Indonesia’s Pertamina may sign deal with Iran for 2017 LPG imports
State energy company Pertamina may sign a deal to import Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in 2017 when Indonesia’s president visits the country this week, company officials said on Tuesday. The LPG imports may total up to 528,000 tonnes during next year, the officials said. “It is highly likely we will import again from the National Iranian Oil Company,” Pertamina spokeswoman Wianda Pusponegoro told reporters, adding that Pertamina planned to import up to 12 cargoes, each of which contains 44,000 tonnes of gas, in 2017. A deal could be signed this week during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s trip to Iran, she said. The planned purchases are part of 600,000 tonnes of LPG that Pertamina tentatively agreed to purchase in May from state-owned National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) this year and in 2017. Pertamina is also considering buying stakes in two oil and gas blocks in Iran and had met and discussed the matter with Iran’s oil minister during the recent Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna, Pusponegoro said. “We hope they can agree on Pertamina’s proposal,” she said, noting that Iran was still studying the matter and that Pertamina aims to complete a deal at the beginning of 2017. “Our target is for at least 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.” Separately, Pertamina’s deputy chief executive, Ahmad Bambang, told reporters that the company is also hoping to expand its footprint in Algeria. “In the short term we want to strengthen our position in Algeria with a purchase from Repsol, but this is still being discussed,” Bambang said. Spanish energy company Repsol wants to sell its 35 percent participating interest in the MLN field, where Pertamina currently holds the remaining 65 percent stake, he said. “(Repsol) want to sell everything. We are negotiating.” Christian Arroyo Womens Jersey
India will soon switch over to 4-digit flight numbers
In a bid to enhance safe flying and end the confusion caused by similar sounding call signs or flight numbers, India will soon switch over to longer flight numbers. Instead of the current three-digit flights numbers, the country will transition to longer four-digit ones. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working on this switch over as India has witnessed an exponential growth in air traffic in past few years and is the world’s fastest growing aviation market. The existing three-digit numbers are increasingly leading to confusion and there has been a spate of safety scares when similar sounding flight numbers operate to or from the same airport around the same time — something which happens very frequently due to the volume of traffic now. For instance, the regular approved a schedule of 16,600 weekly domestic flights in the ongoing winters, up 21% from last winter’s figure of 13,744. The four-digit flight numbers will simply mean more available flight numbers and removing the possibility of similar sounding flights operating to or from the same airport close to each other. “This is a very important project. We have had a few meetings on this issue and hope to crystalise this in the next week or so. A number of other countries have moved to four digit flight numbers and we will also do so shortly given the rise in air traffic here,” said a senior DGCA official. Neal Sterling Jersey
Norway to launch 2017 mature-areas oil licensing on tuesday – 87 offsore blocks up for grabs
Norway will launch its 2017 licensing round for so-called mature areas on Tuesday, allowing oil and gas firms access to up to 87 new offshore exploration blocks, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien told news agency NTB. Final awards of acreage, which depend among other things on the level of interest from oil companies, is expected to take place in January 2018, NTB said. Also known as licensing of pre-defined areas, the mature round aims to award new acreage close to existing developments, allowing companies to tap in to any discoveries through infrastructure that is already in place. A total of 33 firms applied for acreage in the corresponding 2016 round, including Statoil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Aker BP and Lundin Petroleum . Edwin Encarnacion Womens Jersey
IATA slams Mumbai airport plan to consider auctioning slots
Mumbai airport’s proposal to consider auctioning slots has been slammed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Airport slots are specific time periods allotted for an aircraft to land or take off at an airport. Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General, told the Indian media assembled here for global media day event that Mumbai airport’s decision to not follow the World Slot Guidelines is a mistake. “I can tell you well in advance that if you auction the slots in India you (can) bet (on) who will be the winners; (but) it will not be the Indian airlines. It will be the richest guy on the planet, probably Emirates (the Dubai headquartered airline), Qatar (the Doha headquartered airline), Etihad (the Abu Dhabi headquartered airline)….of course because they have the money. It is complete distortion of newcomers who do not have means to buy the slots. We strongly disagree with it,” he said. Pointing out that the World Slot Guidelines are recognised and applied globally, the IATA DG added that to ensure that there are no problems or drawbacks, the guidelines are reviewed regularly. “We have had bad experiences of auctioning of slots in China,” he cautioned. Since 1947, under IATA’s auspices, airlines have met regularly to discuss their slot allocations planned for the following season to improve interline connections and handling arrangements. Slot conferences are held twice a year in June and in November. The prime objective of the slot process is to allow airlines to acquire, retain and exchange slots necessary to operate at a given airport. Through the allocation of slots, limited airport resources are efficiently used to benefit the greatest number of airport users and travelers. Dallas Goedert Womens Jersey
We will assess how India implements civil aviation policy, says IATA Director General
The Modi Government came in for some praise from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for putting together a civil aviation policy although the head of the global aviation body was quick to add that how it is implemented will also be assessed. “It will be among the most open. But then you have the plan and then you have the execution of the plan. So, we will of course judge the plan as it is designed, but we will also assess the way the Government will implement it practically. We know that the devil is in detail everywhere,” Alexandre de Juniac said in a response to a question from BusinessLine. de Junaic ADJ, added that IATA felt that in terms of developing infrastructure and international air traffic, the Indian plan is positive and will have a positive effect on aviation. The IATA DG said that he did not see protective issues in the Indian market, which is borne out by the fact that more and more foreign operators are coming to India like Singapore Airlines with Tata and AirAsia for setting up domestic arilines. “We see the Indian aviation market as more and more open,” he added. Foreign ownership Besides, the DG termed the Government’s decision to lift foreign ownership condition as “very-very advanced”. “In many parts of the world you have foreign ownership limitations which are frankly not justified except for protectionist reasons to put a fence around the flag carrier which usually is not doing well,” he said adding that the decision to put the limit on foreign ownership of an India airline at 49 per cent “is significant”. The DG termed as “ambitious” the Government’s proposal to have open skies with countries which are over 5,000 km away from India. “The more you lift barriers to air traffic or movement of goods or people the better it is for the aviation business and for freedom usually,” he pointed out. Carbon offsetting scheme One point of disappointment though is the fact that the country did not sign up to join the Carbon Offsetting and Reporting Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) which is a market-based measure for international aviation to measure carbon emissions. “They have signed the Paris agreement and the Kigali protocol (so) we feel that India is very heavily involved in all these environment issues. Then you have an agreement which is accepted by almost all the nations on the planet to regulate an industry which is asking for it. We are disappointed that India has not joined and hope that it will in the coming years,” Alexandre said. Conceding that there has been no talk yet on holding the IATA annual general meeting in India, the DG indicated that it could be a candidate for the event. “In 2020 or 2021 or 2022 going to India is perfectly okay,” he added. Matt Kalil Womens Jersey
IOC keen to buy 26 pc stake in GSPC’s Mundra LNG terminal
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is in talks to buy 26 per cent stake in debt-laden Gujarat State Petroleum Corp’s (GPSC) almost-completed Rs 4,500 crore Mundra LNG import terminal in Gujarat. The 5 million tonnes a year import terminal, the third facility in Gujarat for import of natural gas in its liquid form in ships, is nearing completion and GSPC is keen to exit the project completely. “They offered us all of their 50 per cent stake but we are keen to take 26 per cent for now,” an IOC official said. With a view to expand its gas business, IOC is keen to buy a stake in Mundra terminal but does not want GSPC to exit the project completely. IOC, the country’s largest oil company, wants the state government entity to remain as a part of the project for smooth operations, he said. Gujarat already has a 15 million tonnes liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility operated by Petronet LNG Ltd at Dahej and another 5 million tonnes terminal of Shell at Hazira. The official said IOC is keen to take half of GSPC stake and wants the Gujarat government entity to keep the remaining 25 per cent. “The stake will however depend on IOC board finding the asking price viable. So far GSPC has not put a value to its stake,” he said. GSPC LNG – a unit of GSPC – holds 50 per cent interest in the project. Adani Group holds 25 per cent while the remaining 25 per cent is to be bid to a strategic partner, the shortlist of which also included IOC. It will be selling the LNG terminal