Colombian state controlled energy company Ecopetrol S.A. has announced its investment plan for 2010, totalling $6.93 billion, an increase of 11% compared to 2009.

93% of the proposed investment will be concentrated in Colombia, with the remaining 7% earmarked for exploration and production projects in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Brazil & Peru.

Investments in exploration and production represent 65% of the total capital investment plan for 2010, of which 51% will be allocated to production.

“The 2010 investment plan represents another milestone in achieving the goals we have set for 2015. Significant progress has been made in exploration and production, delivering on the promise of value we made two years ago.” said Ecopetrol’s CEO Javier Gutierrez Pemberthy. ”Investments made in other segments of our business will begin to show additional results starting in 2010. We have managed to gain efficiency in the consolidation of our portfolio and the allocation of resources to more productive investments in order to reach our production goal of one million barrels”

Exploration & New Business

With $951 million investment in 2010, Ecopetrol (EC) plans to drill twenty exploratory wells, thirteen directly in Colombia & a further seven overseas with partner companies. Four wells will be drilled in the Gulf of Mexico, two in Brazil and one in Peru. 54% of the investment will take place in Colombia.

Ecopetrol intends to continue its activities in the blocks awarded by the National Hydrocarbon Agency during the various rounds that took place in 2008, and will prepare its participation for the 2010 Colombia Round.

New business will focus primarily on development of exploration projects in the U.S. Gulf Coast, as well as in Peru and Brazil, in partnership with other companies.

Production

Ecopetrol will invest US$3.558 billion in continuing to increase its direct production of crude oil & gas to an average of 556,000 boed in 2010. This production goal reflects an increase of 12% compared with 2009, in line with the company’s growth target; one million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2015.

The highest percentage of investment will be allocated to the Llanos Orientales projects, specifically for development of heavy crude in the Castilla, Chichimene & Rubiales fields. A representative percentage will be invested in the development of mature fields such as La Cira-Infantas, Yarigui-Cantagallo & Casabe. US$400 million will be allocated to gas projects, of which 70% will be assigned to the Cusiana and Cupiagua plants.

Refining and petrochemical

Total investment in this segment is estimated to be US$1.294 billion, up 59% compared to 2009 & will mainly address the continued upgrading of existing refinery operations.

In 2010, Ecopetrol plans toinvest $679 million to be divided among upgrades, the industrial services master plan & the construction and start-up of a hydrotreatment plant in Barrancabermeja. A further $470 million has been earmarked for the Cartagena Refinery Master Plan, which should expand the plants production capacity to 140,000 barrels a day

Transport

A further $735 million investment has been set aside for transport & logistics upgrades, primarily to boost capacity at the Pozos-Galan system from 18 MBD to 60 MBD & alos to improve the Andean Pipeline.

Other Investments

Ecopetrol has assigned US$387 million to other investments, of which (i) US$25 million will be allocated to energy diversification projects, among them the Ecodiesel plant in Barrancabermeja, which will use palm tree oil, and (ii) US$105 million will be allocated to information technology & research studies to be conducted by the Colombian Petroleum Institute.

Brazilian state controlled energy giantPetrobras has announced plans to invest US$1bn in it’s Peruvian operations from 2010-2013.

According to a report from Peruvian news agency Andina report, Petrobras’ CEO José Sergio Gabrielli said investment will be focused on exploration & production activities in blocks which the Brazilian oil major already operates in Peru.

Petrobras’ five-year strategic plan foresees investments outside of Brazil totaling US$15.9bn, as we reported earlier this year; Petrobras- a shining light for oil services firms

In 2010 Petrobras (PBR) intends to invest in the region of $180mn in Peru, mainly on exploration on block 58 in the Cuzco region, as this area is regarded to enjoy a high potential for natural gas reserves.

Petrobras is also looking to invest in the drilling campaign in block X located in Talara. “We will do 100 development drillings on block X,” Petrobras Perú general manager Pedro Grijalba was quoted as saying.

The total natural gas potential for block 58 will be confirmed by 2012, Grijalba said, according to a separate Andina report.

“We need to drill new wells in the region and collect seismic data to finally confirm the reserves. We are very optimistic about it,” the executive was quoted as saying.

In November, Petrobras confirmed a natural gas discovery at well Urubamba-1X. The discovery could add significantly to Peru’s natural gas reserves. It is thought that Peru currently has up to 15 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in it’s southern Blocks, up to 3 trillion cubic feet in Block 56, more than 9 trillion cubic feet in Block 88 and 2 trillion cubic feet in Block 57.

