Govt in talks to revise policy on petroleum industrial regions
With some of the petrochemical industrial regions such as Paradip and Tamil Nadu not generating expected results unlike Dahej in Gujarat, the Government of India is in discussions of revising the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Industrial Region (PCPIR) policy. Speaking at the sixth Petrochemicals Conclave at Gandhinagar, Rajeev Kapoor, secretary, department of chemicals and petrochemicals, Government of India said, “There is expected to be a shortage of petrochemical intermediates by 20 million tonnes by 2025. There is also lack of R&D and innovation in the sector. Except for Dahej, nothing much has happened in Paradip and Tamil Nadu PCPIRs. Hence, there is a need to relook at the policy for revision and the government is in discussions for the same.” Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya said that the petrochemical complexes need strengthening in order to boost country’s exports. “Chemical and petrochemical imports today stand at 10 million metric tonnes which is set to grow to 46 million metric tonnes by 2030. Import substitution of certain petrochemicals is the key requirement for sustainable development of the industry in the next 5-10 years. We have to look at ways to reverse the trend for India to become a net exporter of the same,” said Mandaviya. Mandaviya urged the petrochemicals industry to focus on effective recycling and management of plastic waste for building a positive perception on the use of plastics. Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said that setting up of petrochemical clusters could help boost both consumption and marketing of end products. “Currently, the petrochemicals value chain is spread across various regions which could be brought together into clusters to boost consumption and marketing. Already, with increase in the per capita income and discretionary spending, there has been a steady change in spending patterns, from products made of metals to those made of fibres and plastics, which are both economical and long-lasting,” Pradhan added. While India’s per capita consumption of plastics at 10 kg per person is lower than the global average of 32 kg, the country’s aggregated demand for petrochemicals stands at 38 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa), Pradhan. Between 2000 and 2016, India grew at nearly 14 per cent in polymers to stand at a 10 mmtpa. The current petrochemicals market in India is estimated to be about 30 mmtpa while the average domestic per capita consumption of petrochemicals is about 22 kg per person. The total petrochemicals market in India is currently valued at approximately $ 50 billion. Driven by the rise in polymer demand, it is expected to grow at the rate of nine per cent annually to reach 40 mmtpa in consumption and $65-70 billion in revenues by FY 2019-20. Out of India’s petrochemicals demand of 30 mmtpa, the demand for polyolefins, used in industrial packaging and household plastic products, is estimated to be around 10 mmt. Expected to grow at a CAGR of almost 8-9 per cent, polyolefin demand in India is expected to reach 22 mmt by 2026. Overall, the petrochemicals market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.5 times that of GDP in the next 10 years. Meanwhile, speaking at the conclave, Nitin Patel, deputy chief minister of Gujarat said that petrochemicals had a big share in making Gujarat a model state with a high growth rate. “The annual turnover of the petrochemicals industry in Gujarat is Rs 5000 billion, supporting about 500 big industries, 1,600 medium and many small industries,” Patel added. Ryan Kerrigan Womens Jersey
India’s first ever U.S. crude purchase to arrive in Sept.
India’s first ever purchase of crude oil from the U.S. will be delivered in September, according to an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) official, who added that the company’s deal with the U.S. resulted in cheaper oil for India than even Basra Light because the U.S. could sell at highly competitive rates, and the company transporting the shipment — PetroChina — had provided ‘very favourable’ terms of trade. High-sulfur grade IOC reportedly bought 1.6 million barrels of high-sulfur grade U.S. Mars crude oil and 400,000 barrels of Western Canadian Select. “The prices we are getting from America are very competitive, even when compared to the prices of Basra Light,” the IOC official told The Hindu on the condition of anonymity. “Added to that, this deal has PetroChina as the trader, which will transport the oil to India and the price of transport is also very low. Each order has specific dimensions to it, and this order has a Chinese company doing the transport. The delivery of the order is around September.” The deal with the U.S., signed earlier this month, comes at a time when India’s oil imports from Iran have fallen to their lowest levels in more than a year due to tensions between the two countries over the awarding of the Iranian Farzab B gas field. Iran has also cut short the credit period it offers Indian companies for oil they buy, from 90 days to 60 days. The IOC officials, however, did not mention Iran as the reason why Indian companies are now looking to other sources for their oil imports. “As long as the price is low from these other sources, we will continue considering them for supply,” he said. Bharat Petroleum Corporation also announced in July that it had become the second Indian company to buy oil from the U.S. Nevin Lawson Womens Jersey
ONGC seeks market freedom to open India’s 8th sedimentary basin
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has sought pricing and marketing freedom to help bring to production a one-trillion cubic feet gas discovery that will open up a new sedimentary basin after over three decades. ONGC, which has opened for commercial production six out of India’s seven producing basins, has made a significant natural gas discovery in the Gulf of Kutch of Gujarat coast that can produce about three million standard cubic meters per day, a senior company official said. This will open up the country’s eighth sedimentary basin – the first in over three decades – for oil and gas production in two years. “We can bring to production the find in 2-3 years time,” he said. ONGC reviewed the project with Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week and set out conditions that will help monetise the gas reserves. “The present government-mandated gas price of USD 2.48 per million British thermal unit does not make the discovery commercially viable. Since the find is in shallow waters, it does not qualify to get the USD 5.56 per mmBtu cap price set for difficult fields,” the official said. The current rates of gas are uneconomic, he added. “We have asked the government to give us pricing and marketing freedom. What sense does it make to use precious foreign exchange to pay USD 6-7 for importing gas and not pay an equivalent amount to domestic producers. Afterall, any domestic production would only aid government’s Make-in-India initiative,” he said. India has 26 sedimentary basins, of which only seven have commercial production of oil and gas. Except for the Assam shelf, ONGC opened up for commercial production all the other six basins, including Cambay, Mumbai Offshore, Rajasthan, Krishna Godavari, Cauvery and Assam-Arakan Fold Belt. The official said the discovery made in the Gulf of Kutch is in shallow waters, but cannot be tied to either the production facilities in Mumbai High fields or Hazira and may require a new landfall point. The BJP-led government had in October 2014 evolved a new pricing formula using rates prevalent in gas surplus nations like the US, Canada and Russia to determine rates in a net importing country. Prices have halved to USD 2.48 per mmBtu since the formula was implemented. India’s largest natural gas producer is demanding a floor or minimum price of natural gas be fixed at USD 4.2 per mmBtu and rates freed in a years time. “We hope the government listens to us,” the official said. “We should be able to bring the new find to production within 2-3 years from the date they give us for the requisite approvals,” he said.