PetroChina plans full operations at LNG terminals this winter
China’s largest oil and gas group PetroChina plans to operate its three receiving terminals at full rates and boost purchases from the spot market to meet a demand spike in winter, according to a report on an official government website on Thursday * For the first eight months of 2018, PetroChina’s gas imports via central Asian pipeline, with supplies primarily sourced from Turkmenistan, reached 33.9 billion cubic metres (bcm), equivalent to 66 per cent of the annual plan, according to the report on www.sasac.gov.c http://www.sasac.gov.cn * Pipeline gas imports from Myanmar amounted to 3 bcm, or 59 per cent of the annual plan for the January to August period * Its Jiangsu terminal aims to supply 3.3 bcm gas via pipeline and Tangshan terminal 4.1 bcm during the winter period between November and March, said the report, without giving details on its third terminal in Dalian * The state energy giant has also stepped up winter drilling at domestic fields such as Tarim, Changqing and Sichuan. Its largest gas field will pump at a record 38 bcm for this year * PetroChina makes up 70 per cent of the country’s total output
ONGC Videsh sells December Russian Sokol crude at lower premium after exports rise
India’s ONGC Videsh (OVL) has sold a cargo of Russian Sokol crude for December loading at a lower premium than its previous deal after supplies of the oil rose, three trade sources said on Thursday * The oil producer sold the cargo for loading on Dec. 6 to 12 at a premium of about $5.40 a barrel to Dubai quotes to Shell, they said * ONGC last sold a cargo loading on Nov. 29 to Dec. 5 at a premium of $5.85 a barrel * Sokol crude exports are expected to rise by 200,000 tonnes per month to 1.3 million tonnes per month from October, according to loading schedules
Govt will not ask OMCs to further subsidise petrol, diesel prices: Official
Allaying concerns about the return of fuel subsidy regime, a top Finance Ministry official on Thursday said the government asking oil PSUs to subsidise petrol and diesel prices by Re 1 per litre was a “one-time thing” and it does not intend to ask them to do it again. While oil marketing companies (OMCs) will continue to enjoy marketing freedom, upstream oil producers like ONGC would not be asked to share fuel subsidy burden, he added. Just last week, the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre and asked state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) to subsidise the two fuels by another Re 1 a litre. But most of the Rs 2.50 per litre reduction in rates effected from October 5 has been lost in increases in selling prices on subsequent days, giving rise to the suspicion that the government may again ask OMCs to subsidise fuel. “The Re 1 absorption by OMCs in their pricing was a one-time thing,” the official said. The government, he said, has no intention of asking them to do that again. Following the comments, shares of OMCs surged by as much as 19 per cent intra-day, defying the broader market trends. Shares of HPCL surged 19 per cent to hit a high of Rs 215.40, BPCL jumped 7 per cent to Rs 284.80 and IOC gained nearly 8 per cent to Rs 134 in intra-day trade. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 759.74 points to close at 34,001. The cut in excise duty and OMCs absorbing some prices had led to a drop in the price of petrol from a record high of Rs 84 per litre to Rs 81.50 in Delhi and that of diesel from an all-time high of Rs 75.45 to Rs 72.95 a litre on October 5. But rate hikes on subsequent days have pushed prices up. Petrol has risen by 86 paise per litre since then and diesel by Rs 1.67, negating the entire excise duty reduction in less than a week. Petrol price in Delhi Thursday stood at Rs 82.36 per cent while diesel was priced at Rs 74.62. The official said the government is also not looking at bringing back the subsidy sharing mechanism where upstream firms like ONGC subsidised cooking fuels LPG and kerosene by giving discounts on crude oil they sold to refiners. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) shares surged to Rs 159.60 during intra-day trade on the BSE before ending at Rs 152.90, up 2.86 per cent. Oil producers ONGC and Oil India Ltd had till June 2015 made good as much as 40 per cent of the under-recoveries or subsidy arising out of selling fuel at below market price. It was speculated that the same subsidy sharing in some form may be brought back. According to Moody’s Investors Service, share prices of state-owned oil companies have declined around 20 per cent on average since the government on October 4 announced a reduction in the country’s fuel prices. The aggregate market capitalisation of the six largest listed government owned/linked oil companies had fallen by Rs 1.2 lakh crore since then, it said. “The share price decline is credit negative for the oil companies because of the high level of cross-shareholdings in one another. The market values of their respective investments have declined, reducing their financial flexibility,” it said in a report Thursday. Shares of HPCL closed up 14.70 per cent at Rs 207.15. BPCL was up 5.11 per cent at Rs 278.65 and IOC ended 5.39 per cent higher at Rs 131 on the BSE.
IOC to invest Rs 5,463 crore in city gas network in 7 districts
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Thursday said it will invest Rs 5,463 crore in setting up city gas distribution network for retailing CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in seven districts. IOC had, in the recently concluded 9th bid round for city gas licences, won permits for seven cities on its own and another nine in a joint venture with Adani Gas. The company, in a regulatory filing, said its board in a meeting Wednesday approved investments in seven cities it has won on its own. “IOC has won the bidding for implementation of city gas distribution (CGD) for seven geographical areas viz Coimbatore district, Salem district (Tamil Nadu), Bokaro district (Jharkhand), Rewa district (Madhya Pradesh), Aurangabad district (Maharashtra), Guna district (Madhya Pradesh) and Jagtial district (Telangana). The Board has approved the estimated total capital investment of Rs 5463 crore on the implementation of the CGD projects. The investment in CGD business will help IOC to expand and consolidate its gas business,” it said. The company, however, did not specify the investments to be made in the nine cities it had won in the joint venture with Adani. IOC said its board also approved a Rs 520 crore investment for production of ethanol using LanzaTech gas fermentation technology at Panipat refinery in Haryana. The proposed ethanol plant is designed to produce 33.5-kilotonnes per annum of anhydrous ethanol for use in automotive fuel. “The project has the potential of greenhouse gas reduction required to limit global climate change,” it said. The board approved “installation of facilities for production of ethanol from PSA Off Gas of Hydrogen Generation Unit (HGU) at Panipat refinery using gas fermentation technology of LanzaTech USA at an estimated cost of Rs 520 crore,” it said. The board also approved a Rs 1,332 crore investment in laying a pipeline from Paradip in Odisha to Haldia in West Bengal. The Paradip-Somnathpur-Haldia pipeline “would enable placement of products from Paradip Refinery, Odisha to Somnathpur, Odisha for meeting the local demand as well as to Haldia, West Bengal for onward movement through other pipelines,” the company said.