IGL gets city gas licence for Meerut, Muzaffarnagar
Indraprastha Gas Ltd today said it has bagged a licence to retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas for cooking to households in Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of Uttar Pradesh. IGL already retails CNG and piped natural gas (PNG) in the national capital region that includes Delhi and adjoining cities of Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida. It also has city gas distribution (CGD) licences for Rewari and Karnal in Haryana. “IGL has received a letter of intent dated August 4, 2018, from Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for grant of authorization to the company for development of CGD network in the Geographical Area of Meerut (except areas already authorided), Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts,” the company said in a regulatory filing. It also enclosed a copy of the authorisation letter. PNGRB in the letter asked IGL to submit a performance bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore within 30 days of issue of the authorisation. Javorius Allen Womens Jersey
Oil gains after monthly Saudi output shows surprise drop
Oil rose on Monday after Saudi crude production registered an unexpected decline in July and US drilling appeared to slow, although the price is still almost 10 per cent below its 2018 high of more than $80 a barrel. Markets also anticipated an announcement from Washington later on Monday on renewed US sanctions against major oil exporter Iran. So-called “snapback” sanctions are due to be reinstated at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, according to a US Treasury official. Saudi Arabia pumped around 10.29 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in July, two Opecsources said on Friday, down about 200,000 bpd from a month earlier. That drop came despite a pledge by the Saudis and top producer Russia in June to raise output from July, with Saudi Arabia pledging a “measurable” supply boost. Brent crude oil futures were up 31 cents on the day at $73.52 a barrel by 0903 GMT, while US futures rose 35 cents to $68.84 barrel. “Saudi Arabia knows that the US really does want to see maximum impact from sanctions towards Iran, which means that they want to prepare all buyers of Iranian crude to say ‘there is plenty of oil in the market and don’t be afraid to pull back on Iran (purchases),” said Bjarne Schieldrop, head of commodities strategy at SEB. This is not about bombarding the market with oil and pushing the price into the $50’s, it is about preparing the market and easing the transition, he said. “There is no wish from Saudi Arabia to push prices down to $50.” Most Iranian crude exports go to China and India, but roughly 20 per cent go to Europe, where refiners have already cut their purchases. Saudi Arabia last week cut its official selling prices for Asian customers to a four-month low. US investment bank Jefferies said in a note that “the Saudi and Russian production surges appear to be more limited” than initially expected, adding that bullish market sentiment was also fuelled by the imminent reinstatement of US sanctions against Iran. Still, with Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia now all producing 10 million to 11 million bpd of crude, just three countries now meet around a third of global oil demand. Meanwhile, US energy companies last week cut oil rigs for a second time in the past three weeks as the rate of growth has slowed over the past couple of months. Drillers cut two oil rigs in the week to Aug. 3, bringing the total count down to 859, Baker Hughes energy services firm said on Friday. Nick Foles Womens Jersey
High operating profit to help ONGC cut borrowings, says Moody’s
Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s (ONGC) highest ever pre-tax quarterly profit (EBITDA) provides cash flow to the state-owned firm to reduce borrowings, Moody’s Investors Service said today. For the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, ONGC reported 47.2 per cent increase in EBITDA or operating profit to Rs 14,240 crore. “The increase in EBITDA was largely driven by higher crude oil prices, as well as the depreciation of the Indian rupee,” Moody’s said. In a report, the global rating firm said the government has decided against asking ONGC to share in the cost of any fuel subsidies. “If it had done so, such a request could have partly negated the impact of the increase in oil prices.” The government’s decision, it said, is credit positive because it provides ONGC with cash flow to reduce its borrowings. ONGC increased its borrowings by about Rs 25,000 crore in January 2018, when it acquired a 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd for Rs 36,915 crore. “If oil prices stay above $70 per barrel for the remainder of the year and the government refrains from asking ONGC to share the costs of any fuel subsidies, we expect ONGC to generate a consolidated free cash flow of more than Rs 20,000 crore after likely capital spending of Rs 30,000 crore and dividend payments of Rs 9,500 crore. The company could reduce part of its acquisition debt by using this free cash flow,” it said. The high levels of free cash flow will improve ONGC’s financial flexibility, especially at a time when the company is unlikely to reduce its borrowings by selling its 13.77 per cent stake in Indian Oil Corp (IOC), given that the share prices of IOC have fallen by about 25 per cent since September 1, 2017. ONGC’s 13.77 per cent stake in IOCL is currently valued at Rs 22,500 crore. Moody’s said the government could, however, ask ONGC to share fuel subsidies in the next few quarters or alternatively, look for higher dividends. “Any such move by the government would constrain ONGC’s free cash flow and debt