural gas and the rest condensates.

AmResearch said as Malaysia had 85 trillion cu ft of gas reserves with oil reserves at 5.8 billion barrels in FY10, the new discoveries accounted for 3% of the country's natural gas reserves and 2% of its oil reserves.

Petronas yesterday announced that it had found new major discoveries from two wells that had the potential of producing both oil and gas.

The NC3 wildcat well and its subsequent appraisal well in block SK316 have an estimated 2.6 trillion standard cu ft (tscf) of net gas in place; while the Spaoh-1 in block SK306, that was drilled in December 2010, has showed similar potential where preliminary evaluation has indicated about 100 million barrels of oil and 0.2 tscf of gas.

AmResearch also said four new production sharing contracts (PSCs) were awarded by the national oil company in FY10 bringing the total number of PSCs in operation currently to 75.

“Additionally, the completion of the Gumusut-Kakap floating production storage semi-submersible unit, Kebabangan offshore structures, Malikai tension leg platform and marginal field projects will also support stronger growth for Petronas in FY11,” the company said in a report.

Late last month, Petronas announced that it would award the Sepat and Berantai marginal oil field contracts soon, and planned to award two more marginal field cluster contracts by April.

Malaysia currently has 106 marginal oil fields containing 580 million barrels of oil and Petronas planned to develop 25% of the total marginal oil fields to replenish its oil reserves and generate new revenue streams.

A marginal oil field is defined as one that can produce 30 million barrels of oil equivalent or less.

AmResearch said Petronas' capital expenditure (capex) is expected to reach RM40bil in FY11, after falling by 16% year-on-year to RM37bil in FY10.

“The rising values for oil and gas contracts, re-energised domestic spending by Petronas, rampant liquidity against the backdrop of the Government's Economic Transformation Programme to create regional champions in providing oil field and equipment services underscore our continued excitement in the sector,” it said.

“The oil and gas up-cycle is still running full tilt with capex of up to RM10bil largely from enhanced oil recovery, marginal and deepwater fields over the next six months.”

Related Story:
Oil reserves found off Sarawak's coast to boost Govt coffers

chine number 2 economy

China is number 2 economy, not Japan any more.

Japan had lost the lead that he held for 42 years. It economy is saddled with deflation,low domestic demands.

however japan is about 10 time richer per capita compared to china. per capita of japan is us40,000.

the star carried the news

Published: Monday February 14, 2011 MYT 9:54:00 AM

Japan confirms China surpassed its economy in 2010

TOKYO (AP): Japan confirmed Monday that China's economy surpassed its own as the world's second largest in 2010 and said a late-year downturn was Japan's first quarterly contraction in more than a year.

Japan's real GDP expanded 3.9 percent in the calendar year in the first annual growth in three years, but it wasn't enough to hold off a surging China. Japan's nominal GDP last year came to $5.4742 trillion, less than China's total of $5.8786 trillion, the Cabinet Office said.

Gross domestic product shrunk at an annualized rate of 1.1 percent in the October-December quarter, a sharp reversal from a revised 3.3 percent expansion in the third quarter, the government said.

A slowdown in exports and weaker consumer demand at home led to the unsurprising downturn, which is expected to be temporary. The result was better than Kyodo news agency's average market forecast of an annualized 2.2 percent decline.

China was acknowledged last year as having grown to the world's second-largest economy, but the Japanese data confirming it were not available until Monday. The switch underscores the nations' stark contrasts: China is growing rapidly and driving the global economy, while Japan is struggling with persistent deflation, an aging population and ballooning public debt.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has pledged to revive the economy and make major reforms in the country's tax and social welfare systems. His approval ratings are eroding quickly, however, as voters question his government's ability to lead the country through its pressing problems.

The fourth-quarter figure translates to a 0.3 percent fall from the previous three-month period, according to the Cabinet Office's preliminary data. Consumer spending, which accounts for some 60 percent of GDP, fell 0.7 percent. Auto sales slumped during the quarter after government subsidies for "green" vehicles expired in September.

Exports fell 0.7 percent from the previous quarter amid a strong yen and waning global demand. A rise in the Japanese currency reduces the value of exporters' profits overseas and makes Japanese goods pricier in foreign markets.

The road ahead looks brighter, with economists saying GDP will expand this quarter in tandem with global growth. The head of Japan's central bank, Masaaki Shirakawa, said last week that that recent signs indicate Japan is emerging from the "pause" and performing at par with other advanced economies.

Ryutaro Kono, chief economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo, says exports and production have escaped their "soft patches."

"The economy seems to be recovering again from December, so the negative growth in (the fourth quarter) need not become the basis for pessimism about Japan's cyclical outlook," he said in a report this month.