Pipeline uncertainty illustrates broader concerns for tribes
For hundreds of protesters, it was cause to cheer when the Obama administration this month declined to issue an easement for the Dakota Access pipeline’s final segment. But that elation was dampened by the uncertainty of what comes next: a Donald Trump-led White House that might be far less attuned to issues affecting Native Americans. “With Trump coming into office, you just can’t celebrate,” said Laundi Germaine Keepseagle, who is 28 and from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, where the demonstrators have been camped out near the North Dakota-South Dakota border. Anxiety over the 1,200-mile pipeline illustrates a broader uncertainty over how tribes will fare under Trump following what many in Indian Country consider a landmark eight years. President Barack Obama has won accolades among Native Americans for breaking through a gridlock of inaction on tribal issues and for putting a spotlight on their concerns with yearly meetings with tribal leaders. Under his administration, lawmakers cemented a tribal health care law that includes more preventive care and mental health resources and addresses recruiting and retaining physicians throughout Indian Country. The Interior Department restored tribal homelands by placing more than 500,000 acres under tribes’ control – more than any other recent administration – while the Justice Department charted a process approved by Congress for tribes to prosecute and sentence more cases involving non-Native Americans who assault Native American women. Before Obama, a gin the laws allowed for such crimes to go unpunished. In addition, the federal government settled decades-old lawsuits involving Native Americans, including class-action cases over the government’s mismanagement of royalties for oil, gas, timber and grazing leases and its discrimination against tribal members seeking farm loans. “In my opinion, President Obama has been the greatest president in dealing with Native Americans,” said Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Tribe north of Seattle and president of the nonpartisan National Congress of American Indians, based in Washington, D.C. “The last eight years give us hope going forward with the relationships we have on both sides of the aisle.” Trump, meanwhile, rarely acknowledged Native Americans during his campaign and hasn’t publicly outlined how he would improve or manage the United States’ longstanding relationships with tribes. His Interior secretary pick, Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, sponsored legislation that he says would have given tribes more control over coal and other fossil fuel development on their lands. But some of Trump’s biggest campaign pledges – including repealing health care legislation and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border – would collide with tribal interests. In Arizona, Tohono O’odham Nation leaders have vowed to oppose any plans for a wall along the 75-mile portion of the border that runs parallel to their reservation. And the nonprofit National Indian Health Board in Washington says it’s aiming to work with lawmakers to ensure the Indian Health Care Improvement Act remains intact. The law, which guarantees funding for care through the federal Indian Health Services agency, was embedded in Obama’s health care overhaul after consultation with tribes. The government’s role figures prominently in Native Americans’ daily lives because treaties and other binding agreements often require the U.S. to manage tribal health care, law enforcement and education. Some tribal members say they’re unsure how much Trump understands or cares about their unique relationship with the federal government. “I think there was a great hope that we had here in Indian Country with the direct dialogue that President Obama had established with tribal nations,” said Duane “Chili” Yazzie, president of the Navajo Nation’s Shiprock Chapter. “If a similar effort to communicate with us were carried on by the Trump administration, I would be surprised.” Though most reservations lean Democratic in presidential elections, Trump does have some supporters in Indian Country. They hope the businessman can turn around lagging economies in rural reservations, such as the 27,000-square-mile Navajo Nation, which covers parts of Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. “Trump is pro-job growth, and tribes need a healthy dose of business creation,” said Deswood Tome, a former spokesman for the tribe from Window Rock, Arizona. “To do that, a lot of federal barriers must be removed. We’re the only ethnic group who have so much federal control in our lives.” The Dakota Access pipeline illustrates another chasm between Obama and Trump. This fall, the pipeline dispute led Obama’s administration to begin tackling a final piece of its Indian Country agenda: guidelines for how cabinet departments should consult with tribes on major infrastructure projects. A top complaint from the Standing Rock Sioux was that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to properly consult with them before initially approving a pipeline route that ran beneath Lake Oahe, the tribe’s primary source of drinking water. After the administration halted construction on the project in September to review the complaint, it held seven meetings with tribal leaders and began drafting a report on how federal officials should consult with tribes. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the report will be completed before Obama leaves office, and she expects it to have a lasting impact, even with an incoming administration that promises to undo some of the president’s policies. What’s unclear is whether Trump, who once owned stock in the pipeline builder, will seek to reverse the Army’s decision this month to explore alternate routes. A spokesman said only that the president-elect plans to review the move after he takes office. However, Trump’s transition team said in a recent memo to campaign supporters and congressional staff that he supports the pipeline’s completion. In the meantime, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault has begun lobbying for a meeting with Trump to make a case for his tribe’s opposition to the project, which the chairman says threatens not just water but sacred cultural sites. “You have to respect Mother Earth; she’s precious,” Archambault said. “You can still believe in capitalism, and you can still invest in infrastructure projects, but these infrastructure projects should be focused toward renewable energy rather than fossil fuel development.” Orlando Scandrick Womens Jersey
Bhatinda Refinery eyes Rs 50 billion for expansion