reduction, which will be credit negative,” it said. The rating agency in its base case assumed an average oil price for the remainder of the year of between $45 and $65 per barrel and expects ONGC to maintain retained cash flow/net debt above 30 per cent. Debt reduction from free cash flow generation because of high oil prices and the absence of subsidy sharing will provide the company with a buffer to absorb declines in oil prices, it said. While ONGC has only reported standalone financial results, its consolidated EBITDA – which includes the results of ONGC Videsh Ltd, ONGC’s international exploration and production business – will also benefit from the increase in oil prices. However, the refining businesses of the company (HPCL and Mangalore Refining and Petrochemical Ltd) will likely report weaker earnings for Q1 2019 versus Q4 2018 because regional refining margins were lower by about $1 per barrel, Moody’s added. Fred Warner Jersey
ONGC asks HPCL to rectify promoter classification
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has asked refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to rectify its stock exchange filings to reflect the true promoter after government exit, people with direct knowledge of the development said. ONGC had in January this year bought the government’s entire 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore. Post that, HPCL is now a subsidiary of ONGC. However, HPCL’s filing to the stock exchange, the latest being on July 12, still lists ‘President of India’ as the promoter even with ‘zero’ per cent shareholding. ONGC, on the other hand, is listed under ‘Public Shareholder’. Sources said ONGC has written to HPCL management asking it to take steps to rectify the filings to reflect the true promoter of the company. Since ONGC takeover in January, HPCL has made two stock exchange filings about the shareholding pattern of the company – the first on April 20 and then on July 12. In both, ONGC is shown as the public shareholder and President of India listed as the promoter. Sources said ONGC feels that HPCL management is bound to take corrective action to reflect the true picture. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s rules, the entity that owns the controlling stake should be listed as promoter even if they were not the original promoters of the company. When Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) had bought government’s stake in fuel retailer IBP Co Ltd, it was listed as the latter’s promoter in every instance after the deal. The same was the case when IOC acquired a majority stake in Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL). While HPCL officials refused to comment on the issue, sources said the issue at hand may be owing to the desire of HPCL management not to be seen as part of ONGC group. HPCL Chairman and Managing Director M K Surana has retained the title despite corporate governance structure require a group having just one chairman and subsidiaries being run by managing directors and CEOs. ONGC’s overseas subsidiary, ONGC Videsh Ltd is headed by a Managing Director and CEO. Also its refinery subsidiary, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), which is listed on BSE, too is led by a Managing Director and CEO. ONGC Chairman is the head of boards of both the companies. Since acquiring a majority stake in HPCL, ONGC has only been able to appoint one director to that firm’s board. ONGC has appointed its Director (Finance) Subhash Kumar to HPCL board. He has replaced Sushma Taishete Rath, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Prior to this, HPCL had two government nominee directors – Rath and Sandeep Poundrik, Joint Secretary (Refineries) of the oil ministry. After the appointment of Kumar, there remains only one government nominee director on HPCL. Carter Rowney Womens Jersey
ANALYSIS: Friendship no more – how Russian gas is a problem for Germany
For decades, the Friendship pipeline has delivered oil from Russia to Europe, heating German homes even in the darkest days of the Cold War. But a new pipeline that will carry gas direct from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany is doing rather less for friendship, driving a wedge between Germany and its allies and giving Chancellor Angela Merkel a headache. For US President Donald Trump, Nord Stream 2 is a “horrific” pipeline that will increase Germany’s dependence on Russian energy. Ukraine, fighting Russian-backed separatists, fears the new pipeline will allow Moscow to cut it out of the lucrative and strategically crucial gas transit business. It comes at an awkward time for Merkel. With the fraying of the transatlantic alliance and an assertive Russia and China, she has acknowledged that Germany must take more of a political leadership role in Europe. “The global order is under pressure,” Merkel said last month. “That’s a challenge for us … Germany’s responsibility is growing; Germany has more work to do.” In April she accepted for the first time that there were “political considerations” to Nord Stream 2, a project she had until then described as a commercial venture. Most European countries want Germany to do more to project European influence and protect eastern neighbours that are nervous of Russian encroachment. But letting Russia sell gas to Germany while avoiding Ukraine does the opposite, depriving Kiev of transit revenues and making it, Poland and the Baltic states more vulnerable to cuts in gas supplies. “The price would be an even greater loss of trust from the Baltics, Poland and Ukraine,” said Roderich Kiesewetter, a Merkel ally on the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. “We Germans always say that holding the West together is our ‘centre of gravity’, but the Russian approach has succeeded in dragging