Bill to amend Electricity Act put on back burner
The Centre has put the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act on the back burner, opting instead to work with state governments on measures to open up the power market and unlock latent demand through regulatory reforms. “Do you see any work (reforms) suffer or stall (in the absence of the amendments)? Our initiatives are progressing well even without the (proposed) amendments to the Act. We are working with states on taking things forward,“ power minister Piyush Goyal said in reply to a question whether the amendment bill would be re-introduced in the next session of Parliament. The amendments seek to segregate the distribution (carriage) and supply (content) businesses. This is expected to bring competition by having multiple distribu tion licences in an area, giving consumers freedom to choose their supplier. The amendment bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 19, 2014. It was referred to the parliamentary standing committee on energy. The panel submitted its report on May 7, 2015. The refreshed amendment bill, incorporating the committee’s recommendations, will have to be cleared by the Cabinet before it can be re-introduced. The Centre’s unwillingness to move the bill at this juncture is understandable when most generation units are running at only around 60% due to subdued demand. Torry Holt Womens Jersey
DGCA may act against drunken aircraft engineers
With “shocking” reports that some aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) were found taxiing planes without undertaking the mandatory alcohol checks, aviation regulator DGCA is planning to summon safety heads of Indian airlines to ensure compliance of rules. “Shockingly, almost all airlines have been found violating this mandatory regulation,” sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, adding that the regulator may consider withdrawing approval to such AMEs of some airlines. Senior AMEs of airlines are licensed to taxi an aircraft from one place to another at an airport during non-operational times, generally during the nights, in the absence of pilots. As per the norms, domestic airlines are required to carry out alcohol test on all such engineers who are approved for carrying out shifting of an aircraft from one bay to another. “During a recent surveillance, the DGCA found that some of the engineers were not made to go through this mandatory alcohol test before undertaking the taxiing of the aircraft from one place to another,” the sources said. This has led the DGCA to seek a months record from all the airlines to check their compliance with norms on this count, they said. Claude Giroux Womens Jersey
Flights now cheaper than trains for most tourist destinations after introduction of surge pricing
Thanks to surge pricing introduced in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express coaches by the Indian railways, it will be cheaper to take a flight to most winter destinations in the country if the traveler plans the journey a few weeks in advance. Take the case of Goa, the most preferred winter destination in India, for example. Air tickets to the coastal state are as low as Rs.4,100 in the second week of December and even lower in January, when it hovers around Rs.3,600. In comparison, the train journey from Delhi to Goa will cost Rs.6,165 for 1st AC and Rs.5,310 for 2nd AC coach in Rajdhani Express.”Airline companies have introduced smart pricing. Most of the travelers are opting for flight tickets this year,” a travel agent based in Connaught Place told Mail Today. “This gives dual advantage to passengers who save on money as well as time.” Travel trade experts said airline companies were quick to take advantage of the surge pricing introduced by the railways. They point out that a day after railways introduced surge pricing last month, Air India announced their ‘Uro Jee bhar ke’ (Fly to your heart’s content) scheme, which offers flight tickets to waiting-listed train passengers at fares lower than those of two-tier AC tickets. Burdened with financial losses, both the Railways and Air India have been working at strategies to ramp up passenger earnings. The national airliner managed to reach a “break-even” point last year but it still carries an accumulated burden of losses worth approximately `50,000 crore. Losses from passenger earnings to the Railways this year are estimated at Rs.32,000 crore. Da’Ron Payne Authentic Jersey
Land allocated, Aviation Park at Bagodara finally takes off
