Germany says pipeline, criticised by Trump, is a commercial project
Germany said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline to import more Russian gas was a commercial project, resisting U.S. President Donald Trump’s characterization of the venture as “inappropriate”. “Nord Stream 2 is first and foremost a commercial project,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference in Berlin, adding that Germany wanted Ukraine to remain a transit route for gas imports from Russia. Last week, Trump accused Germany of being a “captive” of Russia due to its energy reliance. Chandler Catanzaro Jersey
Norway oil, gas union widens six-day drilling rig strike
A Norwegian union for workers on offshore oil and gas drilling rigs stepped up a six-day strike on Monday that has slightly hit oil output after employers did not respond to demands for higher wages and pension benefits. The union is adding 900 workers to the strike, under a plan announced last week, after failing to win concessions before a midnight (2200 GMT) deadline since almost 700 workers on the rigs went on strike on Tuesday. The expanded strike will not have any immediate extra impact on oil or gas production beyond the closure last week of Shell’s Knarr field, which produces 23,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Both the Safe union and employers in the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said late on Sunday they had no contacts or new offers during the weekend. The websites of both sides, which they said would notify workers of any breakthroughs, had no updates as the deadline passed. “The escalation takes place from midnight as planned,” Safe union spokesman Roy Aleksandersen said just before deadline. The workers on the offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike after rejecting a proposed wage and pension deal. The employees joining the action work on exploration and production drilling rigs owned by Saipem, Transocean , Songa Offshore, Odfjell Drilling, Archer and COSL, among others. New Devils Womens Jersey
Niti Aayog working on proposal to replace LPG subsidy with cooking subsidy
Government think tank Niti Aayog is working on a proposal to replace LPG subsidy with cooking subsidy in order to extend the benefits to people using piped natural gas and biofuels for cooking purposes, a top official said today. Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said subsidy should be applicable for all fuels that are used for cooking. At present, the government extends subsidy to users of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). “Niti Aayog is working on a proposal to replace LPG subsidy with cooking subsidy. LPG is a specific product, a subsidy should be for larger set of all products/ fuels which are used for cooking. “(For) all fuels which are used for cooking, subsidy should be applicable. Because if there are some cities where PNG (Piped Natural Gas) is used, then it is only logical that the subsidy be extended to them also,” Kumar told PTI in an interview. Kumar’s comments also come against the backdrop of apprehensions in certain quarters that subsidy only for LPG users is inhibiting the adoption of clean and cheap fuels such as biofuels in rural areas and PNG in urban areas. The changes pertaining to cooking subsidy are likely to be incorporated in the draft National Energy Policy 2030. The draft was made public last year. After inter-ministerial consultations, the policy would be taken up by the Cabinet. All LPG consumers have to buy fuel at market price. However, the government subsidises 12 cylinders of 14.2 kilogram each per household in a year by directly transferring the subsidy amount to the users’ bank accounts. Replying to queries about rising trade tensions, Kumar said the whole economy has got used to open economy framework and that the trade war, which was started by the US, would add to the turbulence. “We are watching the situation very carefully but to say that we are worried at this time, I think will not be correct. “We are not worried simply because there is enough space for our exports to be increases. Because trade war is not directed against India not so far,” Kumar said. However, the Niti Aayog Vice Chairman that if the trade war between the US and China leads to greater turbulence, then India should be prepared for that. There is looming threat of intensified trade war with the US imposing tariffs on products from various countries, including China, Russia and India. Some of the nations have responded back by slapping tariffs on American products. Noting that India’s macro conditions are very good very strong, Kumar said, “I think, despite some sluggishness in private investments, we will surely grow at 7-7.5 per cent this fiscal year”. He said oil prices have risen but now are stable and are not rising anymore. “… when you look at six months future, prices have slightly declined, not rising that’s a big comfort,” he added. “I think the worst is over. Also inflation, we have seen that core inflation is higher than headline inflation. Fuel and food are not contributing to inflation, so this will also tend to weaken as supplies improve,” he said. Kumar, who himself is a noted economist, admitted that a little cause of worry was that out merchandise trade exports were not rising and that invisible trade exports have not performed well. “So, I think it is on external account that we need to do much better and there we will have a focused approach,” he said. Latavius Murray Womens Jersey