Germany, at least in terms of energy policy, out of this western solidarity.” Many analysts say the business case for Nord Stream 2 is thin. Another pipeline already links Russia and Germany under the Baltic. Nord Stream 2 will double capacity but future demand is uncertain. On the flip side, German industry likes anything that will provide energy more cheaply. Merkel’s Social Democrat coalition partners, the leading voices in Germany calling for a conciliatory approach towards Russia, are also in favour. The issue has divided Berlin’s political class. The parties agreed in their coalition talks earlier this year to make a commitment to the pipeline, but did not put it in writing. According to Margarita Assenova, an analyst at the Centre for European Policy Analysis who is critical of Nord Stream 2, Russia can double gas exports to Europe via existing Ukrainian pipelines without building the new conduit. But despite opposition from European partners, from Washington and from within Merkel’s party, Nord Stream 2 continues. Germany’s diplomatic ambitions are being thwarted by the project’s brutal business logic. OSTPOLITIK On the other hand, it has the strong backing of Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant which owns Nord Stream 2 AG, the project company. Its boss Matthias Warnig, once an East German spy tasked with reporting on West German business, is seen as one of Berlin’s most formidable lobbyists. The pipeline is one of a network of Kremlin-sponsored projects seemingly designed to circumvent Ukraine, the largest and most troublesome of the countries once ruled from Moscow. They include Turk Stream, which crosses the Black Sea to bypass Ukraine to the south. Lawmakers say Warnig has responded to their sceptical queries about the project by promising to take their concerns direct to Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding to the sense that the pipeline serves the Kremlin’s strategic interests. But, for Gazprom, it makes sense: transit across a country with which Russia is in an undeclared war is risky and increasingly unreliable as Ukraine’s Soviet-era pipelines grow older. Germany and the European Union are attempting to broker an agreement between Moscow and Kiev to keep the gas flowing across Ukraine when the current transit contract ends in 2019. Critics say this means European consumers will pay a subsidy to help keep Ukraine afloat. In the SPD, sympathy for Nord Stream 2 runs deep. Gerhard Schroeder, the party’s last chancellor, was appointed to senior positions at Russian energy companies after leaving office and regards Putin as a close friend. For many of Schroeder’s generation, cooperation with Russia is in the tradition of the “Ostpolitik” of their hero, 1970s Chancellor Willy Brandt, who defied a sceptical Washington to reach out to the Soviet Bloc, now seen as a prelude towards ending the Cold War. But a younger generation in the party, often critical of Schroeder’s links to the Kremlin, is more cautious. Germany is bound to Russia by decades of cooperation on energy supply, but it has to offer something to its western allies too, officials say. That cooperation goes a long way: last week, Merkel hosted Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Berlin. He was accompanied by Russian general staff chief Valery Gerasimov, who has been banned from the EU since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Keeping lines open to the Kremlin is popular in Germany, where polls show people are better-disposed towards Russia than in almost any country. Increasingly, though, officials wonder if Germany is not paying too high a price in lost face. Patrick Onwuasor Authentic Jersey
Kerala: Soon, northern districts to get city gas projects
Petroleum and natural gas regulatory board (PNGRB) awarded the city gas projects in Kasaragod, Kannur and Mahe to IOC-Adani Gas Pvt Ltd (IOAGPL) on Friday. Also, PNGRB is expected to officially sanction projects in Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thrissur over the next couple of days. Sources with IOAGPL said that the firm has won tenders to implement city gas project in Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thrissur too. “It will take a month to complete procedures and award the projects to us. Once agreement is signed, we will get nine months to start work,” sources said, adding that shops, industrial units, families in these areas can choose piped natural gas that is cheaper and cleaner fuel. PNGRB had invited tenders for the project in April. Till date, city gas project has started only in Ernakulam and the firm has only given around 1,000 connections. Officials with IOAGPL said that they will have to conduct surveys in the districts and union territory to quantify the required connections. State government had written to PNGRB to expedite the city gas project in northern districts. GAIL – main supplier of PNG – is expected to commission the 438km-long Kochi-Mangaluru gas pipeline by December 2018. If firms that have secured bids to implement city gas projects in each district start work immediately, it can be synchronized with GAIL’s pipeline work. This would make it convenient and cost-effective, said sources. Officials with GAIL said many factories in Thrissur and Palakkad that use furnace have evinced interest in PNG. The agency, which has secured the bid to implement the project, can distribute PNG to industries for a period of five years. After this period, industrial units can purchase PNG directly from GAIL and avoid these companies if they wish to do so. Meanwhile, GAIL is laying pipelines to northern districts from Kochi. Southern districts are yet to be connected to the gas supplier’s network. Mark Stone Womens Jersey
What should be India’s priority: Energy security or ‘America first’?
