Demand for diesel is bound to grow in India: P Raghavendran, President – Refinery, RIL
In this interview with ET Now, P Raghavendran, President-Refinery of RIL talks about the demand for petroluem products and growth. Edited excerpts: What is your outlook on demand for petroleum products in India? We are very bullish on demand in India. We believe that India growth story is yet to play itself out in terms of demand for petroleum products. So demand for diesel driven by transportation for agriculture and industrial transportation of goods is bound to grow. Similarly, as disposable income rises, especially in rural areas, there is a growth in gasoline demand. The high demand growth rates we have seen in gasoline – close to 10 per cent – is expected to continue for some more time. How are you looking at things from export perspective? Is the demand in the same range as it was, say six months ago or are you seeing global demand also increasing? The demand is growing only in some parts of the world, especially in the developing part of the world. China growth is still continuing at a lower level, India is growing. Africa and many parts of the developing world are continuing to grow and they provide the growth impulses for the sector. As far as we are concerned, we look at all the markets, whether India or outside India, whichever gives us best margins. With the kind of growth outlook that you are looking, are you confident of maintaining the same level of GRMs that you have in last three to four quarters? We are trying to optimise GRM to the extent that we can. Demand and supply is a very significant component of it. We will try to optimise our margins within the play that is available. How are your retail outlets panning out, how would it go to the optimal level in FY17? Right now we are focussed on commissioning all our outlets and we are nearing the end of that. Most of our outlets have been commissioned and our next phase is to try to build volumes and build new outlets so that our network is complete. DJ Moore Authentic Jersey
New power project based on old map zoning worries Yelahanka residents
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited’s gas-based thermal power plant is set to come up on a plot in Yelahanka – historically classified as an industrial zone – in North Bengaluru. However, land use patterns have changed over the years. According to the 2015 master plan, more land in this parcel is set aside for residential purposes than for industrial. But KPCL has obtained environmental clearance for the project without taking present-day demographics and public health concerns into account. This has vexed residents in the vicinity. Today, residential units are located just 300 metres from the proposed plant site. Also in proximity are the eco-sensitive Puttenahalli and Yelahanka lakes, where new species of animals have been found over the years. But KPCL hasn’t considered alternative sites for the Rs 1,571-crore plant because the proposed site is duly classified as an ‘industrial’ zone. The 370 MW plant coming up on the plot where a defunct diesel power plant – forced to shut down in 2013 due to environmental reasons – stands at present is meant to address the power woes of Bengaluru. The Gas Authority of India (GAIL) will supply natural gas to the plant from its terminal point near Kuvempu Circle on Outer Ring Road. Power generation is expected to start in two years. KPCL has got approval from the State-Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority, constituted by the environment ministry, but it hasn’t allegedly mentioned the residential and environmentally sensitive areas in the vicinity in its plan. The power major has not even conducted any public hearings on the project because the site legitimately sits on an industrial parcel. However, the BBMP map shows the proximity of these site to residential clusters. “We don’t know how KPCL secured the nod for the project despite residential blocks being located a few hundred metres away. Danger lurks when projects come up very close to residential areas,” said Balasundaram Athreya, a resident of the area. The environment ministry says project-implementing agencies must provide details of the site, nature of land, waterbodies within 2-3km, population within 10km, forests, eco-sensitive zones and accessibility. The guidelines exempt agencies from giving these details if the proposed site is in an industrial estate – the very reason KPCL hasn’t held any public sittings. Residents have also expressed concerns over the use of natural gas, which will arrive in liquid form and then get converted to gas. KPCL chairman G Kumar Naik said: “The old diesel plant was closed because of pollution. The gas-based plant is many times better and safer, and it won’t pollute.” Siddharth Padi, another resident, argued against a big project coming up in the midst of residential zones and lake-conservation areas. “A buffer zone is absent here. We are not against a power plant but we value our safety more,” he added. Naik dismissed all fears, saying: “We’ll safely implement the project. We have the know how for it.” Kent Tekulve Womens Jersey
Iran wants pre-sanctions oil market share: minister
Iran wants its pre-sanctions share of the crude market, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Friday, dampening the prospects of agreement on an output freeze at an OPEC meeting next month. “Iran had no role in disrupting the stability of the oil market and after the (lifting of) sanctions we seek to revive our share in the global crude market,” he said, quoted by the ministry’s SHANA news service. Zanganeh had given a brief boost to world prices on Thursday after announcing he would attend the informal OPEC meeting in Algiers on a possible output freeze with non-cartel producer Russia in late September. But on Friday he insisted there could be no talk of Iran abandoning its ambitions to restore its market share after last year’s nuclear agreement with world powers led to the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports. “Iran will cooperate with OPEC on improving prices and the state of the crude market, but we expect our right to restore our lost market share in the market to be considered,” Zanganeh said. “Iran has made its sacrifices for the market and it’s no longer the time for Iran,” another Iranian website, Mizan Online, quoted him as saying. Tehran says it has doubled its exports of oil and gas to 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) since signing the nuclear deal in July last year. Its total output has risen from 2.7 million bpd to 3.85 million bpd, close to the level before international sanctions were imposed in 2012. “When the instability occurred in the market, … Iran’s oil exports were less than one million bpd,” Zanganeh said. “We expect those who disrupted the market’s stability to take the highest responsibility in restoring stability.” Prices had already dipped in Asian trade earlier on Friday after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih played down the prospects of any major move on output. “I don’t believe that an intervention of significance is required. I certainly don’t advocate a cut,” he told Bloomberg News. A previous OPEC attempt to freeze output collapsed in April largely because of Iran’s refusal to join talks. Alexei Kovalev Womens Jersey