together with storage and re-gasification facilities over an area of 28 hectares on the coast. India Gas Solutions Pvt Ltd — the equal joint venture between the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Europe’s second largest oil firm BP — and state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) are the other two firms shortlisted to pick up 25 per cent stake earmarked for the strategic partner in the project. Initially, eight firms including state gas utility GAIL India had expressed interest to buy the stake but only three were finalised. Essentially, GSPC was looking at a partner which can bring in LNG or consume the imported liquid gas, sources said. While BP is a producer and trader of LNG, RIL’s twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat as well as its large petrochemical plants are huge consumers of gas. ONGC also is a big consumer of the fuel. IOC too has large requirement of gas at its oil refineries. The company also markets gas to users. Besides the three, other firms which had expressed interest included Petronet LNG, Torrent Energy, Japan’s Mitsui & Co and Toyota Tsusho, sources said. Mundra terminal, which is to be financed in a debt to equity ratio of 70:30, is expandable up to 10 million tonnes per annum in near future. Michael Dickson Authentic Jersey
Leveraging the sun to power India’s future
In 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first placed solar energy at the core of the energy mix that would fuel India’s economic growth, scepticism abounded: how will the government deliver? Isn’t the target of 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy, later revised to 175GW of renewable energy, by 2022, too ambitious? Also, isn’t solar energy expensive? How will India’s poor afford it? Just about two years later, the answers are emerging—slowly but steadily. This past Friday, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) called for bids to install 1GW of rooftop solar power projects on central government buildings—its largest tender yet in this segment. India is already home to the world’s largest single-location solar power plant which has been set up by the Adani Group at Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu. The 648 megawatts (MW) project, built in a record time of eight months, dislodged California’s 550MW Topaz Solar Farm in September to secure the top spot and propel India past the 10GW total capacity threshold. Indeed, huge advances have been made in the past few years—in terms of solar energy specifically and renewable energy in general. According to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, the solar sector has had an impressive compound annual growth rate of 59% in the last four fiscal years and its installed capacity at the end of the FY2016 was pegged at 6.8GW. Similarly, the share of renewable energy in India’s total energy mix has also increased from 12.5% in FY2013 to 14.1% in FY2016. Yes, this also shows how fossil fuels still make up the majority of India’s energy basket but let’s not ignore how quickly renewables are catching up. With a cumulative CAGR of 15%, renewables are growing at a faster rate than coal power plants, which are increasing at 12.5%. Now, place this against the backdrop of India’s large untapped renewable energy potential—according to the government-developed India Energy Security Scenarios, India can achieve 479GW of solar power and 410GW of wind power by 2047—and it is possible to see how, if India plays its cards correctly, solar and other forms of renewable energy may eventually drive economic growth. Specifically, India seems to be on track to achieve its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, promised as part of the Paris pact to fight climate change, to get at least 40% of its total installed power from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. In terms of pricing, SECI breached new frontiers yet again in November with a record low tariff offering of Rs3 per unit. The winning firm at the reverse auction—Gurgaon-based Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which will be installing a total of 14.5MW of solar rooftop plants across the country—has promised these rates specifically for Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry. At one level, low tariff offering doesn’t come as a surprise—this figure has been consistently falling since 2010 when it was pegged at Rs17.91 per unit; over the past few years, it had somewhat stabilized at about Rs5 per unit when the US-based SunEdison, one of the world’s largest renewable energy firms and which has now filed for bankruptcy protection, shook up the market in late 2015, offering to sell power at Rs4.63 per unit to win NTPC Ltd’s contract for a 500MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh. Months later, in January, Finnish company Fortum FinnSurya Energy Pvt. Ltd went a step ahead and quoted Rs4.34 per unit to secure the contract for 70MW solar plant at NTPC’s Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan. What these low rates now mean for consumers is that solar energy, which until recently was too expensive for large-scale use in a developing country, is now on track to compete with cheap fossil fuels. Today, India’s cheapest electricity tariff is at around Rs1-2 