Although no final decision has been taken yet by New Delhi, speculation is rife that oil imports from Iran could slow down from August when some U.S. sanctions against Tehran take effect. However, for now, there is reason to cheer for those want to see India stand its ground and refuse to buckle under the U.S. pressure. According to reports, India’s monthly oil imports from Iran touched a record high in July, jumping by about 30 percent to 768,000 barrels per day (bpd). The shipments include tankers that were loaded in June and arrived in India in July, based on preliminary tanker arrival data. The volume of oil trade in July between New Delhi and Tehran marked a significant 85 percent jump from the same period last year when it was 415,000 bpd. Pertinently, Indian state refiners had reduced oil imports from Iran last year following a dispute over development rights of Farzad-B gas field, located in Persian Gulf. Since the beginning of this fiscal year in April, the oil purchase from Tehran has surged, primarily due to heavy discounts, free shipping and extended credit period for oil sales offered by Iran. According to reports, Iran has employed its own ships to transport oil to India as very few shipping lines had participated in recent tenders. Indian oil firm Hindustan Petroleum Corp Limited (HPCL) had to annul the purchase of an Iranian cargo a few weeks ago after it faced issues related to insurance cover. Other major Indian petroleum companies like Indian Oil Corporation (OIL) are expected to renew their insurance cover in next few months. But everything hinges on the final decision New Delhi takes. Importantly, India is now the top oil client for Iran after China, having shipped in 5.67 million tons or about 457,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil in the first three months of this fiscal year, India’s Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed Indian parliament last week. And according to the latest data, quoted by Reuters and other news agencies, in the first four months of this fiscal year, India’s oil imports from Iran had reached 677,500 bpd. However, it remains to be seen whether or not the oil keeps flowing after August. Some U.S. sanctions will take effect from August 6, while others, including those pertaining to oil and petroleum, will come into force from November 4. India has been under tremendous pressure from the U.S. to cut oil imports from Iran in the wake of sanctions against Iran. New Delhi, which shares deep historical ties with Iran, had initially said that it does not recognize unilateral sanctions imposed by Washington, and only recognizes UN sanctions. However, later reports emerged in local and international media that a message had been sent to state refiners to be prepared for cut in oil imports from November. In an attempt to allay fears and put speculation to rest, India’s Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a leading Indian daily last month that India sees U.S. sanctions on Iran as a “challenge” given its close ties with both the countries, and said New Delhi will take a “considered and considerate’ view based on ‘national interest’ on the issue of U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil. A high-level U.S. delegation visited New Delhi last month to hold talks with Indian officials over the matter. Iran’s deputy foreign minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi also visited New Delhi and held wide-ranging discussions with Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale. Meanwhile, an intense debate is underway in India’s media and intelligentsia circles over the issue of oil imports from Iran. Many experts and political stalwarts maintain that buying oil from Iran is in India’s national interest and succumbing to the U.S. pressure will send a wrong message to the world. India’s former vice president Hamid Ansari believes Iran is an important country for India, and not just as an oil supplier. “We have to keep in mind two things. We get a good amount of energy supply from Iran. But Iran is not only an energy supplier,” Ansari told reporters in New Delhi. “Iran is a big and important country for us. It is a country which is next to Pakistan and Afghanistan. So when we look at Iran we have to understand these things too.” Former Indian diplomat M K Bhadrakumar, writing in an Indian daily Deccan Herald, said India’s strategic autonomy and independent foreign policy demands that the approach to this Iran question should be based on national interests. “Nothing should be done to cause damage to the mutual trust and understanding in India’s relations with Iran. Equally, energy security – not ‘America First’ – should be our priority,” he wrote. Last week, Germany also urged India not to buckle under the U.S. pressure and continue buying oil from Iran. German minister of state for International Affairs Niels Annen, during his visit to New Delhi, described the pressure being put by Washington on its allies to stop buying oil from Iran as “irritating”. “It will be India’s sovereign decision. I am not a salesman for Iran but I have an impression that India is willing to continue buying oil from Iran and this will be a very important statement,” he said. Pertinently, Iran’s deputy envoy to New Delhi Massoud Rezvanian Rahaghi had last month warned that India stands to lose many privileges if it betrays Iran and imports oil from other countries. At a time when the oil imports from Iran are touching record high and Tehran is offering ‘privileges’ like discount, free shipping and insurance cover to Indian refiners, the decision between energy security and ‘America first’ should not be too difficult to make for New Delhi. Tom Waddle Authentic Jersey