Norway oil minister: no impact from Brexit on Norwegian gas exports to Britain
Exports of Norwegian gas to Britain will not be affected by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, Norway’s oil and energy minister told Reuters. The Nordic country is Britain’s top foreign gas supplier, accounting for some 40 percent of all supplies in 2015. “There is no reason to believe that market access for Norwegian gas exporters to Britain will be affected by Brexit. We have been a stable gas exporter and we will continue to be so,” Tord Lien said in an interview. The minister also said he saw signs of improvement in the Norwegian oil industry, which has been struggling for the past two years due to a 60-percent decline in crude prices since June 2014. Darrell Green Jersey
Tata Power consumer base crosses 2-million mark
Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power firm, today said it has crossed the two million consumer base milestone in the country. In 2015-2016, Tata Power’s consumer base in Mumbai increased to over 6.64 lakh, and in Delhi it went up to over 15.15 lakh consumers, a company said in a statement. For more than a decade now, Tata Power has been offering affordable power tariff across most consumer categories and the remarkable increase in the company’s customer base is evidence of the same, it said. In Mumbai, the company added 18,511 direct consumers and 42,157 changeover consumers to its network in 2015-16, growing to a total of 6,64,407 connections. In financial year 2015-16, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd registered a consumer base of 15.15 lakh spanning across an area of 510 sq km in northern and north-western parts of Delhi, it added. “…Our growing consumer base speaks of the relationship we share with our customers. We constantly strive to reach new heights through constant innovation and are committed to ensuring that our customers have a great experience,” Tata Power MD and CEO Anil Sardana said. “We are extremely proud and happy to have achieved this milestone and stay committed to delivering superior services at competitive prices,” Sardana added. Tata Power further said it remains committed to offer its consumers reliable and uninterrupted power supply at competitive prices in the years to come. Anthony Sherman Authentic Jersey
West Bengal demands 344 MW power from Tilaiya UMPP
The government of West Bengal has asked the centre to allocate 344 Megawatt power from Tilaiya ultra mega power plant (UMPP) after Maharashtra and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) refused to take power from the project. Reliance Power had in April terminated the power project after delay in handing over of land by the host state Jharkhand and had said scrapping the project would result in a Rs 360-crore reduction in its planned capital expenditure. As per PPA norms, 18 procurers of electricity from the plant had to pay Rs 114.43 crore to Reliance Power as termination fee. Maharashtra and TPDL, however, refused to pay the termination fee of around Rs 10 crore of the Tilaiya project, saying they did not want to pay for a project which never took off and that they do not require power from the plant anymore. However, only Rs 80.56 crore have been received so far. The government wants to re-bid the project going ahead and West Bengal wants to tie up for power from plant whenever it becomes operational. “The West Bengal government has asked for a total allocation of 400 MW from the centre which includes 344 MW from the Tilaiya plant,” an official source said. According to the official, West Bengal has said it will require power in the 13th plan as the state has ended power purchase agreements with many hydro power projects in the north east due to time and cost overruns. However, the centre has said it will first approach the existing procurers of the Tilaiya UMPP and if no requirement arises, it will give the power to West Bengal. Of the 18 procurers, Reliance Infra-backed BSES had earlier expressed interest in buying the power discarded by Maharashtra and TPDDL. Apart from these, other procuring states of the project include Jharkhand, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. Travis Sanheim Authentic Jersey
Cabinet approves National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of 1120 kms of National Highways in the States of Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The work for development to two lane standards are under Phase-I of the National Highways Interconnectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP) with World Bank assistance. The revised estimated cost is Rs. 6,461 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The projects are already taken up for implementation and 429 kms has been completed. The civil works are expected to be completed by July, 2019 and maintenance works are expected to be completed by July, 2024. The project will ensure safe, fast and all weather movement of traffic on the proposed National Highways mostly located in backward regions thereby improving socio economic development. Background: The proposal was initially approved for Rs.5,193 crore. The cost has increased due to higher bid prices, and increase in cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. Lee Roy Selmon Authentic Jersey
Government allows cancellation of 4 SEZ projects
