Promoting Biofuels as Substitute to Mineral Fuel
Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today that the Government is promoting biofuels, such as ethanol and bio-diesel, as substitutes of mineral fuels. The Government, through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), is implementing Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme under which, OMCs sell ethanol blended petrol with percentage of ethanol upto 10%, depending upon availability of ethanol. Besides, the Government has opened second generation ethanol route (cellulosic and lignocellulosic route) for production of ethanol. Also, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had announced a Bio-diesel Purchase Policy in October 2005, which became effective from 1st January, 2006. On 10th August, 2015, the Government has allowed the sale of Bio-diesel (B100) by private manufacturers to bulk consumers like Railways, State Transport Corporations and other bulk consumers. Also, retailing of bio-diesel blended diesel by Oil Marketing Companies has started on World Biofuel Day, i.e., 10th August, 2015. In its endeavour to take forward the biofuel programme, the Government is striving for achieving higher blend percentages. Steps initiated are: (i) In September, 2015, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has asked OMCs to target ten per cent blending of ethanol in petrol in as many States as possible. (ii) A Steering Committee has been constituted in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for regular consultations and monitoring. (iii) Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been regularly taking up the matter with State Governments to address State specific issues relating to taxation, excise permits, import/export permits, storage license, etc. (iv) A 2G ethanol demonstration plant of 10 Tons Per Day (TPD) capacity has been operationalised at Kashipur, Uttarakhand on 22nd April, 2016. Alex Redmond Womens Jersey
DGH Interactive Session for Discovered Small Fields Bid Round 2016 in Calgary
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons organized an interactive session at Calgary, Alberta on 18th July 2016 for Discovered Small Fields Bid Round 2016 to facilitate interactions between the Government of India and Industry Leaders, and to promote investment in the energy sector of India. Many distinguished officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Government of India (GoI), top business leaders, and various international and national media houses were present at the session. The interactive session was organized at The Westin, Calgary to showcase and invite prospective bidders for the Discovered Small Fields Bid Round 2016, which was launched on 25th May 2016 in New Delhi, India and was followed up by the subsequent shows at Mumbai and Guwahati in India and recently in Houston, Texas. The Government of India has introduced the Discovered Small Fields Bid Round 2016, under which it is offering 46 Contract Areas consisting of 67 different small fields across 9 sedimentary basins, estimated to hold over 625 Million Barrels of Oil and Oil Equivalent Gas in-place, spread over 1,500 square kilometres in Onland, Shallow water and Deepwater areas, for extraction and exploration of oil and gas. Bids are being invited by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to develop and monetize these contract areas. Currently, India is the fastest growing large economy in the world, clocking a GDP of 7.6% in FY 2015-16. Along with the growing economy, the demand for energy has also risen dramatically over the past few years, which is majorly met by imports, and is expected to increase even further in the future. As stated by Mr. K D Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the government aims to reduce energy import dependency by 10%. This can be done by tapping on the hydrocarbon resource available and increasing the oil and gas production. Joint Secretary, MoPNG, Mr. Amar Nath, informed that that this is a great opportunity to invest in the E & P sector in India especially considering the new policy regime under which the bid round is being held. Mr. Matthew Machielse, Asst. Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economic Development, Government of Alberta shared message on behalf of Premier, Govt. of Alberta and highlighted that there are significant opportunities for increasing trade between India and Alberta. Rajib Chander, Counsel General of India in Vancouver highlighted that energy has always been a focus for co-operation between India and Canada and that while, the trade between the two countries has grown over time, there are significant opportunities for furthering the trade relations. The session involved screening a film on Oil and Gas Industry of India, which highlighted the evolution of oil and gas sector and presented key statistics of the sector. Nilaya Varma, Partner with KPMG in India gave a detailed presentation on Indian economy with a focus on oil and gas sector in India. This was followed up by sharing of experiences by Mr. Stephen Beatty (Partner with KPMG Canada), Mr. Mayank Ashar (Leading oil and gas expert) and Mr. Sastry Karra (Director, Simorgh Energy) on Doing Business in India. Ms. Rachel Calvert from IHS gave a Presentation on Risk Rating of India. She highlighted that India was a very lucrative market in the Oil and Gas space and would continue to have a strong potential with further development. A presentation was given by Mr. Atanu Chakraborty, Director General, DGH to highlight the features of the Discovered Small Field Round along with the details of the contract areas on offer and the bidding timelines. To discuss the Taxation Regime in India, Ms. Neetu Vinayek (Partner, KPMG India) highlighted the specific provisions of the laws relating to income tax, customs duty, cess, royalty and license/lease fees as applicable to activities connected with the extraction or production of petroleum in the upstream sector. Sengupta from ONGC India informed the participants on the infrastructure and facilities available near the offered fields too. Mr. K.D. Tripathi, as part of his plenary address, informed the most important feature of the bid round that all the fields on offer are already discovered, which mitigates the risks associated in exploration. He highlighted that DGH has set up a facilitation cell to address investor queries. He also informed that he would be available at all times to provide assistance to the investors, especially in cases of difficulties faced by them. In the afternoon, a roundtable conference was conducted with select delegates to discuss and answer key queries on the Discovered Small Field Bid Round 2016. A physical data center, providing access to 2D and 3D seismic data, well logs etc., was launched in the evening by the Secretary, MoPNG. The GoI delegation informed the participants that they look forward to foster harmonious collaborations with the industry to help in taking the E&P reform process forward by facilitating the bidders at every step towards monetization of these discovered small fields. Kelvin Herrera Womens Jersey
Turkmenistan names head of oil & gas construction concern
Myratgeldi Meredov has been appointed the chairman of Turkmenistan’s Turkmenneftegazstroy state oil and gas construction concern, according to a decree signed by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov July 20. The subdivisions of the state concern are engaged in construction of oil and gas pipelines and development of oil and gas fields, reconstruction of oil processing facilities, as well as construction of reservoirs in Turkmenistan. Turkmenneftegazstroy has implemented the project for construction of the East-West pipeline – the longest pipeline stretching in the country’s territory. The pipeline was commissioned in December 2015. Moreover, the state concern started to construct the Turkmen section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline in December 2015. Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world in terms of the volume of its natural gas reserves. Currently, the country exports gas to Chinese and Iranian markets. D’Onta Foreman Womens Jersey
Samsung Heavy linked to giant Indian FSRU contract
A report out by Seoul-based Hi Investment & Securities suggests Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is on the cusp of winning a giant FSRU project in India, worth more than $850m. Fox Petroleum Group has tapped the South Korean builder to construct what would become Asia’s largest LNG import terminal with a gas storage capacity of 330,000 cu m in Karwar on India’s west coast. SHI, which has yet to confirm a single order this year and is now going through restructuring, has a lot on the table when it comes to India. It has formed a joint venture with India’s Cochin Shipyard in a bid to build a series of LNG carriers for GAIL, the giant Indian gas firm. SHI has also been selected as the builder of an LNG plant in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin giving the yard hope that its barren order spell is coming to an end.