Even though Petrobras has not released reserve estimates, Peru’s President Alan García said the discovery could hold more than 1trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Petrobras is a 100% shareholder in the Urubamba concession.

Cleantech Financier calls current carbon treaty system “aparthied” from Ann Danylkiw on Vimeo.

India is still bullish on gold. This was evident when reports said India’s Reserve Bank is still in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to buy another 200 tonnes of gold which the international body is ready to dispose of to fund development projects.

Earlier this month, India bought 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF for more than $6.7 billion, following this the global bullion market has enjoyed a bull run, seeing prices above $1150 per ounce. On Wednesday, gold prices soared to cross $1180 per ounce on news that India is considering buying more gold from IMF.

At the time of the purchase of the first lot of 200 tonnes, RBI had said it was part of its foreign exchange reserves management operations. According to the  IMF, it has no fixed timetable for completing the sale.

RBI is on a buying spree at present in a bid to enrich its reserves & it would seem that gold rather than dollar is the target. In just three weeks from its initial block purchase, India has benefited to the tune of $800 million .

RBI bought the 200 tonnes at $1,045 an ounce. The transaction, from IMF to RBI, involved daily sales that were staggered over a two-week period through October 19-30, with each daily sale conducted at a price set on the basis of that day’s basket price. On Tuesday, gold prices stood at $1,168, an increase of 12% over the price RBI paid.

However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh now on a tour to the US said there wasn’t a substitute for the dollar yet. “My own feeling is that we have not entered an era of irreversible shift in the economic strength of the US,” he said ahead of his visit to Washington.

This comes a day after the Business Standard released an article stating : ” the availability of recycled gold in India, the world’s largest consumer, rose 12.5 % in the third quarter of the current calendar year on heavy selling of used jewellery by retail consumers at record high prices”

Tata Communications, one of India’s leading companies & one of the largest converged telecoms operators globally has signed  strategic partnership agreements with several of the major telecommunications operators in the Middle East to construct a new cable system in the Gulf.

The new cable will connect the region directly to the world’s major business hubs and city centres via the Tata Global Network (TGN).

The partners, Bahrain Internet Exchange in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Nawras of Oman, Qatar Telecom of Qatar, Mobily of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia & Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates will each be the exclusive landing party for the TGN Gulf cable system in their respective geographies. The cable &the relationships with the landing parties will be further developed to provide an extended VAS product portfolio for both local & global enterprise customers in what is rapidly becoming the fastest growing market for new telecoms services.

Vinod Kumar, President and COO of  Tata Communications, said: “This partnership with the top operators in the Middle East to build the TGN Gulf cable system underscores our aspirations to be a key player in the emerging markets space. Each of these partnerships will create mutual benefits that will multiply steadily as companies in the Middle East expand out to the rest of the world and as global MNCs seek connectivity to expand their operations to this fast growing region.”

The TGN-Gulf cable system and its associated worldwide reach provide new dimensions to the infrastructure and unique service capabilities for each of the partners. Using their own cable station, each party will have access to a new high-speed route to the globe & bring in much needed resilience and diversity to the local networkk infrastructure in each country. Consumers in the Gulf region are set to enjoy real benefit, as the extra capacity will enable expansion in broadband penetration, internet usage & enterprise applications in each market served.

The total length of the cable system within the Gulf region will stretch nearly 5,000 km, spanning the Arabian Sea from Mumbai through to Oman and onto Kuwait. The segment will connect to Tata Communications’ global cable and backhaul network, which is one of the largest in the world. Building and installing the global submarine cable will take approximately 22 months, on completion, the cable will provide at least 1.28 TBit/s of additional international connectivity in the region.

This is a great follow on from Tata (NYSE: TCL), as they have already committed to the SEACOM project in East Africa, which links South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania & Kenya to India & also Europe. By adding the Gulf circuit to the West bound cable, which lands in Marseille, the Gulf operators taking part will increase their access significantly. With many Gulf nations looking past hydrocarbon based economies to service lead, network infrastructure is one of the basic building blocks that they must get right.

Siemens expects to win new orders of around €15 billion in the next three fiscal years 2010 until 2012, which will be generated by government stimulus programs already announced around the world.

Green technologies are expected to account for 40% or approximately €6 billion of this total, which will significantly increase the share of the company’s revenues from its environmental portfolio in the future.