Reliance vs PSUs: Battle for ATF pipelines in Mumbai hots up
he battle over lucrative pipelines supplying jet fuel to Mumbai airport is hotting up with a powerful formation of Reliance Industries and private airlines Jet Airways and Emirates trying to break the stranglehold of PSU oil firms BPCL and HPCL. BPCL and HPCL built and operate two separate pipelines from their Mahul refineries in Mumbai to supply jet fuel (ATF) to airlines at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Santacruz in the city. Reliance, which produces a fourth of India’s aviation turbine fuel (ATF), wants access to these pipelines to be able to get a pie of Rs 10,000 crore fuel trade that happens at one of Asia’s busiest airports. While Reliance and airlines feel competition among fuel suppliers would bring down costs, HPCL and BPCL said the pipelines are their “captive” infrastructure to take products out of the refineries and giving third party access to them would hurt their operations and profits. Sector regulator the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on May 4 supported the Reliance idea and sought industry comments on declaring pipelines as a common carrier and giving third parties access. If implemented, it would also an airline to import fuel and use the infrastructure at the refineries situated on the coast to transport it to the airport. A company like Reliance can ship the fuel from its refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat to Mumbai and use pipelines to take it into the airport. In its comments, Reliance said the present ATF demand at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is 1.4 million tonnes per annum and it is “absolutely essential” that access to the BPCL and HPCL ATF pipelines is available to other jet fuel marketing oil companies to service this demand. “Non-availability of access to the pipeline would deny to the ultimate consumers the benefit of competition,” it wrote to PNGRB last month. Stating that at least two-thirds of the capacity in the twin pipeline is spare, it said alternative of laying the third pipeline will create environment and safety hazard besides resulting in infructuous investments. Bringing ATF by road tankers is also not an option as 400 road tankers would be required to ply on the already clogged Mumbai roads, it said. Reliance wanted PNGRB to declare the twin pipelines as a common carrier and give access to other entities on a non-discriminatory basis. Also, it wanted “hook-up” facility within BPCL and HPCL refinery complexes to be able to feed ATF into the pipelines. Supporting the idea, the UAE-based Emirates in its comments said making the pipelines common carrier would give airlines “more options to select ATF suppliers”. Also, entry of more ATF suppliers will bring “true competition among fuel suppliers at Mumbai airport” which will be beneficial to the Indian aviation sector and airline passengers. “It would also encourage airlines to uplift more fuel volumes in Mumbai,” it said. Echoing the view, Jet Airways said the move would give it “more options to select ATF suppliers of its choice, based on competitive pricing.” “With the declaration of the pipelines as an open access, airlines will be able to import their ATF to meet their requirement and utilise the pipeline infrastructure to transport the ATF to the airport with ease and at lower cost,” it said. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) also said the move would ensure cheaper ATF is available to the benefit of passengers and result in optimal utilisation of existing pipeline infrastructure. BPCL and HPCL, on the other hand, said PNGRB did not follow the rules in giving an opportunity to the “owners” of the pipeline to give their views before floating the consultation paper. ATF pipeline is outside the scope and purview of PNGRB Act and the regulator does not have the jurisdiction to declare them as a common carrier, they argued. Also, a captive or a dedicated pipeline of a company is outside the scope and ambit of a common carrier and beyond the jurisdiction of the PNGRB, they said. PNGRB hasn’t yet given a final view on the issue. Chris Herndon Authentic Jersey
Natural gas, ATF in GST this week?
