Government on target: All villages to get electricity by month-end
The government is set to meet its ambitious target of providing electricity to all villages by the end of April. Of the 18,452 villages targeted to be electrified in 1,000 days from August 15, 2015, 58 are left and the government expects to complete the task before April 30. Another 1,100 villages that were later identified as lacking electricity will also be covered this month, Union power secretary Ajay Bhalla told ET. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on Independence Day last year that the government would achieve this target by May 1, 2018. Asenior executive with Rural Electrification Corp (REC), the nodal agency for implementation of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY), said the Centre handheld the states at all levels, beginning with formulation of the standard bidding documents (SBDs) to award contracts, which helped in saving six to eight months’ time. “We framed the bid documents and allowed and guided the states on portions that can be changed to suit each state,” he said. “Besides, rigorous monitoring was done on the Garv portal. The tendering happened in the shortest possible time. Even the SBDs could be customised easily, as we had told states which clause merits change.” REC employed gram vidyut abhiyantas (GVAs) to monitor on-ground progress of village electrification. The REC official said the implementation schedule was squeezed to 12 months and the process was divided in 12 milestones with defined timelines. “We streamlined the sanctions, disbursements, approvals and clearances. Even the sample designs and drawings of the village and network were made available to the states and contractors, saving at least five-six months,” the executive said. In difficult terrains in states like Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, REC conducted surveys with the help of GVAs and local people before awarding contracts. “This helped the contractors with information about roads, access,” he said. In some snow-bound areas like Leh and Kargil, equipment was airlifted, and for places where there was no access, it was routed through bordering areas like Nepal. In the villages left to be electrified, necessary material has reached the sites and the work will commence soon, the executive said. Ramik Wilson Authentic Jersey
Fuel rates appear unaffected by costlier crude, analysts wary of price control
State-run oil companies have raised petrol and diesel prices only marginally this week despite higher international rates, triggering a fall in shares of the big refiners amid worries that political considerations may bring back price controls in fuel prices. Retail fuel prices were unchanged from Monday to Wednesday, after which petrol rates were raised by 5 paise and diesel was up 9 paise per litre. Since Monday, crude oil prices have risen $3 to nearly $75 per barrel, which impact international fuel prices that are used as a benchmark for retail prices. Shares of Indian Oil fell 4%, Hindustan Petroleum 6% and Bharat Petroleum fell 7% on Thursday when the Sensex rose. Shares have fallen 12%-17% since April 10 as investors reacted to last week’s media reports that state-run companies had been asked to absorb fuel price hikes up to one rupee a litre ahead of the elections in Karnataka. A spokesperson for Indian Oil CorporationNSE 0.09 % however said they has received no directive from the government on pricing and have been freely pricing petrol and diesel. But investors are not convinced. “The fear that fuel subsidy might return is weighing on stocks. A series of state elections this year leading to general election next year may make it difficult for state companies to fully pass on price hikes to consumers,” said Ritesh Gupta, an analyst with Ambit. Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 while Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are scheduled to hold elections by year-end. Analysts are concerned that the government might ask oil companies to subsidise petrol and diesel consumers although officials have denied any plan to interfere in fuel pricing. Local prices of petrol and diesel are based on the trailing 15-day average of international rates. These also factor in freight, exchange rate, dealer commission, excise duty and value added tax. The inability to raise prices affect the gross marketing margin of fuel retailers, which has come under pressure in the past week, said another analyst, asking not to be named. Petrol and diesel have been decontrolled for years but it is widely believed that the government nudges oil companies to go slow in raising prices before elections, and companies make up for the loss by rapidly increasing fuel rates after the polls. Officials, however, say prices move strictly in step with international rates. Duron Harmon Authentic Jersey
Government and Industry Launch New U.S.-India Natural Gas Task Force During U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership Bilateral
