India is Changi Airport’s seventh largest country market, accounting for 6.1% of the airport’s total passenger traffic
Heading into 2017, Changi Airport will be offering more flight options for travel to India. A total of 13 weekly services[1] will be introduced between now and the end of the year, representing an addition of nearly 2,300 weekly one-way seats to India. Traffic between Singapore and India is at an all-time high. Today, India is Changi Airport’s seventh largest country market, accounting for 6.1% of the airport’s total passenger traffic. For the first ten months of this year, passenger traffic to and from the India market rose 5% year-on-year to reach 2.94 million movements. For the month of October, India had the strongest year-on-year growth (+12.4%) among Changi’s top ten country markets. In 2015, Changi Airport saw a record 3.43 million passengers travelling between Singapore and India. Riding on the strong travel demand on routes to India, Indian carriers will be injecting capacity to the cities of Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. From 20 November, Air India Express will launch 4x weekly services to Kolkata. It will also step up its Chennai services, newly-launched in October, from 5x weekly to daily services. Meanwhile, Jet Airways will be launching a new daily Singapore-Bangalore service from 14 December; this follows after the airline boosted capacity by switching to a widebody aircraft for their daily Singapore-Mumbai flights earlier this year. Brandin Cooks Jersey
Fresh fare war among Airlines
Budget carrier SpiceJet announced its ‘Spicy Annual Sale’ on Monday offering all inclusive one-way fares for as low as Rs 737 for travel to select destinations on its domestic network. “The four day sale launched today will be open till midnight, 24th November, 2016 whereas the travel period covered is from January 9, 2017 to October 28, 2017. The starting fare of Rs 737 all inclusive is applicable on sectors like Chennai – Coimbatore – Chennai, Jammu- Srinagar – Jammu, Chandigarh – Srinagar – Chandigarh and Agartala – Guwahati covering distance upto 500 kms,” SpiceJet said. Jason Kidd Authentic Jersey
India’s air passenger traffic continues its double digit growth
India’s air passenger traffic grew by 23.20% in October as compared to the same period last year with airlines carrying 86.72 lakh passengers. Passenger traffic grew by 23.18% in the first ten months of 2016 (January-October) as compared to the same period last year with domestic airlines carrying 813.7 lakh passengers. IndiGo had the highest market share of 42.6% among airlines followed by Jet Airways (17.1%), Air India (13%), SpiceJet (12.9%) and GoAir (7.9%). Vistara and AirAsia India had a market share of 2.7% each. SpiceJet had the occupancy among domestic airline clocking a load factor of 91.9% followed by IndiGo (84.9%) and GoAir (84.4%). The overall cancellation rate was 0.72% in October with Air Carnival having the highest cancellations (8.74%). “During October 2016, a total of 790 passenger-related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of October 2016 has been 0.9,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Daniel Alfredsson Womens Jersey
India’s airport count to double by 2019, says civil aviation minister
The central government is planning to increase the number of airports across the country in the next two-three years. The aim of this expansion is to tap into the largely untapped domestic aviation sector in India, which has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of passengers, Jayant Sinha, the Minister for Civil Aviation said. Earlier during the year, the BJP government launched a draft UDAN scheme (Udey Desk ka Aam Nagrik) which fixed the fares at Rs 2,500 for one hour flights in a bid to make it affordable to the citizens. “Our party in its 2014 elections manifesto announced the UDAN scheme, under which, we have to expand the number of airports. The fact is we have 75 airports with scheduled services. We will double it in the next two to three years,” Sinha was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India. The central government aims to increase funds by about Rs 400 crore to run the UDAN connectivity scheme. Some of the leading airlines were asked to bid for the sectors that provide connectivity to other major airports, while carriers who bid with the lowest rates would be awarded the routes. This was aimed at developing regional routes that are “under developed” with increased profitability. “When bids are finally given out in January 2017, we will create an entirely new regional market,” Sinha told PTI. More people choose to fly when compared to opting for rail journeys every year. India’s air passenger growth grew about 10-11 percent during the last decade. Wayne Gretzky Authentic Jersey
Dealer Association urges public to follow restraint while transacting at petrol pumps in Punjab
Petroleum Dealers Association Ludhiana (PDAL) in a press statement released on Tuesday clarified that the news of all petrol pumps of Ludhiana having facility to dispense cash against debit cards is untrue and only a select few pumps of Oil Marketing Companies, IOCL, BPCL and HPCL have been selected by banks to provide this facility. Association also informed that SBI has already started providing cash to the designated Petrol Pumps through debit card swipes from the EDC machines of banks provided at Petrol Pumps. PDAL also requested the public to exercise restraint over transacting in old currency notes and also for withdrawing cash against debit cards as the petrol pumps are receiving very less cash for daily transactions while the cash against debit card is being provided by concerned banks,that too in limit. Matt Wieters Womens Jersey
