India to ferry more petroleum products to Tripura via Bangladesh
After the first round of shipment of diesel and cooking gas to Tripura via Bangladesh on September 10, India will ferry more petroleum products through the same route over the next two weeks, officials here said on Tuesday. “Twelve LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)-laden trucks would carry the cooking gas from Guwahati to northern Tripura via Bangladesh on September 23. This would be the second consignment of petroleum products being carried through Bangladesh,” an official of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) said. “On September 10, nine tank trucks carrying 108 kilolitres of diesel and kerosene, along with one LPG truck, travelled from Betkutchi near Guwahati via Dawki, Meghalaya’s border point with Bangladesh, to Tamabil and Chatlapur in Bangladesh, and reached Kailasahar and Dharmanagar in northern Tripura, plying 136 km through Bangladesh territory.” Bangladesh had earlier allowed India to ferry heavy machinery of the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and carry foodgrains to Tripura. “The special arrangement of carrying petroleum products was made due to the difficulties faced in carrying petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas through the National Highways linking Tripura,” the official added. To carry these products, IOCL, under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas of India, and the Roads & Highways Department (RHD) of Bangladesh had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Dhaka on August 18. The IOCL official said this route via Bangladesh would save time and cost in carrying petroleum products from Assam to Tripura, as the existing over 400km mountainous route requires many hours to carry these essential items. “Besides, the condition of National Highways in Meghalaya and southern Assam is horrifying. Between May and August, Tripura was almost cut off and road transportation in southern Assam, Mizoram and western Manipur was badly disrupted due to damaged roads in the region,” the official said. Speaking on the new arrangement in Guwahati, IOCL Executive Director Dipankar Ray said: “This move by IOCL not only paves the way for future logistics management but also exemplifies its commitment to ensuring energy accessibility in the country.” A statement from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said Bangladesh has granted permission for the movement of petroleum goods through its territory on humanitarian grounds. The short-term India-Bangladesh deal on the shipping of petroleum products is valid until September 30. The MoU paves way for India to carry petroleum goods (motor spirit, high-speed diesel, superior kerosene oil and LPG) from Assam to Tripura through Bangladesh to create a buffer stock in the northeastern state. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has transported 23,000 tons of rice in three phases since 2014 from Kolkata to Tripura via Bangladesh using that country’s Ashuganj River Port, which is about 50 km from Tripura. In 2012, Bangladesh had allowed state-owned ONGC to ferry heavy machinery, turbines and over-dimensional cargoes through Ashuganj port for the 726 MW Palatana Mega Power Project in southern Tripura. There is only a narrow land corridor to the northeastern region through Assam and West Bengal that passes through hilly terrain with steep gradients and multiple hairpin bends, making transportation, especially of loaded trucks, very difficult. Agartala via Guwahati is 1,650 km from Kolkata by road, and 2,637 km from New Delhi. But the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just 620 km. Adolphus Washington Jersey
IOC, GAIL to sign pact to take 49% stake in Adani project
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and GAIL India will sign a pact on Wednesday to take 49 per cent stake in Adani Group’s Rs 5,000-crore Dhamra LNG project in Odisha. While IOC will take 38 per cent, GAIL will pick 11 per cent stake in the proposed 5-million ton a year liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Dhamra by financial year 2018-19. Adani Petroleum Terminal will hold 49 per cent in Dhamra LNG Terminal — the firm setting up the LNG plant. The remaining 2 per cent interest will be held by financial institutions. Sources said a formal agreement signing ceremony is planned on Wednesday where Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who also hails from Odisha, will also be present. IOC had last year signed up to use 60 per cent of the terminal capacity for importing gas for its refineries at Haldia in West Bengal and Paradip in Odisha. GAIL too had signed up for 1.5 million tons of the terminal’s regassification capacity. GAIL and IOC were initially bargaining for 50 per cent stake in the project, but Adani wanted to retain controlling interest. Equity in the Adani terminal follows GAIL dropping plans in March last year to set up a floating LNG import terminal at Paradip. IOC too had in 2012 signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dhamra LNG Port Corp (DPCL) to develop an LNG terminal at the port. After shelving their respective plans, the firms in May last year signed a pact with Dhamra LNG Terminal, a firm owned by Adani Enterprises. Dhamra will be the sixth LNG project announced on the east coast. While GAIL has dropped plans of a 4-mt project at Paradip, Petronet LNG, a firm in which GAIL and IOC are promoters, has shelved plans to set up a 5-mt a year LNG import facility at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh. GAIL, along with GdF and Shell, has proposed a 3.5-mt floating LNG terminal at Kakinada while IOC is building a 5-mt facility at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. Real estate player Hiranandani Group is looking to set up a Rs 24 billion, 4-mt floating LNG import terminal off Haldia in West Bengal. With GAIL, which owns and operates bulk of the nation’s cross-country pipelines, and IOC, whose refineries are a big user of gas, joining Dhamra, the fate of LNG terminals in Andhra Pradesh is uncertain. Dhamra can meet all of the demand in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Dhamra port in Bhadrak district of Odisha is an all- weather deep water port, sources said. GAIL in October 2013 had signed an MoU with the Paradip Port Trust for setting up of the LNG import terminal. While the port was to invest Rs 6.50 billion in breakwater and dredging, GAIL was to invest Rs 24.58 billion for the 4-mt terminal which can be expanded to 10 mt. The plan was, however, dropped in March last year. Brandon Williams Authentic Jersey