Northeast to be connected with National Gas Grid: Oil India CMD
A top Oil India Limited (OIL) official on Saturday said Guwahati and other state capitals of northeastern states are likely to be connected to the National Gas Grid within next three years. The ambitious project of gas pipeline from Barauni to Assam and other northeastern states is likely to be completed within next three years’ time, OIL Chairman cum Managing Director Utpal Bora said at a press conference. Bora said while work for the gas pipeline from Barauni to Guwahati has already started, a joint venture has also been formed involving the OIL, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL for connecting all the capital of northeastern states through a gas pipeline from Guwahati. “While the gas pipeline from Barauni to Guwahati involved setting up of pipeline of 700 km at an estimated cost of Rs 45 billion, the North Eastern Gas Pipeline project would see setting up of 1,500 km of pipelines at an estimated cost of Rs 60 billion,” Bora said. He said connecting Guwahati with the National Gas Grid through the pipeline from Barauni and connecting the capitals of northeastern states with the gas pipeline are two major projects, which are expected to help the northeastern states in multiple ways. The Oil CMD further said households in Guwahati metro area (which involves Guwahati and some other neighbouring areas) are likely to be provided piped gas soon. “Recently there were bid for distribution of piped gas in Guwahati Metro areas and Silchar, Karimganj and Hailakandi areas. We have bid for the project and we are hopeful that we will be successful in our bid. If awarded to us, piped gas service can be started in Guwahati within next three years time,” he said, adding that along with piped gas distribution, the OIL also plans to set up some CNG stations in Guwahati which will help tackle the pollution in and around the city. Asked about the new discoveries of OIL, Bora said that the public sector undertaking has been awarded nine new blocks in India, which includes seven blocks in northeast and one each in Rajasthan and Krishna Godavari (KG) basin. He said that the Oil has recorded an impressive growth of 72.27 percent terms of production in the 2017-18 with a turnover of Rs 26.6793 billion compared to 2016-17 which was Rs 15.4868 billion. Dion Sims Authentic Jersey
LNG demand to stay strong despite 70 per cent price rise: Report
The steep 70 per cent spike in global liquefied natural gas(LNG) price is unlikely to curb domestic demand, but may crimp the margin of city gas distribution (CGD) companies to some extent as volume growth will support marketing margins, according to a report. Over the past five to six months, LNG prices in Asia have increased by over 70 per cent, driven by rising Chinese imports. The spurt was also due to plant shutdowns and healthy demand from Japan, Korea, India and Pakistan, Crisil said in a weekend note. “But with crude prices breaching USD 75 a barrel, traders see an opportunity to price LNG in lockstep with crude. Earlier, there wasn’t much correlation between crude and spot LNG prices,” the report said. It also noted that over the rest of this fiscal year, too, prices are expected to hold at USD 8-8.5/mmBtu for non- peak months and reach USD 10-10.5/mmBtu during the peak season even as supply is restored from plant turnarounds and incremental liquefaction capacity of 25 million tonne coming on stream. Last fiscal, after stabilising at USD 8-8.5/mmBtu during the lean months (between May-June and September- October), Asian spot LNG prices peaked at USD 10-10.50/mmBtu, said Crisil. “The Supreme Court banning polluting fuels like fuel oil and petcoke for industrial use in some northern states has been favourable for LNG demand. “The Gujarat High Court has also tightened norms on use of coal gassifiers by ceramic companies in Morbi and Wankaner. These moves resulted in a 20 per cent growth in imports in the first half of FY18,” it said. What enhances the attractiveness of LNG as an industrial fuel is its improved competitiveness compared with alternatives like fuel oil and LPG. The regulatory push to expand CGD networks is also stoking demand. Though in the past, higher prices dented LNG demand in the country, things are different now with consumption rising 6-7 per cent to 20 million tonne in FY18. At an average crude price of USD 75 a barrel, the landed cost of the fuel oil and LPG is expected to be USD 14.3/mmBtu and USD 19.2/mmBtu, respectively. In comparison, with LNG ruling at USD 9.5/mmBtu, industrial piped natural gas is expected to rule at USD 14.8/mmBtu, the report said. Crisil expects LNG demand in the medium term to be supported by