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) based this forecast on an initial systematic analysis of the largest stimulus programs. “With their programs, governments worldwide are sending the right signal. Against the backdrop of the worst global economic crisis in decades, these government measures are at least partially cushioning, in some cases, sharp declines in private-sector demand. They should also have a stabilizing effect on our business,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. “In addition, the government programs will safeguard jobs worldwide. The large portion of the investments in environmental technologies will probably create new green jobs as well. This applies particularly to the green infrastructure giant Siemens,” Löscher added.

To overcome the global economic crisis, stimulus programs of around €2.0 trillion have been announced and, in some cases, already initiated. Roughly one third of this total – or some €700 billion – is slated for investment in infrastructure projects. The remainder is accounted for example by tax cuts for private households. The total volume of planned infrastructure expenditures relevant for Siemens comes to approximately €150 billion in the next three fiscal years. Given the company’s current average market share worldwide, these expenditures can be expected to generate new orders for Siemens of roughly €15 billion, of which some €6 billion will likely come from environmental technologies. In fiscal 2008, Siemens’ environmental technologies generated revenue of about €19 billion. The company intends to increase this figure to €25 billion a year by 2011.

Siemens has strong roots in the majority of its local markets – and has had these, in most cases, for over 100 years. Local value-added, a reputation as a respected and important employer and the social commitment of the company and its local employees make Siemens a trusted and valued partner in regions all around the world. “We’re firmly rooted in Germany. Our partners – who are often small to medium-sized companies – will also profit from the stimulus programs in Germany and other countries round the world,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher.

In a country-by-country comparison, the shares of the stimulus program that Siemens can address are the largest in the U.S., where they total slightly more than €85 billion. China comes next with a Siemens-relevant share of around €25 billion, followed by Germany with a share of roughly €5 billion. Major parts of these stimulus programs are earmarked for green technologies. For example, investments in green technologies account for nearly 50%  in China and for about 60 %  in Germany. “The various governments are strongly focused on sustainable investments. Siemens can help other countries reach their climate protection targets, particularly in close partnership with local communities,” said Löscher.

Paris based Alcatel-Lucent has made a succesful bid to be included in what is one of the largest LTE trials to date, with Singapore Telecoms.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) has been selected as one of the vendors by SingTel for its Long Term Evolution (LTE) trial, which kick off in the first half of 2010. Other vendors that are also working with SingTel on the project include; Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks & ZTE. It is hoped that the trial will jump-start deployment of 4G LTE networks across the SingTel Group.

LTE is a new wireless broadband technology that delivers significantly faster data speeds with the potential of several 100s Mbps downstream & several 10s Mbps upstream with reduced latency, allowing end users to access more complex content at much quicker speeds & with easier roaming that current 3G standards.

This is pretty upbeat news for Alactael-Lucent, as SingTel is Asia’s largest regional operator by subscribers, with a user base of 273 million mobile subs. More importantly the success of any trial will have a real impact, as the geographic spread of SingTel’s users is a major reason for adopting LTE technology. The trials are being coordinated across a number of countries & operators in which the company holds significant stakes; Singapore – SingTel, Indonesia – Telkomsel, Phillipines – Globe Comms, Thailand- AIS, India – Bharti-Airte, Pakistan-Warid Telecom & Australia – Optus.

Alcatel-Lucent will be leveraging its industry-leading LTE expertise to provide an end-to-end solution including the radio access network (eUTRAN), the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), IP service routing network elements as well as operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) systems. Alcatel-Lucent will also provide professional services including project management, planning, installation & commissioning, integration and test plan execution.

“This technical trial is a strong endorsement of Alcatel-Lucent’s innovation and forward-looking capabilities as we work closely with the SingTel Group to support its network transformation and LTE strategy,” said Sean Dolan, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities in Asia-Pacific. “Our solution is further proving its readiness to meet the challenges of current and future network requirements which enable users to consume more complex content at faster speeds.”

Since the opening up in the mid-1990s, uranium exploration in Mongolia by international companies has not been  subject to any clear national policy or close regulation.

In the last few years, however, the Government has sought to exercise more control over the whole mining sector and earlier this year it set up MonAtom to undertake uranium exploration and mining on behalf of the state, as well as to pursue nuclear energy proposals. It will hold the state’s equity in uranium and nuclear ventures, under the Mongolian Nuclear Energy Agency.