The Guru Gobind Singh refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab will increase its refining capacity to 18 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) and set up a petrochemical complex, people aware of the development said. The unit, also known as Bhatinda Refinery, is run by HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Mittal Energy Investments Pvt. Ltd, Singapore. HPCL and Mittal Energy Investments hold 49% stake each in the venture, with financial investors owning the rest. “Expansion plan for the refinery is in the process and we would be setting up a petrochemical complex as part of the refinery expansion. We are working on the plan and would be shortly finalising details,” said a senior official at one of the partner companies, requesting anonymity. A banker aware of the development said on condition of anonymity that the company would be funding expansion through a combination of equity and debt syndication by banks to the tune of Rs 50-60 billion. In an emailed response, HMEL said, “We continue to evaluate various opportunities to enhance and expand our business; however, as a matter of policy we do not comment on future plans.” The petrochemical unit is part of the expansion that the refinery would undertake. HMEL is currently expanding the capacity of the refinery from 9 mmtpa to 11.5 mmtpa, raising refinery throughput by about 25%. The expansion could cost over Rs 50 billion. After the target is reached, the capacity would be eventually raised to 18 mmtpa. The expansion could cost the company Rs 200-300 billion, added the banker. “The petrochemical complex would include a new naphtha cracker,” said the second official aware of the development, also on condition of anonymity. Engineers India Ltd, an engineering consultancy and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) service provider, is working on a feasibility report on the refinery’s expansion and the petrochemical unit, the first official cited above said. Ryan Johansen Authentic Jersey
ONGC’s stake buy in GSPC: Some call it a rescue act, others a sweet deal
The decision by government-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to buy stake in Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation’s (GSPC’s) Krishna-Godavari basin block has raised eyebrows, with some seeing it a bail-out for the latter entity. Late last week, the latter’s board of directors had approved the plan to acquire 80 per cent participating interest of GSPC in KG-OSN-2001/3 for $995.26 million. However, there are those who contend the sweetening of the deal would make it an exciting buy for ONGC. “The contract between the two public sector undertakings is good for the industry, as it would create a synergy. As far as ONGC is concerned, they have negotiated the prices well and it is much better placed to develop the resource than GSPC. More, ONGC will be able to use the vast infrastructure that GSPC has built, including the pipelines,” said R S Sharma, chairman of business chamber Ficci’s hydrocarbon wing and a former chairman of ONGC. The deal size was initially expected to be $2-2.5 billion. ONGC was successful in bringing it down to $995 million, with another $200 million towards future consideration for six discoveries other than the Deen Dayal West Field. Consultancy firm Gaffiney, Cline and Associates had estimated the potential of the block to be higher but ONGC did not think so. The Centre’s exploration giant contended the deep-water block’s recoverable reserves were much less than the estimate of 7.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) to somewhere in the range of 3 tcf. “This will help us in developing nearby discoveries on a faster track in the Yanam and Godavari PML areas, and the KG-DWN-98/2 Block and adjacent nomination blocks,” said an official. NGC officials remained formally tight-lipped about the development. Regarding the deal, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan had recently told the media, “If two exploration companies competing against each other can work together in the Gulf of Mexico and cut their cost of production, why can’t it happen in India? At least, the cost of the product will come down. Are they India and Pakistan?” The deal came to the limelight after the preliminary agreement, when the two companies opted for a dispute resolution mechanism, that differences over issues like valuation of natural gas reserves would be referred to a three-member committee of outside experts. Okay or not? Many believe the advantage for ONGC will be that GSPC has already built production facilities like wellhead platforms, process-cum-living quarter platforms, onshore gas terminal and export pipeline for transporting treated well-fluid to the onshore terminal in the area. “One needs more clarity on the debt component and how much gets transferred to ONGC’s books. If ONGC has a viable commercial plan in place for both the block and also utilisation of the existing GSPC infrastructure for its own block, it might be a reasonable deal,” said an analyst with a domestic brokerage, who did not wish to be identified. A GSPC-led consortium has spent close to Rs 200 billion on the project, including borrowing costs of nearly Rs 60 billion. “This is nothing other than a bailout for GSPC. There would have been no other takers. This is like getting some money back rather than having nothing. In addition, GSPC has also exhausted their borrowing limits, a hindrance in developing the block further,” said an industry source, who does not want to be named. To develop the Deen Dayal West field further, ONGC might need another $1-1.5 bn. “It is a bailout for GSPC but whether it is a good pricing will depend on the commercial aspects. It is difficult to have a benchmark price for upstream assets,” said an official from a consultancy firm, who did not wish to be identified. Joey Rickard Authentic Jersey
Congress demands ONGC move to buy stake in Gujarat PSU be put on hold
Congress in Gujarat has demanded a judicial inquiry into ONGC’s decision to acquire 80 per cent stake in Gujarat State Petrochemicals Corporation’s KG basin gas block and that the company’s move be put on hold. The state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) yesterday announced that it will acquire 80 per cent stake in debt-laden GSPC’s KG basin gas block for $995.26 billion. Under the deal, ONGC will also acquire operatorship of the block KG-OSN-2001/3 in Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin offshore. Addressing a press conference, state unit Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki alleged the ONGC-GSPC deal is “an attempt to paper over corruption”. Solanki also claimed that a CAG report, tabled in the Assembly in April this year, had questioned the state PSU GSPC’s investment of Rs 19,576 crore in its KG block project, stating that “future prospects” of the block remain shrouded in “uncertainty.” Rodney Hudson Jersey