The all-powerful GST Council may this week consider bringing jet fuel (ATF) and natural gas under GST ambit but tax slab is acting as a deterrent, people familiar with the matter said. When Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced on July 1 last year, five commodities – crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) – were kept out of its purview for the time being. While considerations of revenue loss to both Centre and states are holding back bringing all of them under GST net immediately, natural gas and ATF are considered fit case to begin the process, they said. The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister and comprising representatives of all states and Union Territories, is slated to meet on July 21 and a proposal to bring natural gas and ATF under the new indirect tax regime may come up for discussion, they said. However, fitting the two products in the 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent GST tax slabs is proving to be difficult. The Centre currently charges 14 percent excise duty on ATF. On top of this, states charge up to 30 percent sales tax or VAT – Odisha and Chhattisgarh have 5 percent VAT while Tamil Nadu taxes ATF at 29 percent, Maharashtra and Delhi at 25 percent and Karnataka at 28 percent. While GST as a principle has been levied by totaling the Central and state levies to keep the tax incidence neutral, in case of ATF the tax incidence would come to 39-44 percent in states having the biggest airports. Sources said this essentially means that if ATF is taxed at a maximum of 28 percent, there would be a huge revenue loss. A way out could be allowing states to levy some VAT on top of the peak rate. But Centre and states have to agree to this, they said adding 28 percent GST would mean an increase in price of the fuel in states with lesser VAT. Combined levy of 39 percent at Delhi, which hosts the country’s busiest airport, compares with just 7 percent VAT in Singapore. In the case of natural gas, the situation may lead to an increase in prices at the consumer level. The Central government does not charge any excise duty on natural gas sold to industries but charges 14 percent excise duty on CNG. States on the other hand levy up to 20 percent VAT – Delhi has nil VAT while Gujarat levies 12.8 percent VAT, Bihar 20 percent, Karnataka 14.5 percent and Maharashtra 13.5 percent. Sources said if 12 percent GST is levied on natural gas then it would lead to revenue loss to states but at 18 percent it would lead to a rise in the cost of production of power and fertilizer. For CNG, the fitment would be an issue, they said. David West Womens Jersey
10 new biogas plants to put Delhi’s waste to good use, cut landfill fires
Under an ambitious project to manage the biodegradable waste, 10 bio-methanation plants will be set up across the city to generate biogas that will generate electricity and enriched organic manure from waste. “These plants will help reduce the frequent fires at the landfill sites as organic waste such as dungs from dairies, horticulture waste, and fruit and vegetable waste from bigger markets are the biggest contributors in methane generation at landfill sites,” a senior north corporation official said. South corporation has been made the nodal agency for the project. “The biogas generated will be used to generate electricity that will be linked to the grid,” said an official privy to the review meetings. North corporation will set up four such plants of 5 TPD (tonnes per day) capacity each. Similarly, a south corporation will also set up 4 plants and east Delhi will get two. The overall project for waste management under the corporations has been sanctioned by the ministry of housing and urban affairs and is being carried out under urban development fund. Each plant is expected to cost around 3 to 5 crore. “Overall, Rs 300 crore has been sanctioned for the project, and each civic body will get Rs 100 crore. The urban development ministry will bear 80% of the cost and the rest will be raised by the corporations. For a north corporation, even 20% of the cost has been exempted,” an official said. Corporations will now have to focus on making the residents segregate their waste into the dry and wet category. Swati Sambyal, an expert on waste management at Centre for Science and Environment, said that while the composting infrastructure requires more space, biomethanation plants are much more compact and could be a solution for waste management in the capital. “This is a better solution than waste-to-energy plants. A necessary condition to run the plants would be community-based segregation of waste at the source. The civic bodies should focus on segregation and behavior change while setting up infrastructure at this scale,” she said. Around 60% of the waste generated in Delhi falls under the category of wet waste but despite laws making it mandatory, only minimal segregation at the household level is taking place. The cities that are leading in waste management have devised strategies like compositing. Kerala’s Alappuzha has focused on biogas model and thousands of homes have constructed biogas plants in their homes, and use it for part of their cooking. Alappuzha now has no landfills — the dump yard for waste is no longer used, and the municipality is now planning to build a sports stadium there. Eric Fisher Jersey