In mid-July, after consultation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Parliament passed a Nuclear Energy Law to regulate the exploration and mining of uranium and give the state a greater degree of ownership and control of those resources. Along with this the Government set up Dornod Uran, a joint venture company between MonAtom and Russia’s ARMZ to develop two uranium mines in Mongolia — Dornod and nearby Mardai. A Japanese partner, evidently Marubeni, is also expected to be later involved in the work of this joint venture.

The development is of particular interest to Russia due to its proximity to the Priargunsky operations, allowing possible creation of a ‘single infrastructure. At least until mid-August, Canadian based Khan Resources owned a 69% share in the Dornod project, mostly through its 58% subsidiary Central Asian Uranium (CAUC). The balance of CAUC, which holds Mongolia’s only uranium mining license, was owned by MonAtom and ARMZ, each with 21%.

A definitive feasibility study released in March 2009 showed that the $333 million project was sound, on the basis of 24,780 tons of indicated resources, including 20,340 tons of probable reserves. Annual production of 1,150 tons over 15 years from 2012 was envisaged.

However, the Nuclear Energy Agency has announced that the joint venture of MonAtom with ARMZ will develop the project to annually produce about 2000 tons. Khan is uncertain where it stands, having apparently been dispossessed as it sought to negotiate an investment agreement with the Government.

Gurvanbulag is another deposit, about 30 km away, which has been held by the Canadian Western Prospector Group. This March the company agreed to a $25 million takeover by China’s CNNC International, a 74% subsidiary of CNNC Overseas Uranium Holding and through it, of SinoU. MonAtom appears to be positive about this development.

New figures from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce show that the country has extended it’s FDI growth streak to three months, with 5.7% year on year growth recorded for the month of October to $7.1Bn.

Shanghai, Shenzen & Hong Kong all rallied comprehensively on the news today, with Shanghai recording a 2.75% rise, Shenzen 3.3% & Hong Kong gaining 2.3%, as investor confidence is buoyed by these positive numbers.

In parallel, a seperate report by the Industry Ministry has forecast that China is set to grow it’s industrial output by 16% over November & December, with full year growth potentially reaching 10.5%, well ahead of growth targets set by Beijing in March of 8%.

Minister Li Yizhong reiterated China’s success, with the economy beginning to recover in March & now recording six months of consequential growth, as a testament to the early & vigourous stimulus plan put in place by central government. October’s figures show that the economy has rebounded to pre-financial crisis levels of June 2008, indicating that China is enjoying a V shaped economic recovery.

However, this was surprisingly, caveated with commentary that indicate that Beijing is not entirely convinced that completely plain sailing is ahead. Although Chinese companies are becoming more profitable with increasing export orders, there has still been stagnant inward investment within Chinese industry & Li warned that some companies may be faced with operational bottlenecks in early 2010.

Li said China must continue in its efforts to restructure the domestic economy by focussing on innovation & technology investment. Particular emphasis being given to energy conservation, cutting down greenhouse gas emissions & integrating technology into backward industrial sectors.

Last week, Chinese ETFs traded on the NYSE, FXI & HAO along with close end fund CAF had a pretty torrid time. With a view to this week, we can already see the positive figures in China helping Asian stocks in general, with the S&P Asia 50 Index climbing 1.4% & the MSCI Asia Apex 50 recording a 1.8% increase. There are signs that this may follow through into Europe, with Frankfurt already showing a 1% jump & London following suit on the FTSE 100.

Looking at my own personal favourite Chinese equities that trade as ADRs :

Chinese telco stocks have warmed back up after a non-descript performance last week; China Mobile (CHL), China Unicom (CHU) & China Telecom (CHA) have all advanced in line with the general market.

Materials are also back in the frame (thankfully) ; Aluminum Corp (ACH) enjoying 2.6% gain in Shanghia, with the Hong Kong stock recording a 2.9% jump on the day. ACH had a pretty lacklustre time of it last week, declining 0.65% over the 5 day trading session, so personally am happy to see it regain that & more in a single days bullish trading.

Amongst perennial favourite internet stocks; Shanda Interactive (SNDA) is having a bright start in Frankfurt, adding a little more than 1% in eraly trading, whilst internet portal provider Sohu (SOHU) looks as though it may be shaking off it’s month long malaise by now turning positive 0.5% in Frankfurt.