per unit. This rate is for the farm sector which is followed by the residential sector and then the commercial sector. But while these are of course promising figures, there is still a long way to go. The low tariffs, for example, are a double-edged sword. Driven by aggressive bids from firms desperate for a toe-hold in this sunrise sector, they have fuelled concerns about viability and project financing, especially for those below the Rs5 per unit threshold. SunEdison, in fact, has put its India assets on the block (some of which were incidentally picked up by Amplus). Moreover, India still has to make available the necessary capital for developing renewable energy infrastructure—the former Planning Commission had estimated under the 12th Five Year Plan that more than a trillion dollars will be required—and it will have to work every option on the table (from domestic industry to international donors) to fund this turnaround. Similarly, several structural issues in the distribution of power need to be addressed. India’s installed capacity of 275GW is already in excess of its demand of 140GW. Yet, there are still parts of the country where there is no electricity while in many others, power cuts are the norm. This is due to a variety of factors such as coal supply shortage, transmission losses and the poor health of power utilities. As renewables enter this mix, they will have to be integrated into the existing system and structure. As a NITI Aayog expert group report notes, “A probable re-engineering of institutions, the redefinition of policies, the re-tuning of power systems, and the replacement of old habits with new ones” will be required. This fundamental re-structuring of the country’s power and energy infrastructure will be its biggest challenge. Alex Tuch Womens Jersey
Is solar sector truly achieving grid parity?
Amplus Energy Solutions won projects across ten states in the bids conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for rooftop solar power. The tariff offered for projects in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Chandigarh was the lowest in history—Rs 3 per unit of electricity. And in six other states, tariff rates between Rs 5 and 6 per unit were offered. The bidding comes at a point where grid parity of renewable energy is being hailed as a turning point of electricity scenario in India. Grid parity is a situation when generating electricity from alternative sources of energy like renewables costs more or less the same as conventional sources. This means renewable energy sources can generate electricity at the rate similar or equal to thermal power generation. Unfortunately, the Rs 3-per-unit-tariff is certainly not a step in that direction. The price can be achieved because the government is offering subsidies worth 70 percent of the capital cost, ranging from Rs 38,500 to Rs 52,500 in the capital expenditure model. There is a direct infusion of subsidy for every kilowatt (kW) in the rooftop solar sector. But even the solar sector, in general, has witnessed tariff rates fall to an all time low. This is because of reverse bidding rather aggressive reverse bidding in central and state solar project auctions that has yielded tariff offer of around Rs 4.34 per unit in January by Fortum Finnsurya Energy, a Finland-based company operating out of Rajasthan. It was beaten less than a month ago by tenders worth 750 MW of solar at Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan which benchmarked by the tariff at Rs 3.93 per unit of power generation. Again, this low benchmark cost is for a 750 MW that would receive viability gap funding (VGF) of 30 per cent. VGF is a capital subsidy to bridge the gap between the project cost dictated by the prevailing electricity rate and the price quoted by a developer. Can we deem this achievement as grid parity when the realisation of a low tariff is under the capital subsidy provided by the government when most of these projects have not seen a financial closure because banks do not consider these projects financially viable? Not just direct capital subsidy Apart from the capital subsidy for rooftop and VGF for larger solar projects, the government offers a tax benefit called accelerated depreciation (AD) to all the projects that are not entitled to a direct capital subsidy. AD is the depreciation of fixed assets at a fast rate early in their useful lives. This AD is tax rebate that the project enjoys for the first few years of operation. This form of incentive is provided by the government to increase investment in any particular sector. One of the primary reasons for the development of wind sector in India is AD. Seventy percent of the 28,279.40 MW installed wind power is based on AD. The impact of AD was felt when the government discontinued the rebate in 2012, and the entire sector saw stagnation. By intense lobbying, it was reintroduced for the development of wind sector, and now the capacity installed has bounced back. Subsidised grid parity versus unsubsidised grid parity India has set a target to achieve 175 gigawatts (GW) renewable energy capacity by 2022. Out of this, 100 GW has been allocated to solar and 60 GW to wind. This ambition was raised in July 2015 when India announced its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to