GAIL (India) update on Varanasi City Gas Distribution network
Two CNG stations commence commercial operations GAIL (India) announced that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 July 2018 dedicated to the Nation the Varanasi City Gas Distribution (CGD) network which will supply environment friendly natural gas to households, transport sector and industries in the city through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’. The Varanasi CGD network, which is being implemented by GAIL (India) at a cost of Rs 755 crores, will cover 1,535 sq. km. and cater to a population of 36.76 lakhs. Two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations have started commercial operations while another 18 will be set up in the coming years. Overall, 20,000 vehicles are expected to use CNG in the city. Besides, Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connection work for 8,000 houses has been completed which are expected to be connected by March 2019. About 1 lakh households are likely to be covered in the project. Steel pipeline has already been laid for 28 km and medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipe laying for 102 km completed. About 800 km of steel and MDPE pipelines will be laid in the city as part of the project. The CGD network will also cover four industrial areas and can cater to 150 industries and 500 commercial enterprises. It is expected to give direct employment to 1,000 people and indirect employment to many more. Lonnie Chisenhall Womens Jersey
Search takes off at ONGC’s offshore asset
Natural gas exploration at the S1-Vasishta offshore project site of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) Eastern Offshore Asset (EOA) at Odalarevu near Amalapuram has begun as a low-key affair. Full-fledged exploration will be taken up once the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) lays pipeline from the project site to its grid located at Bodasakurru village. The 13.6-km-long pipeline project is scheduled to be completed by month-end. The estimated reserves of natural gas at S1-Vasistha are 15.95 billion cubic metres and the site is part of the investment to the tune of ?40,000 crore put in by ONGC here to explore natural gas of 21.95 Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres per Day and oil of 75,000 barrels per day (BPD). “The firms that come forward to lay the pipeline from the project site could procure the natural gas directly from the ONGC,” says Arvind J. Morbale, the newly joined Executive Director and Asset Manager of the ONGC’s EOA. S1-Vasistha has the capacity of exploring natural gas to the tune of six million cubic metres per day and the realisation of the project is expected to give a boost to the industrial units in the region. “With the completion of S1-Vasishta, we have shifted our focus tothe second offshore project 98/2. The idea is to commence natural gas exploration by the end of next year and oil exploration from March 2021,” says Mr. Morbale. Jaromir Jagr Authentic Jersey
Indian Oil Adani Gas Private Limited ropes in Kudumbashree
To expedite city gas project, Indian Oil Adani Gas Private Ltd (IOAGPL) has roped in the services of Kudumbashree, which will carry out the survey as well as registration prior to implementation of city gas project in all the local bodies in Ernakulam district. They will also conduct the meeting of piped natural gas (PNG) connections in Kalamassery municipality, where the city gas project has already started. According to the IOAGPL authorities, they have started registration for giving PNG connections in Kochi corporation and Aluva, Kalamassery, Thrikkakara, Tripunithura, Eloor and Maradu municipalities. “It was on Friday that we started registration works in Kochi corporation and Tripunithura municipality. In other local bodies, we started the work much earlier,” an official with IOAGPL said. “We have started plumbing works in the houses, which have already registered,” the official said. “Kudumbashree workers would visit each household and conduct a survey on which fuel the family use. They would also help the family to register for PNG connections,” he said. The IOAGPL has availed the services of a private firm for introducing different kinds of campaigns for creating awareness among the public on the advantages of PNG. “The private firm will soon design varied modes of campaigns to attract the consumers. The campaign would focus on safety and convenience of using PNG over other types of fuel. When we started giving connections, the major concern the residents raised in many areas was safety. PNG is the safest fuel,” a source said. Laying of pipes as part of the distribution networks to many areas have not been started so far. “We would start laying the pipeline after the monsoon weakens. We have already got road cutting sanctions in eight wards each in Kalamassery and Thrikkakara municipalities,” an official said. Though IOAGPL rolled out four compressed natural gas (CNG) outlets in Kochi, the quantity of the fuel dispensed from these outlets are much below the expectations of the company. “Only a few vehicles, mostly autorickshaws run on CNG in Kochi. We would increase the number of CNG outlets to 10 by the end of the year. But, the number of CNG vehicles in the city is a matter of concern. Some of the vehicle owners state difficulties in getting specifications of CNG recorded in the certificate of registration (RC) book as the reason for hesitating to opt for CNG vehicles. We expect that the government would soon step in and find a solution to the problem,” the official said. Victor Oladipo Authentic Jersey