Algeria’s Sonatrach and Spain’s Cepsa extend oil field contracts
The Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach and Spain’s Cepsa signed an agreement on Tuesday to extend partnership contracts for two oil fields in the North African country, Sonatrach said. OPEC member Algeria has announced plans to boost oil and gas production after stagnation in recent years due to a lack of foreign investment. Under Tuesday’s deal, contracts for the Rhourde El Krouf (RKF) and Ourhoud oil fields will be extended by 25 years and 10 years respectively, Sonatrach said in a statement carried by the state news agency APS. The Sonatrach-Cepsa contract for Ourhoud was due to expire in 2019, the statement said. The agreement was signed by Sonatrach chief Amine Mazouzi and Cepsa CEO Pedro Miro Roig. The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding “to explore opportunities in other areas where both companies have common interests in Algeria and internationally”, the statement added. Algeria says it expects gas output to reach 141.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2017, 143.9 bcm in 2018, 150 bcm in 2019 and 165 bcm in 2020. Oil production targets are 75 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2017 and 2018, 77 million tonnes in 2019 and 82 million tonnes in 2020. In 2015, gas production stood at 128.3 bcm, while oil output reached 67 million tonnes. Curtis Martin Jersey
Petroleum ministry to enhance safety measures for first time domestic cooking gas consumers
To ensure safety of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumers covered under the government’s Pradhna Mantri Ujjawal Yojana (PMUY), the ministry of petroleum and natural gas is rethinking safety measures related to use of cooking gas cylinders for beneficiaries, most of whom are first-time users. With the aim to provide cleaner cooking fuel to move towards a gas-run economy, PMUY was launched by the National Democratic Alliance government on 1 May 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. The government plans to provide 50 million LPG connections to BPL women in the next three years, with 15 million connections to be distributed in the current financial year. According to the official website of PMUY, 638 districts across 18 states have been covered till date with 10,140,075 connections already been provided. “There were a lot of complaints from the end-consumers and distributors regarding safety issues. Apart from launching a campaign to make the users aware and educate them about the use of gas cylinders, we are also in talks with the supply side of the value chain to ensure better safety precautions. The gas pipes which are used shall also be examined in a better way now,” said a petroleum ministry official requesting anonymity. The government in a statement on 9 November said the petroleum minister had informed that a massive safety awareness campaign will be carried out over a period of four months starting November to educate all LPG consumers on importance of safety norms. The finance ministry has allocated Rs.20 billion for the current financial year for implementation of the scheme. A total budgetary allocation of Rs.80 billion has been made for the next three years. “We are working to improve safety measures. We recently increased the insurance amount as well,” said another petroleum ministry official who also did not want to be named. The Narendra Modi-led government’s stress on cleaner sources of fuel comes in the backdrop of India ratifying the Paris climate deal on 2 October. The country also wants to increase natural gas’ contribution to 15% of the total energy mix from a current level of 6.5%. Queries emailed to the spokesperson of the petroleum ministry on 20 November remained unanswered. According to experts, safety measures are of utmost importance. “We need to understand who the beneficiaries are. Also, gas usage anyway requires a certain bit of precaution,” said Sanjay Grover, partner at EY, a consultancy. According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, as on 1 April 2016, there were 17,916 LPG distributors and 201.79 million domestic LPG customers registered with oil marketing companies. A subsidised 14.2kg domestic cooking cylinder at present cost Rs.430.64 in New Delhi whereas the actual cost is Rs.895. Dan Girardi Jersey
Shapoorji Pallonji to acquire 51% stake in Gopalpur port
Shapoorji Pallonji has agreed to buy a 51% stake in Odisha’s Gopalpur port. Orissa Stevedores Ltd (OSL), one of the three original promoters, will hold the remaining 49%. This comes as OSL’s founder Mahimananda Mishra is wanted by police investigating a murder that took place last month. The second private port in Odisha, the Gopalpur project was won by a consortium of OSL, metal trader Sara International and Hong Kong-based Noble Group in 2006. Developed from a minor to an all-weather port on a BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, Transfer) model, any change in ownership requires state government approval. Noble exited the special purpose vehicle (SPV) in 2010. Shapoorji will be mostly acquiring Sara International’s stake. A Shapoorji Pallonji group spokesperson confirmed the acquisition plan and said it would invest fresh money in