In what could boost the aviation sector in Gujarat, the state government has set the ball rolling for establishment of Aviation Park, probably the first in India, by allocating 90 hectares of land at Bagodara near Ahmedabad. The project may help Bagodara emerge as an aviation hub just like Tata’s Nano plant transformed Sanand into a Motown, say industry players. “To be developed in a phased manner by the civil aviation department, the project will provide a framework for strengthening the aviation sector and will have a synergy of the best aerospace and avionics technologies. The park aims to raise awareness about the potential of the aviation sector among students, policy makers and people,” said Ajay Chauhan, director civil aviation, Gujarat. The park is envisaged to have a state-of-the-art theatre, a trainingsimulator complex, an aviation and aerospace management school, an aircrew training school, a helipad and an air strip, manufacturing facilities, pilots-aid complex and an info-tech area.It will have facilities for trai ning and incensing of personnel, air operation regulations as well as research and development. Matt Hendricks Jersey
Center approves carrying out environment impact assessment report of modernisation of Chennai airport by AAI
In a push to improving amenities for travelers at Chennai airport, Centre has given go ahead for carrying out environment impact assessment report of Modernisation of Chennai Airport (Phase II) by Airport Authority of India. The project seeking finalization of Terms of Reference (ToR) for conducting environment impact assessment was considered by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) Expert Appraisal Committee (Infra-2) in its meeting held on September 21-22. “After detailed deliberations on the proposal, the Committee recommended for grant of Terms of Reference for the said project/activity,” said a senior ministry official. It was recommended that ‘TOR’ along with public hearing prescribed by the Expert Appraisal Committee (Infrastructure- 2) should be considered for preparation of EIA / EMP report for the above mentioned project. The draft EIA/EMP report shall be submitted to the State Pollution Control Board for public hearing. The issues emerged and response to the issues shall be incorporated in the EIA report. Vincent Trocheck Jersey
Aviation regulator concerned about airport congestion as aircraft deliveries line up
India’s airlines’ plan to seek a larger pie of the passenger traffic by lining up aircraft deliveries over the next few years has raised concerns due to lack of infrastructure at already clogged airports. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has conveyed the concern to the ministry of civil aviation, said an official, requesting anonymity, with the aviation regulator. The official said Indian commercial carriers would add at least 40 new and leased aircraft by March 2017 and 23 more by December 2017. The regulator expects rise in congestion at large airports as Indian carriers have lined up deliveries of at least 550 planes over the next six years. On 4 October, DGCA announced the winter schedule for domestic Indian carriers with at least 21% more domestic flights set to operate compared with the year-ago period. The winter schedule starts from 30 October and runs till 26 March 2017. DGCA approved a total of 16,600 flights per week to be operated by domestic carriers compared with 13,744 flights during the winter schedule last year. Currently, there are 1,504 aircraft registered with DGCA. These include 455 aircraft owned by commercial airlines. The DGCA official pointed out that tepid response to the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) is also a cause of concern. “If RCS works, the congestion witnessed at metro and other large airports in the country would get diverted to smaller unserved and underserved airports which are being developed,” said the official. However the National Democratic Alliance government’s ambitious RCS planned to be operationalised by the year-end has been delayed and is now expected to take off next year. Another DGCA official, who also did not want to be named, said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been requesting DGCA for runway augmentation, but that is not possible due to current operations at large airports. AAI owns 125 airports, of which 77 are functional. India also has 370 airstrips ranging between 400m and 1km that are partially operational. Brendan Gallagher Womens Jersey
Russia, Turkey Agree to Build Gas Pipeline Under Black Sea
Russia and Turkey agreed to build a natural-gas pipeline under the Black Sea that could be up and running by the end of 2019, capitalizing on a recent improvement in relations between the two nations. Approval for Turkish Stream — a dual pipeline project consisting of one link serving the Turkish market and another one possibly to southern Europe — was signed in the presence of presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Monday. Russia has long sought to cut its reliance on gas shipments through Ukraine, which account for about 40 percent of its exports to Europe. A link to Bulgaria, known as South Stream, was scrapped in 2014 after being opposed by the European Union. An alternative route through Turkey was shelved last year when relations deteriorated following the downing of a Russian military jet by the Turkish air force near the Syrian border. Tensions eased after Erdogan apologized for the incident in June. Putin said after holding talks with Erdogan that a mechanism for providing a discount on gas prices had been agreed upon. Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest gas producer, has been ordered to work out precise numbers for a gas discount for Turkey, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. “The deal is a piece of the puzzle in reducing transit dependence on Ukraine, but does not represent a major coup for Gazprom in terms of European market access,” said Emily Stromquist, a London-based analyst at Eurasia Group, in an e-mail. “This pipeline is a reroute option.” Price Dispute The Turkey gas link, originally designed to make the nation a new gas hub for the EU and replace Ukraine from 2020, has also been held up by gas-supply pricing disputes. Its annual capacity, initially planned at 63 billion cubic meters with four lines, was later halved. Gazprom had agreed to provide a 10.25 percent discount to Turkey’s state-run energy company, Botas Boru Hatlari Ile Petrol Tasima AS, as part of the pipeline deal before the project stalled. Botas filed an arbitration claim last October, seeking price revisions dating back to December 2014. While the link to Turkey could also help Gazprom access southeastern European gas markets, including Greece and Italy, it can only transport a limited amount of gas to the region because only one interconnecting pipeline between those countries — still under construction — allows third party access, according to Sijbren de Jong, an analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. Securing Deliveries Rather than significantly boosting Russian gas supply into Europe, Turkish Stream benefits Gazprom by keeping its gas from being displaced by competitors, he said. “What Gazprom and Russia are trying to do is pre-empt gas deliveries from Azerbaijan and maybe in the future, Iran,” he said in an e-mail. This “is key, in my view.” Turkey will own an onshore pipeline connected to the first part of the undersea Turkish Stream, while the second onshore line through its territory – possibly toward the EU – could be owned by a joint venture, Novak said. Gas demand in Turkey reached 43.6 billion cubic meters in 2015, according to the BP Statistical Review. Its biggest suppliers last year were Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan. It received its first cargo of U.S. shale gas at the end of September. Stephen Curry Womens Jersey
ONGC bets on its relinquished blocks under new hydrocarbon exploration policy
Under criticism for falling production, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) is betting big on the new hydrocarbon exploration policy based on a revenue-sharing model. ONGC’s strategy stems from some of the blocks on offer under the new Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) been relinquished by the state-run explorer, even as it had done work on them. Surrender of blocks is mandatory once an explorer exhausts the time period allotted for it. With the New Exploration Licensing Policy unable to attract the desired level of investments, the National Democratic Alliance approved marketing freedom for crude oil and natural gas under HELP in March this year. “The ongoing activities will continue. At the same time, we are waiting for HELP so whenever the new areas are offered we will be bidding. Lot of mandatory relinquishment has happened for last several years, those areas will be available and then of course some of the deep-water areas as well. These areas will be targeted and as far as our past experiences are concerned, we should be able to win some of these areas,” said a senior ONGC executive requesting anonymity. “Past experiences say so,” confirmed another ONGC executive aware of the strategy who also didn’t want to be identified. The first HELP round is expected next year. This also comes at a time when production is declining from ONGC’s assets. Its crude oil output fell to 6.34 million tonne (MT) in the June quarter compared with 6.48 MT last year. Similarly, its gas production was down 5.6% to 5.49 billion cu. meters. The new policy marks the culmination of the government’s bet for a revenue-sharing model from the controversial cost-recovery model which involves cost recovery by firms before the government receives its share of the revenue. The cost recovery model was also criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India due to it being inadequate to incentivise private contractors to reduce capital expenditure. The new policy also allows for exploration for all types of hydrocarbon resources including coal-bed methane or gas hydrates under a single licence. Moreover, an open acreage approach would finally allow firms to choose the areas of their liking for exploration. Experts remain circumspect about the new exploration policy. “It shall be interesting to see how HELP pans out. The government has come up with a new licensing policy replacing the old one with open acreage policy. It is only once the bids are over and production begins will it be open for analysis,” said Raju Kumar, partner at EY, a consultancy. Queries emailed