Petrol And Diesel Prices Set To Break All-Time High Levels
Consumers may have to burn a larger hole in their pockets to keep their vehicles running as retail prices of petrol and diesel are set to hit all-time high levels all over again soon. Rising oil prices and the reluctance on the part of the government to cut taxes are two factors responsible for the certain spike in auto fuel prices. Retail price of petrol in Delhi is Rs 76.61 a litre now. Going by the price rise of up to 20 paisa per day over the last week, petrol would breach record high level of Rs 78.43, touched on May 29, in about 10 days. Diesel is within the sniffing distance of all-time high of Rs 69.31 a litre, again recorded on May 29. Diesel is retailing at Rs 68.61 a litre in Delhi. Uncertainty in global oil markets has increased post US sanctions on Iran and call for its strict compliance by president Donald Trump. The price of benchmark Brent crude was hovering over $75 a barrel, while the Indian basket was just a tad lower at $73 a barrel last month. “But prices are rising now with expectation that it could even breach $100 a barrel post-November 24 when energy sanctions on Iran kick in. This could take petrol and diesel prices to new highs with the auto fuel even breaching Rs 100 a litre mark,” said an oil sector analyst, who did not wish to be named as he was still completing his calculations. The government’s reluctance to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel has become a bigger worry for auto fuel consumers. This has made retail prices higher even with lower levels of crude oil prices. Petrol breached its previous all-time high level recorded on September 14, 2013 (when it stood at Rs 76.06 a litre in Delhi) in May this year when crude oil prices were around $80 a barrel. Interestingly, crude oil was at $109.47 a barrel level in September 2013. With crude reaching closer to $100 a barrel mark soon, retail price of petrol, which has already reached Rs 84.33 a litre in Mumbai, would easily cross Rs 100 a litre mark, making history. “This is insane as the government is letting consumers suffer even though it has pocketed higher revenue from the sector with the understanding that this will come to their rescue when oil prices rise. If this is not the right time for excise duty cut on petrol and diesel, then one fails to understand what would be one,” said a former oil secretary asking not to be named. The government’s fiscal concerns have prevented any duty cuts on petrol and diesel. With rising inflation and slowing factory output, revenue from the oil sector is key for the centre and states. This is also probably the reason why petroleum products have yet not been included in GST. Prices of petrol and diesel rose to all-time high levels in the last week of May this year after oil companies resumed daily price hikes of the two products post Karnataka assembly elections. During elections, oil marketing companies kept petrol and diesel prices untouched for a record 19 days. The daily increase in petrol and diesel prices again is higher now as OMCs are regularly holding the price line for few days under government instructions to prevent a public backlash. Even though crude oil prices are rising again, they are still well off the highs of September 2013, when retail prices were at all-time highs. At that time, the price of the Indian basket of crude oil had shot up to $110 per barrel, almost 44 per cent more than what it is today. “The need of the hour is to immediately cut excise duty on petrol and diesel not by mere Rs 2 per litre as was done on October 3, but to provide full relief to consumers by effecting a Rs 4 per litre cut in duties. This would rob the government of over Rs 50,000 crore in revenue but would save the country from higher inflation and demand squeeze,” said another oil sector expert who wished not to be named. As per government estimates, India’s import bill could rise by up to $50 billion, impacting the current account deficit severely, if the present surge in oil is maintained. This would take oil import bill to about $140 billion in FY19, up from $88 billion in FY18. The expectation for continuation of higher oil price this year has gained ground due a series of global developments, including continuing production cut by Opec and Russia, and forthcoming public offer proposed by world’s largest oil producer Saudi Aramco. The BJP-led NDA government has increased basic excise duty on petrol and diesel nine times ever since it came to power (between November 2014 and January 2016) that more than doubled government’s excise mop-up to Rs 2,42,000 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 99,000 crore in 2014-15. In all, duty on petrol was hiked by Rs 11.77 per litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre. It has been reduced only once — in October, 2017 — by Rs 2 a litre. In February, the government reduced basic and additional excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 per litre but re-imposed a new road cess of Rs 8 per litre, negating any advantage. Giannis Antetokounmpo Jersey