Sri Lanka workers to strike against proposed oil deal with India
Workers’s of Sri Lanka’s state-run petroleum firm are set to launch an indefinite strike from tomorrow against the government’s proposed deal with India to jointly operate an oil storage facility at the strategic eastern port town of Trincomalee. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Trade Union Collective workers have threatened to cripple entire transportation sector in the country. Lanka and India are expected to sign an agreement to jointly invest and develop the Trincomalee Port and establish a petroleum refinery and other industries there. The workers have three demands which include getting the government to stop granting outright ownership of some 14 World War II oil storage tanks in the eastern port district of Trincomalee. The Petroleum Joint Union Alliance says it opposes the proposal to transfer operations rights to oil tanks to India since the agreement would benefit the Lanka IOC, Indian Oil’s subsidiary, allowing it to expand further and the CPC, which is already in debt, will incur further financial losses. They also asked the government to shelve plans to build a new oil refinery with Chinese assistance in the southern port of Hambantota and to immediately begin repairing the existing refinery near Colombo. “We will be striking from tomorrow and stop all fuel distribution in the country,” Bandula Saman Kumara a spokesman for the trade unions told reporters today. He said by mid-week the Colombo international airport would face the danger of becoming non-operational due to fuel sector strike. At least 73 of the 99 storage tanks in Trincomalee is to be managed under a new equity arrangement between the two countries, Lankan Petroleum Minister Chandima Weerakkody had said earlier. The union has taken the decision to strike after President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly turned down a request for a meeting to discuss the issue. Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who will visit India on April 25, had said yesterday the development of eastern port district of Trincomalee will be discussed during his visit. Mike Mitchell Jersey
Government aims to cut petroleum imports as it boosts alternative fuel use
The government is aiming to cut its oil products imports to zero as it turns to alternative fuels such as methanol in its transport sector, an official said at an investor briefing on Monday. “We are trying our level best that the day will come when we don’t need to import any fuel from any country and that we will be self-sufficient,” said Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at a conference organised by Nomura in Singapore. But he could not provide a specific timeline for the target due to challenges with the distribution and availability of alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the country, he said. “Auto-rickshaws are using LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) now…LNG is important but the availability of LNG and distribution is a big challenge… we have to develop that,” he said. India is also planning to start 15 factories to produce second generation ethanol from biomass, bamboo and cotton straw as it aims to develop its mandate to blend ethanol into 5 percent of its gasoline, he added. “Bamboo is available from tribal areas… our vision is to be cost effective, import substitute and pollution free,” he said. India imported about 33 million tonnes of oil products over April 2016 to February 2017, up nearly 24 percent from the same period a year ago, government data showed. The majority of the imports comprise petroleum coke and LPG. Energy consumption in India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, is expected to grow as it targets between 8 to 9 percent economic growth this fiscal year from around 7 percent in 2016/17. To cut the country’s carbon footprint, New Delhi wants to raise the use of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 percent in three to four years from 6.5 percent now. India is developing LNG bunker ports and plans to develop its electric vehicle fleet, Gadkari said. Bo Jackson Jersey
Sudan won’t extend ONGC’s licence to operate oil block
Sudan has denied India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation an extension of licence to operate an oil block after the initial contract expired in November 2016. ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the state-run firm, had a 25 per cent interest in the 2B block of Sudan and its share in the block’s output was 7,000-8,000 barrels a day. China National Petroleum Corporation and Malaysia’s Petronas are the other partners in the block. The process of surrendering the block is underway after the Sudan government gave a notice to that effect, a senior ONGCBSE 0.89 % executive said. The notice to surrender came after months of negotiations between the companies and the government yielded no result. ONGC and partners were seeking a licence renewal for 15 years but couldn’t agree to the demands of the Sudanese government. “It was not economical to commit to work programme or investment Sudan was demanding,” the executive said, requesting not to be identified. The previous 20-year contract that expired last year provided for a five-year extension without any alteration in terms but Sudan didn’t agree to that during negotiations, the executive said. The state oil companies of Sudan will now operate the 2B block. ONGC has stakes in two more producing blocks in Sudan, where the licence to operate will run till 2021-22. ONGC’s share in output from these blocks is 6,000-7,000 barrels per day. Sudan owes a few hundred million dollars to ONGC, including $100 million for the oil pipeline the Indian company built in the country and its share of the produce from the 2B block. In 2003, ONGC had purchased stake in the Greater Nile Oil Project comprising block 1, 2 and 4 in Sudan. After South Sudan was carved out of Sudan in 2011, the reserves were split between the two countries. All the blocks of South Sudan in which ONGC has stakes have been shut for about three years due to security issues. South Sudan has been seeking India’s help in reviving production at those blocks and is willing to compensate ONGC for the period the fields have not operated. South Sudan is also keen on quickly extending the licences to operate these blocks for another five years, most of which will expire in the next five years or so. Tim Tebow Womens Jersey