Some others that I’ll be certain to have a look at pre-US market are Tri-Tech (TRIT), Changyou (CYOU) &  Yingli Green Energy (YGE) which is off to the races in Frankfurt, gaining 3.3%

Potentially the most telling subject in the above commentary from Chinese officials is their ongoing requirement to stabilise both energy production & also emissions. For me this means I’ll be putting some focus into Chinese solar & renewables this week.

Happy trading

Vale  has taken another step towards more sustainable energy use as the Brazilian mining giant has announced  a partnership with Biopalma da Amazônia S.A. to produce palm oil, which will be used to make biodiesel, in the northern-central region of Pará State, Brazil.

The consortium will be the biggest producer of palm oil in the Americas, involving total investment of around US$500 million in the project. Vale’s investment will be US$305 million, encompassing the company’s participation in the consortium as well as the cost of building and operating the biodiesel plant, which will be 100% owned by Vale.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) will use a share of the palm oil output to make biodiesel to power the entire fleet of 216 locomotives of the company’s North System rail network, as well as heavy-duty machines and equipment in the Carajás mines. It is estimated that annual output of the oil will be 500,000 tons. A part of this output will be transformed into 160,000 tons of biodiesel for use by Vale itself. The rest of the palm oil will be sold by Biopalma.

Vale’s use of this quantity of biodiesel will reduce the company’s CO2 output by the equivalent of around 12 million tons over the course of the project, when compared to emissions from regular diesel, but not including those produced within the biodiesel production chain. This quantity corresponds to emissions from more than 200,000 cars in use over the period.

The consortium, in which Vale has a 41% stake, will generate around 6,000 direct jobs and provide revenue for 2,000 families of small rural producers. The project is located in an area of approximately 130,000 hectares, in a region with one of the lowest Human Development Index scores in the country. Of the total area, 60,000 hectares will be used for palm tree plantations, with a total of 9.3 million trees planted by 2013.

This area is equivalent to approximately 49,000 football fields the size of the Maracanã. The remaining 70,000 hectares of degraded Amazon forest will be restored and protected by the consortium. Vale will thereby be helping to recover and conserve Amazon biome ecosystems, establishing a model for such practices in the region.

As of 2014, Vale will use the B20 blend (20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel) on the Carajás Railway and in some mining operations in the company’s North System. The partnership with Biopalma will enable Vale to become self-sufficient in B20 production. At the same time, the company will be able to comply, well in advance, with a regulation that mandates the use of B20 by 2020.

In 2008, Vale consumed 940 million liters of pure diesel oil in Brazil, 336 million in the company’s North System units. The volume of pure biodiesel (B100 – unblended with diesel) consumed in 2008 was 19 million liters, seven million in the North System. In 2008, Vale consumed 940 million liters of pure diesel oil in Brazil, 336 million in the company’s North System units. The volume of pure biodiesel (B100 – unblended with diesel) consumed in 2008 was 19 million liters, seven million in the North System.

Over time, Vale is using progressively higher concentrations of biodiesel in its operations.

In 2009, Vale launched its Biofuel Pro ject, which entails using a mixture of natural gas and diesel in the company’s locomotives, with gas concentrations varying between 50% and 70%. Tests have begun on the Vitória-Minas Railway, one of the most productive and efficient railroads in the world.

It is estimated that using natural gas to power locomotives on the Vitória-Minas and Carajás railways will cut CO2-equivalent emissions by 73,000 tons per year. By using natural gas in its locomotives, Vale will make even bigger cuts in CO2-equivalent emissions than the 71,000-ton reduction already achieved in 2008 by the company using B2 and B3 biodiesel blends in all its locomotives, off-road trucks and electricity generators.

Socially and environmentally responsible management is a core part of Vale’s strategy. Over the course of 2009, the company hopes to  invest US$900 million in this area – the same value that was invested in 2008. Today, Vale and its subsidiaries and other companies in which it owns significant interests protect, alone or with partners, almost two million hectares. This equates to nearly three billion trees protected around the world, the equivalent of 13 times the area of the municipality of São Paulo or 14 trees for every Brazilian.

Over the past two years Vale has planted 15.5 million trees. In 2009 alone, at least five million trees are being planted and another six million are growing naturally in areas that the company is protecting or restoring. In all, there will be 11 million new trees this year.

Vale is also the first mining company in the world to have completely offset its geographical footprint. In other words, the area being planted or restored by the company is equal or greater to that used in its mining activities. In Brazil, Vale is restoring or planting 1.4 hectares for every one affected by its mining operations, and by the end of 2009, this ratio will be one to one for all of the company’s operations across the world.