United Nations to show the strides it is willing to make to reduce carbon emissions. To meet these targets and for the development of and to attract investment in wind and solar sectors in India, there have been various forms of subsidies and tax incentives available. The question is with subsidies and other incentives involved, can the achievement of low tariffs be termed as achieving grid parity? Should India wait for a little for the sector to be deemed competitive when thermal power produces cheaper electricity without the backing up of subsidies? When banks do not consider most of these projects economically viable to fund, and they haven’t generated and supplied electricity at this rate, how can this be an achievement for the sector? However, India still has 237 million people who do not have access to electricity. We need to provide these people with reliable and affordable power as soon as possible. And if we have decided that renewable energy is the future of electricity, then we need to accept that today renewable energy is a little more expensive than thermal power without subsidies. We have to pay more for this clean energy and people with better paying capacity would have to share a bigger portion of this burden. Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey
No capacity addition needed for coal-based power from 2017-2022: draft plan
There will be no need for coal-based power generation capacity addition from 2017 to 2022 according to the Draft National Electricity Plan, 2016. The draft floated by the Central Electricity Authority, the government’s power policy ideating and monitoring body, also projects a subdued demand for power with a 20.7 per cent lower peak demand in 2026–27. The study assumes a committed capacity addition of 4,800 MW from nuclear, 12,000 MW from hydro and 100,000 MW from renewable energy sources during 2022-27. According to demand projections for the year 2026-27, “the study for the period 2022-27 reveals that a coal-based capacity addition of 44,085 MW is required. However, as coal based capacity of 50,025 MW is already under construction which is likely to yield benefits during 2017-22; this coal based capacity would fulfil the capacity requirement for the years 2022-27.” The report projects that peak demand is 235 GW at the end of year 2021- 22 which is around 17 per cent lower than the corresponding projections made by 18th Electric Power Survey (EPS) report. It further projects a peak demand of 317 GW at the end of 2026-27 which is around 20.7 per cent lower than the corresponding projections made by 18th EPS report. Interestingly, demand side management, energy efficiency and conservation measures would aid to a reduction in peak demand. The report notes that reduction in peak demand (MW) for utilities will be by 7277 MW in 2016-17, 9436 MW in 2021-22, and 12324 MW in 2026-27. Capacity addition from conventional sources will be 1,01,645 MW. This stands at 115 per cent against the target of 88,537 MW. The report also notes that 56 per cen of the total capacity addition during the 12th Plan will be coming from private sector. Capacity addition for hydro and nuclear (hydro – 5,601MW and nuclear -2,800 MW) in the 12th Plan period will be strained and the report notes that there is “likely to be considerable slippage” and that “factors affecting capacity addition in hydro and nuclear sectors need to be addressed urgently.” Wayne Gretzky Womens Jersey
India to export 220 MW electricity to Nepal
India is all set to export an additional 220 MW electricity to Nepal in a bid to lessen the perennial power crisis in the energy-starved Himalayan nation. Nepal will get 190 MW within three weeks and another 30 MW by another two months. Nepal currently imports 300-320 MW?electricity from India, the Indian embassy said in a tweet. Both governments are working towards increasing this amount by additional 250 MW in next two months. The electricity from India will be imported through various cross-border corridors. Though Nepal has huge potential of generating hydro energy of over 80,000 MW?round the year, it could not harness more than 800 MW as against the winter demand of more than 13,00 MW. The poor rate of production is attributed to lack of political consensus, instability and resource crunch. Nepal is going through power cuts of more than 13 hours a day in winter season, but has been managing the power crisis during rainy seasons as its power stations run in full capacity. After an upgrade of the Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar cross border transmission line, Nepal and India will be able to export and import more energy. The completion of this power corridor will allow Nepal to significantly increase its energy imports from India. Nepal is currently importing 80 MW from this station. During a meeting in November in New Delhi, the Indian side had agreed to add 220 to 250 MW electricity to Nepal, a senior Nepal government official said. As part of that agreement, India’s Power Trading Corporation had agreed to provide 30 MW electricity round the clock from Tanakpur substation located in far west of Nepal from Uttarakhand. Several cross-border transmission lines are proposed between Nepal and India, and some are already under construction. Patrick Chung Authentic Jersey