to an ONGC spokesperson on 5 October remained unanswered. ONGC is grappling with fall in domestic production due to sliding yields from its ageing fields. Worried that the falling natural gas prices will affect its profitability, ONGC also plans to approach the government to seek concessions such as lower taxes and levies to shore up its finances, InfraCircle reported on 6 October. This comes in the backdrop of the natural gas price being cut by 18% to $2.50 per million British thermal unit on 30 September for a period of six months till March helping consumers. According to ONGC’s Perspective Plan 2030, it plans to produce 130 million tonne (MT) of oil and natural gas with 70 MT coming from its domestic production and the rest from its overseas subsidiary, ONGC Videsh Ltd. ONGC’s turnover slid 21.41% to Rs.177.84 billion in the first quarter of financial year 2016-17. It had posted Rs.226.28 billion as turnover during the same period last year. Seth Roberts Authentic Jersey
OVL to raise $900 million bridge loan to finance Vankor buy
ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) will raise a bridge loan of close to $900 million overseas to fund acquisition of an additional 11 per cent stake in Russia’s Vankor oilfield. OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), last week got government nod to raise its stake in Russia’s second biggest oil field of Vankor to 26 per cent at an investment of $930 million. It will buy the sake from Russian national oil company, Rosneft. “The acquisition needs some approvals by the Russian government. Once they come in, we will make the payment,” an official said. The company, he said, will raise a bridge loan of 6 to 9 months from overseas financial institutions. A long term financing through foreign currency bonds, will be raised to replace the bridge loan. “The deal is effective May 2015. It is a producing field. So the profits that accrued from sale of oil (to Rosneft for the 11 per cent share) for one-and-half-years will be deducted from sale consideration and payments will be made,” he said. The amount of bridge loan to be raised will depend on this final number, he said. OVL, which had previously bought 15 per cent stake in Vankor from Russian national oil firm Rosneft for $1.268 billion, will an additional 3.2 million of oil equivalent on top of 4.11 million tons secured earlier. Besides OVL’s 26 per cent, a consortium of comprising Oil India (OIL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat PetroResources (BPRL) has acquired 23.9 per cent stake in the field at a cost of $2.02 billion, giving them 6.56 million tons of oil. Jason Croom Authentic Jersey
Get Ready! Petrol, Diesel Prices Set To Go Up Sharply
Get ready to pay more for petrol and diesel when their prices are revised later this month. Oil marketing companies are likely to revise their prices sharply higher, following a jump in global oil prices. Get ready to pay more for petrol and diesel when their prices are revised later this month. Oil marketing companies are likely to revise their prices sharply higher, following a jump in global oil prices. Petrol currently costs Rs. 64.72 a litre in Delhi and diesel Rs.52.61 per litre. Global oil prices have jumped to over one-year highs of around $53 a barrel on growing expectations of an output cut by major oil producers. Oil prices firmed up after Russia said it was ready to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in limiting crude output and Algeria called for similar commitments from other non-OPEC producers. Global oil prices have gained almost 15 per cent since OPEC provisionally agreed last month to cut production for the first time in eight years. The Indian crude basket, composed of 73 per cent sour grade Dubai and Oman crudes, with sweet grade UK Brent making up the rest, breached the psychological level at $50 per barrel on Friday. Petrol and diesel prices are deregulated in India, which means they are linked to market rates. Normally, state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp revise rates of the fuel on a fortnightly basis based on the average oil price and foreign exchange rate in the preceding fortnight. India imports more than three-fourth of its crude oil requirements. So apart from global oil prices, the value of the rupee as well as the margins of oil marketing companies and the various government levies determine the final price of petrol and diesel price in India. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries aims to agree on cutting about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), bringing its output to 32.5-33.0 million bpd by the time it meets in Vienna for its policy meeting on November 30. It will be OPEC’s first output reduction in eight years and comes two years after prices crashed from highs above $100 a barrel. Global oil prices have been very volatile this year. They had dropped to 12-year-lows of below $30 per barrel in February before currently hovering around over one-year high levels of $53. Josh Morrissey Womens Jersey