the port. “At this stage of the transaction, due diligence and documentation are in progress and government clearance is awaited. This acquisition is a part of our larger group strategy to play a meaningful role to build marine infrastructure particularly around development of bulk, liquid and LNG (liquefied natural gas),” said the spokesperson in an email. A senior official in the Naveen Patnaik government confirmed the application was pending with it. Halfway between Paradip port and Vishakapatnam, Gopalpur was well placed to serve the plant Tata Steel was planning to build nearby at the time that bids were floated. In the midst of an expansion, the port took a beating in 2013 when cyclone Phailin hit landfall nearby. In 2011, Naveen Jindal’s Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) came close to acquiring a controlling stake. The deal failed to get the Odisha government’s approval and ties are said to have soured between JSPL and OSL. The current issues at the Paradip port follow JSPL awarding part of its cargo handling contract to Seaways Shipping and Logistics last year, breaking OSL’s monopoly through the association of stevedores, transporters and workers unions. It was amid this strife that Seaways’ Odisha MD Mahendra Swain was killed on Oct 26. Jagatsinghpur police last week arrested five people in connection with the murder and said it had proof linking those arrested to OSL and MD Misra, one of Odisha’s most successful businessman. Misra’s son and OSL director Charchit Mishra had earlier told ET that neither his father nor OSL had anything to do with the murder. Meanwhile, Shapoorji Pallonji is hoping to resolve the obstacles in its bid to acquire a majority stake in Karaikal port. The company said it has reached out to the Puducherry government and is confident of a positive response. “Shapoorji Pallonji Group was invited as a white knight by the private equity investors and lenders to revive the Karaikal port which was in an urgent need of financial and technical infusion,” the spokesperson said. “We understand that the existing promoter of Karaikal could not arrange for the required funds creating further issues for all other stakeholders. However the group is clear that it will invest only if the stakeholders are adequately on board.” Robby Anderson Authentic Jersey
Little offshore interest in Indian small field bid round
India’s Discovered Small Field Bid Round 2016 received 134 e-bids for 34 contract areas. Offered for development were a total of 46 on- and offshore contract areas across nine sedimentary basins. The contract areas are said to contain 67 oil and gas fields originally discovered by national oil companies Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. and Oil India Ltd. The fields are estimated to hold a total of 625 MMbbl of oil and oil equivalent gas in-place and are spread over 1,500 sq km (579 sq mi) in onshore, shallow-water, and deepwater areas. All 26 onshore contract areas received e-bids, while eight out of the 20 offshore contract areas received e-bids. Of a total of 134 e-bids, 14 were received for offshore contract areas. The offshore areas were located in the waters off Mumbai, Krishna Godavari, and Kutch. Announced by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) in May, the submission of bids opened in July. MoPNG’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) received the bids. “The bid round took place in a challenging global market environment when oil and gas prices have been volatile and investment in the exploration and production sector has seen substantial decline. “Despite the above challenges, the response to DSF bid round has been very favorable and exceeded expectations of all experts. It has not only attracted the interest of the oil and gas companies but also attracted the interest of the first time investors in E&P sector,” the DGH said in a statement. Most contract areas received one to two bids, with the exception of D18-DSF-2016 offshore Mumbai, which received five bids from Enquest Drilling; Hardy Exploration and Production; a consortium of Oilmax, Oil India Ltd., India Oil Corp. Ltd., and Hindustan Oil Exploration Co.; Sun Petrochemicals; and Bharat Petro Resources. Bidding on other offshore contract areas were KEI-ROSS Petroleum & Energy Ltd., Invenire Energy, Adani Welspun Exploration, Adbhoot Estates, and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. According to the DGH, as many as 42 companies participated in the bid round, individually or as member of a consortium. The overwhelming majority of participating companies were private Indian companies with 32 e-bids submitted. Of the remaining 10, five foreign companies and five public sector undertakings or subsidiaries participated. “The response to the DSF bid round has been overwhelming as compared to the last round of E&P auctions under the NELP [New Exploration Licensing Policy] regime in 2009-10, largely credited to the new policy reforms which have improved the ease of doing business by introducing a transparent and transparent regulatory framework. “Despite smaller contract areas on offer in the DSF bid round, the response from private companies was overwhelming; around 37 private sector players submitted e-bids as against 27 private companies during the NELP-IX. “Considering the fact that most of bidders were private players, response to on-land contract areas were much larger than that for offshore contract area,” the DGH said. Darren Collison Authentic Jersey