The government has given go-ahead for the cancellation of projects to four special economic zones (SEZ) developers including those of Broadway Integrated Park and Veritas Infrastructure Development. The decision regarding this was taken in a meeting of the Board of Approval (BoA) on August 12, which was chaired by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia. “The board examined the four cases of cancellation of formal approval/notification and approved the cancellation,” the minutes of the BoA meeting said. However, it said that the cancellation is subject to the development commissioner furnishing a certificate in the prescribed format certifying that the developer has not availed any tax/duty benefits including service tax exemptions, if any, under SEZ Act/rules or has refunded any such benefits availed by it. Muttha Realty and Broadway Integrated Park had planned to set up an IT/ITeS zones, while Veritas Infrastructure Development and Saloni Business Park had proposed to set up biotechnology park SEZ. SEZs are exports hubs, which contribute about 16 per cent to the country’s total outbound shipments. The Commerce Ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. It has asked the Finance Ministry to extend sops like rollback or reduction in the minimum alternate tax. The 19-member BoA deals with SEZ related matters. Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) logged a marginal growth of 0.77 per cent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore in 2015-16. The exports from such 204 zones were Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15. Highest number of SEZs are operational in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra. Rashard Robinson Jersey
Saudi energy minister tempers expectations for production freeze
LOS ANGELES: Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih tempered expectations that the world’s major oil producers would look to freeze production next month, telling Reuters on Thursday that the “market is moving in the right direction” already. “We don’t believe any significant intervention in the market is necessary other than to allow the forces of supply and demand to do the work for us,” he said in an interview following a speech at the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council in Los Angeles. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria from Sept. 26-28. Oil rallied last week in part on anticipation of a freeze, but those hopes have waned in the last couple of days. Speaking publicly for the first time since talk about freezing production surfaced in the last few weeks, Al-Falih said there have not yet been any specific discussions of a production freeze by OPEC, even though world supply remains high. His comments suggest the chances of a pact are minimal, as he pointed to a market rebalancing and steady demand. Benchmark Brent crude has rebounded sharply since January but struggled to stay above $50 a barrel. Saudi Arabia recently hit a record in terms of barrels-per-day production, and other member nations, including Iran, have said they will boost output. The kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, started to raise production from June to meet rising seasonal domestic demand as well as higher export requirements. Al-Falih did not say whether there was a specific level of output that would be necessary to stabilize the market. Saudi Arabia produced 10.67 million barrels per day of crude oil, the most in its history, in July, and Al-Falih said on Thursday that production has remained around that level, though he could not cite a specific number for August. Global marker Brent futures gave back some gains following Al-Falih’s comments, slipping as much as 35 cents, or 0.7 percent, over 20 minutes, before recovering somewhat. Brent was trading up 61 cents at $49.66 a barrel by 3:35 p.m. ET (1935 GMT). A previous attempt to freeze output at January levels to support prices collapsed in April after Saudi Arabia said it wanted all producers, including Iran, to join the initiative. Since Al-Falih’s appointment in April, Saudi Arabia has taken a softer tone toward Iran at OPEC. Al-Falih said no specific production level for a freeze has been broached yet. “If there is consensus that emerges between now and the Algiers meeting, Saudi Arabia as always will be a constructive player in these discussions and we will be willing to participate,” he said Thursday. Sean Mannion Authentic Jersey
Brazil probes Petrobras, Ultrapar gas units for alleged price fixing
Brazil’s antitrust agency has opened an inquiry into 11 companies for allegedly colluding to fix prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and divvying up customers in northeastern states, in the latest probe into suspected anticompetitive behavior. In a statement, Brasilia-based government watchdog Cade said companies exchanged information and imposed restrictions on resellers in order to “promote an artificial regulation of the market and to facilitate the functioning of alleged cartels.” The agency did not estimate how much consumers lost from the scheme. Some of the firms under investigation include Liquigas Distribuidora SA, a unit of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, and Cia Ultragaz SA, a subsidiary of Ultrapar Participacoes SA, Cade said. Tetrobras kicked off an auction process to sell Liquigas in June. The probe is the latest in a drive against corrupt corporate practices in Brazil, where a bribe-for-contracts scandal between state firms and engineering groups has helped accelerate the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff. Suspicions of a so-called cartel in the LPG market first rose in 2009 when oil industry watchdog ANP filed a complaint, followed by a series of police and prosecutor investigations, the statement said. Searches and raids also took place a year later as part of a similar probe into anticompetitive prices. Subsequently, gas distributors GLP Minasgas SA Industria & Comercio and Supergasbras Energia Ltda, which are also part of the ongoing Cade probe, as well as some executives sought to negotiate plea deals. Cade did not disclose the terms of the accords. Representatives of Liquigas, Ultragaz, Minasgas and Supergasbras did not have an immediate comment. On Aug. 8, officials recommended that Cade’s board impose sanctions on Petrobras for alleged anticompetitive behavior in the natural gas distribution market. A timetable for a ruling on the Petrobras case is yet to be determined. Manu Ginobili Womens Jersey