As the U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership Bilateral takes place this week in India, the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) arranged a Delegation of high-level executives in Delhi to meet with Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dhamendra Pradhan, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry, along with other prominent government and industry stakeholders. On Monday, USISPF hosted a roundtable with DOE Secretary Rick Perry, DOE Undersecretary Mark Menezes, and officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, to discuss priorities for the bilateral and the launch of a new Indo-U.S. Natural Gas Task Force. The USISPF delegation, formed of senior U.S. energy executives from Air Products, ExxonMobil, GE, 8minutenergy, Emerson, First Solar, AES, Dow, Cairn Energy, Shell, Honeywell, and others, are keen to discuss investment plans and issues in the oil and gas, coal, renewable energy sectors. USISPF also hosted the Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan. Minister Pradhan stated the need for a stronger energy partnership to cater to the needs of both countries. He also stressed on the need for technological advancements in the energy sector to meet the needs of the citizens. During his discussion with USISPF’s Energy and infrastructure delegation, Minister Pradhan welcomed companies and organizations to invest in India and explore opportunities under new and renewable energy and the gas sector. Richard Boocock, the President for Air Products’ Industrial Gases—Middle East, India, Egypt, and Turkey, chaired the USISPF Delegation, saying, “It was an honor to participate in the roundtable discussions earlier today on the business climate for energy firms in India with the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Perry. These discussions are instrumental in determining how U.S. firms can further support India’s energy sector and future economic growth. Since we are already a long-term investor in India, Air Products is keen to share its technology, know-how and investment capacity, which can bring great value to the U.S. and India alike.” Recent investments made by Air Products include the expansion of our Kochi Industrial Gas Complex to support the growth of BPCL’s Kochi Refinery. Projects such as this one demonstrate how U.S. companies are applying U.S. technology and know-how as a key enabler to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. According to Mr. Boocock, Air Products has plans to grow their business with an increased focus on providing technology and equipment for air separation, hydrogen generation and associated technologies for natural gas liquefaction and industrial gas applications. “These investments represent a commitment to growing our presence and strengthening relationships, as well as infrastructure, in the region,” said Mr. Boocock. USISPF believes natural gas and renewable energy integration is a key area for enhanced strategic cooperation between the U.S. and India and will support the Indian government’s aspiration to boost natural gas presence from 6.5% to 15%. Natural gas and renewable integration in India presents a new opportunity to grow the share of gas for power generation and is a potential market for U.S. gas exports, related investments, trade and technical expertise. “Recently, the U.S. has become a new long-term source of gas supplies to India. Further developing gas markets in India will enhance the viability of existing long-term contracts for U.S. gas in India and create significant business opportunities for U.S. energy companies,” said Nolty Theriot, USISPF Vice President of Policy & Advocacy. India’s emerging gas story is deeply connected with its critical economic transition in mobility, urbanization and reliability in an increasing market-based system. India will account for one third of the growth in global energy demand in the coming decades and developing the country’s natural gas markets will aid India’s ability to meet the demands of a growing middle class in a modernizing economy. David Clarkson Jersey
BPCL mulls starting oil trading office in Singapore
Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) plans to start a trading office in Singapore in the near future to procure crude for its refineries and trade oil products, its head of refineries, R Ramachandran, said late on Wednesday. “We will open office in the near future,” he said, without specifying a timeline. However, a company source, who declined to be named, said the office may start operations by September. BPCL could become the second Indian state refiner after Indian Oil Corp to open a Singapore trading outpost as Indian buyers hunt for competitively priced spot cargoes from the Asian oil-trading hub. The company has started looking for office space and plans to transfer up to four staff from Mumbai to Singapore initially, Ramachandran said. The staff strength would grow as the company expands its trading business in Singapore, he said. BPCL along with its subsidiaries operate refineries that can process 730,000 barrels per day of crude oil, equivalent to about 15 per cent of India’s overall refining capacity. Samuel Morin Jersey
Domestic natural gas prices hiked by 6% for April-September 2018: Ind-Ra
