Berita dari China pulak...

(July 21) -- This sound familiar? China is dealing with the worst oil spill in its history, according to Greenpeace, after two pipelines in the coastal city of Dalian exploded Friday, sending crude gushing into the Yellow Sea.

Below, Surge Desk outlines the timeline of the world's other great oil spill. Most of the facts are from Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, unless otherwise noted.

Friday, July 16: At approximately 6:20 p.m. local time, an explosion in a pipeline near Dalian Xingang Harbor set off a secondary explosion in a smaller pipeline. The pipelines connected tankers in the harbor with storage containers on land, according to Xinhua. The pipes were owned by China National Petroleum Corp., the country's largest oil and gas producer and supplier.

Saturday, July 17: After 15 hours, firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Sunday, July 18: Oil was stopped from spilling into the sea with the closing of a valve. Officials began investigating the accident.

Monday, July 19: The oil slick was 10 centimeters thick in some places, the Chinese state television news network reported, according to BusinessWeek. Approximately 1,500 tons of oil gushed into the sea before the spill was contained, Chinese state-run radio reported.

Tuesday, July 20: Officials said they had 40 oil-skimming boats and 800 fishing vessels assisting in the cleanup efforts. Zhang Liang, a 25-year-old firefighter, drowned when he was swept away by a wave while trying to clean the motor of a boat underwater. Another firefighter was swept into the oil-caked waters and had to be rescued.

Wednesday, July 21: Chinese officials say oil is now spread across 165 square miles of water. There is still no word on what caused the explosion.


Firefighters today extinguished a fire that raged for more than 15 hours after two oil pipeline exploded at a Chinese port.

An explosion at a pipe transporting crude oil from a ship to a storage tank blew up yesterday evening, causing a blast at a second, nearby duct.

More than 2,000 firefighters and 338 engines from 14 different cities worked through the night in the north-eastern port of Dalian to put out the blaze which illuminated the sky in a strange orange glow.

Titan & Honam

Berita dari Malaysia

16 Julai, 2010 17:04 PM

PNB, Chao Group Jual Pegangan Titan Kepada Honam Dengan Harga RM2.94 Bilion

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 Julai (Bernama) -- Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) dan dana saham amanahnya serta The Chao Group, menjual pegangan mereka berjumlah 72.3 peratus dalam Titan Chemicals Corp Bhd kepada Honam Petrochemical Corp dari Korea Selatan dengan harga RM2.94 bilion pada Jumaat.

PNB dan dana saham amanahnya secara kumpulan memegang kira-kira 35.3 peratus dan selebihnya oleh The Chao Group menerusi Union Harvard Investments S.R.L. dan CGDC Investments Corp.

"Kami telah melabur dalam syarikat ini sejak 20 tahun lepas, oleh itu kami melihat peluang baik untuk keluar berikutan harga yang menarik," kata Presiden merangkap Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulan PNB Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman selepas memeterai perjanjian bagi penjualan saham Titan dengan pihak-pihak berkaitan di sini, pada Jumaat.

Beliau berkata PNB perlu menilai apakah yang terbaik untuk mewujudkan nilai bagi kumpulan.

PNB berkata penyertaan Honam dalam industri petrokimia Malaysia mencerminkan keyakinan syarikat itu terhadap prospek industri tersebut di negara ini.

Pemegang kepentingan The Chao Group, Datuk James Y. Chao, yang juga pengerusi eksekutif Titan Chemicals berkata syarikat itu akan menjual saham-saham tersebut pada harga RM2.35 sesaham.

The Chao Group, dengan pengalaman lebih 50 tahun dalam industri kimia antarabangsa, bergiat aktif dalam industri petrokimia dan plastik di serata dunia dan mengasaskan Titan pada lewat 1980-an.

Selain daripada Titan Investment, The Chao Group juga memiliki pegangan majoriti dalam Westlake Chemicals Corp, yang disenaraikan di New York Stock Exchange.

Pelaburan usaha sama PNB dalam Titan bersama The Chao Group pada awalnya dilakukan menerusi syarikat modal teroka milik penuh PNB, PNB Equity Resources Corp Sdn Bhd.

Honam adalah syarikat perniagaan petrokimia di bawah Lotte Group dan merupakan syarikat petrokimia bersepadu utama di Korea Selatan, menghasilkan bahan petrokimia asas dan pengantara serta plastik dengan jualan tahunan US$7.4 bilion (US$1=RM3.17) tahun lepas.

Sementara itu, agensi berita Yonhap berkata Honam akan membeli 100 peratus pegangan dalam Titan dengan harga 1.5 trilion won (US$1.2 billion).

Syarikat Korea selatan itu berkata ia merancang untuk membeli pegangan tersebut melalui bidaan pengambilalihan.

Honam dalam satu kenyataan berkata menerusi cadangan pembelian itu, syarikat tersebut berharap dapat mengukuhkan operasi luar negaranya dengan memperoleh asas pengeluaran antarabangsa di pasaran pertumbuhan tinggi dan di kawasan dengan akses kepada bahan mentah kompetitif.

Syarikat itu berkata ia juga akan mengembangkan operasinya di Asia Tenggara, China, Timur Tengah dan Komanwel Negara-Negara Merdeka sebagai satu daripada peserta petrokimia paling kompetitif di Asia.

"Cadangan pembelian itu akan mempelbagaikan model perniagaan kami dan mengekalkan pertumbuhan di tahun-tahun akan datang," kata syarikat itu.

Honam disenarakan di Korea Stock Market Exchange pada 1991.

-- BERNAMA

Berita dari Korea

South Korea’s Honam to buy Malaysia’s Titan for RM4b

July 16, 2010

SEOUL, July 16 — South Korea’s Honam Petrochemical Corp will pay 1.52 trillion won (RM4.06 billion) to buy Malaysia’s largest petrochemical maker Titan Chemicals Corp Bhd to expand its business to South East Asia.

Seoul-based Honam will pay RM2.35 for 72 per cent of Kuala Lumpur-based Titan, a 27 per cent premium over Titan’s closing share price of RM1.85 yesterday.
Honam will buy the controlling stake in Titan largely from Malaysian government-run trusts. The remaining 28 per cent of Titan will be purchased by Honam on the stock market by November.

“Through this takeover Honam will expand business in South East Asian markets and expand Titan’s production capacity,” said Lee Seung-hoon, a company spokesman.
Honam shares soared 9.4 per cent to 162,500 won as of 0538 GMT.

Honam is 57 percent owned by South Korea’s seventh-largest business group, Lotte Group. Lotte, best known in South Korea for its department stores and supermarkets, said earlier this year it will pay US$1.2 billion (RM3.85 billion) for department and discount stores owned by GS Retail.

The Titan acquisition will boost Honam from Asia’s No. 4 petrochemical maker to its second-largest after Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical by boosting annual production to 2.5 million tonnes from 1.75 million tonnes.

The South Korean company makes ethylene and propylene that are used for making plastics, film and paints. Titan makes olefins and polyolefins, intermediate products for ethylene and propylene.

HSBC is the financial adviser to Honam. — Reuters