development of gas infrastructure in eastern region which is largely untapped. Government focus on increasing the share of gas in the overall energy mix and the development of LNG terminals and pipelines, bode well for demand over the medium to long-term, it added. “But this will have a bearing on the margins of CGD companies,” warns the report, as “higher LNG prices, coupled with upward revision in domestic gas prices, are expected to impact the operating margins.” “Their cost is expected to increase 25-30 per cent this fiscal, impacting their operating margins by 400 bps. But absolute marketing margins are expected to be supported on healthy volume growth,” it said. It can be noted that despite the price spiral, the recently concluded CGD auctions have seen good demand from domestic companies, wherein the Adani group has emerged the biggest winner bagging 11 city licences, followed by Bharat Gas Resources, a unit of Bharat Petroleum, winning licences for six cities; IOC four and Gail Gas three cities. Montae Nicholson Womens Jersey
IOC to invest Rs 1.75 lakh crore for expansion: Chairman Sanjiv Singh
Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest oil firm, plans to invest Rs 1.75 lakh crore to nearly double refinery capacity, boost petrochemical production, expand gas business and lay new pipelines to become a vertically integrated company, its Chairman Sanjiv Singh said. It plans to raise capacity to turn crude oil into fuels like petrol and diesel to 150 million tonnes per annum by 2030 from the current 80.7 million tonnes. The company currently owns and operates 11 out of the 23 oil refineries in the country. “As the leading refiner in the country and a dominant player across a diverse portfolio of offerings in energy, IOC is focussing on all emerging opportunities for organic and inorganic growth through vertical integration and strategic diversification, besides pursuing value-creating research areas,” Singh said in the company’s latest annual report. As part of this, projects costing Rs 32,000 crore are in various stages of execution and plans are underway for implementing more projects costing about Rs 1.43 lakh crore, he said. Singh said plans to nearly double refining capacity by 2030 include “greenfield refineries of subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL) and the proposed Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), apart from numerous brownfield expansions.” RRPCL is building the world’s largest integrated greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex with a capacity of 60 million tonnes per annum. The project is being executed in partnership with state-owned BPCL and HPCL along with Saudi Aramco and ADNOC of UAE. “Several pipeline projects with a combined capital expenditure of over Rs 20,000 crore are under implementation. Upon completion, IOC’s pipeline network would expand to about 20,000 km in length,” he said, adding a 69-km pipeline is also being laid to transport petroleum products to Nepal. Currently, its investment cycle includes Rs 16,628 crore in upgrading refineries to produce Euro-VI emission norm compliant petrol and diesel by 2020 as against Euro-IV fuel being produced now. Besides, the company is investing Rs 15,600 crore in expansion of petrochemical projects and another Rs 74,600 crore in raising the capacity of its existing refineries. Another Rs 36,500 crore worth of projects are in pipeline but have not been approved by the company board as yet. These include expansion of its newest refinery at Paradip in Odisha to 18 million tonnes from current 15 million tonnes as also the expansion of Bongaigaon unit. Expansions are planned at the firm’s Panipat refinery in Haryana, Koyali refinery in Gujarat, Barauni refinery in Bihar and Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh. IOC is also looking at adding 9 million tonnes capacity to its subsidiary CPCL. On diversification, Singh said IOC has decided to infuse equity in Paradip Plastic Park Ltd, a joint venture with Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha to promote downstream plastics-based units near Paradip Refinery. The company has plans for setting up a Textiles Park in Odisha based on the feedstocks available from Paradip refinery. “Looking at the future, the company is strongly focussed on offering a bouquet of eco-friendly energy options other than liquid fuels to its customers. These would include natural gas, LNG, CNG, PNG, autogas, biogas, hydrogen and electricity,” he said. Singh said IOC’s 5 million tonnes a year LNG import terminal at Kamarajar Port in Ennore in Tamil Nadu would be commissioned by the end of the current year. Also, IOC is booking capacities in other LNG terminals, both on the east and west coasts of India. “IOC is developing three natural gas pipelines — Mallavaram-Bhopal-Bhilwara-Vijaipur, Mehsana-Bhatinda & Bhatinda-Jammu,” he said, adding it is also partnering in the development of a 1,500-km natural gas pipeline grid to connect Guwahati to other major cities of all north-eastern states. He said IOC retails CNG to vehicles and piped cooking gas to households in nine cities and is “aggressively taking part in the various bidding rounds for gas.” Robert Quinn Jersey