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has published the March edition of its credit news digest on India’s oil and gas sector. The report highlights the trends in the oil & gas sector with a focus on domestic production, import, consumption, refining and gross under-recovery, regulatory changes and the recent rating actions. Domestic natural gas price has been raised by around 5.9% to USD 3.06/mmbtu for April – September 2018. Prior to this, the gas price was raised by around 17% to USD 2.89/mmbtu for October 2017-March 2018 after it was revised downward five times consecutively since the implementation of the domestic gas pricing formula in October 2014. The increase in gas prices is likely to impact fertiliser, power and city gas distribution entities which are the primary consumers of natural gas. India’s crude oil production decreased 2.4% yoy during February 2018. Production volume of Oil India Limited increased marginally by 0.1%, while it declined by 3.3% and 1.1% for Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited and fields under production sharing contracts, respectively, during February 2018, on a yoy basis. The crude oil import volume increased 6.5% yoy during February 2018. India’s import dependency of crude oil had been around 82.8% during April 2017-February 2018. Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell estimates crude import of 219 million tons (mt) in FY18 (FY17: 214mt). Refining throughput in February 2018 was 20.1mt, which was 5.4% yoy higher. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Mumbai refinery processed a higher volume, aiding the overall increase in throughput volume. India’s petroleum products output was higher by 7.8% yoy to 20.5mt during February 2018. On a cumulative basis, the production was 4.8% yoy higher during April 2017 – February 2018. Natural gas production during February 2018 was 1.5% yoy lower. The production volume grew for Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (higher 1.5% yoy), whereas for Oil India Limited and ‘from private/joint venture fields’ it declined yoy (negative 7.2% and negative 9.4% yoy, respectively) during February 2018. Natural gas consumption increased by 9.3% yoy during February 2018. The increase in consumption was on account of increased domestic demand and a 6.1% yoy increase in imports during April 2017-February 2018. Ron Francis Jersey
BP and Reliance sanction second phase of KG D6 development
BP and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced the sanctioning of the ‘Satellite cluster’ project in Block KG D6. The companies are moving forward to develop the Block’s discovered deep-water gas fields in an integrated series of projects, bringing new gas production for India. The ‘Satellite cluster’ is the second of three projects in the Block KG D6 integrated development. The first of the projects, development of the ‘R-Series’ deep-water gas fields, was sanctioned in June 2017. Together the three projects will develop a total of about 3 trillion cubic feet of discovered gas resources with a total investment of c. INR 400 billion (US$6 billion). They are expected to bring a total c. 30-35 million cubic metres (1 billion cubic feet) of gas a day new domestic gas production onstream, phased over 2020-2022. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, said: “In consonance with our announcements last year to raise domestic gas production, we are delighted to announce the on-schedule progress of the Satellite cluster in the east coast of India. This development supports the country’s imminent need of increasing domestic gas supply and is a firm step towards making India a gas-based economy.” Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, welcomed the investment decision: “This latest investment is a further demonstration of BP’s commitment to India. Through our partnership, Reliance and BP are able to develop these discovered gas resources efficiently and economically, working closely with the Government of India. These new developments will produce much needed energy for India’s thriving economy.” Integrated field development of deep-water gas fields The Satellites cluster is a dry gas development and comprises four discoveries with five well subsea development in ~1700 metres water depth, up to ~15 kilometres east and southeast of the producing D1D3 fields in KG D6. The first of the KG D6 projects to be sanctioned, the R-series project, is already in execution phase with all major contracts awarded. The Satellites cluster project will draw on execution synergies with the R-series project being developed concurrently. India today consumes over 5 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas and aspires to double gas consumption by 2022. Gas production from the integrated development is expected to help reduce India’s import dependence and amount to over 10% of the country’s projected gas demand in 2022; benefiting India and domestic consumers at large. Ricky Seals-Jones Jersey
‘Several queries’ received for Air India privatisation: Disinvestment Secretary
The Centre has received a “lot of queries” from both airlines and non-airlines for the proposed privatisation of national carrier Air India. “There have been several queries — both from airlines and non-airlines,” Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Department of Investment & Public Asset Management (DIPAM), told reporters on the sidelines of Assocham organised conference on private equity and venture capital investment conference in the capital. Earlier, in his address, Gupta said that there are no restrictions for private equity and venture funds from participating in strategic divestments like Air India. “Venture funds can always tie up with technical partners to bid. All that is required is they meeting the net worth criteria,” Gupta said. The expression of interest documents do not explicitly prohibit venture funds and there should be no impression that they cannot participate, he added. Gupta highlighted that India was the fastest growing large economy and continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investments. Robert Alford Jersey