Natural gas supply turns successful in South India
Hyderabad based MEIL’s Hydrocarbon division made an extraordinary beginning in the field. It has completed and commissioned many projects in the last financial year. Oil storage tanks, Gas based power generation units, Gas processing units, Pipeline projects and city gas distribution projects were taken up and completed most of them. MEIL’s Hydrocarbon division also has had a presence in the global market by execution projects in Kuwait and Jordan. It also expands to Singapore, Bangladesh. Global footprints It has commissioned Gas Turbine in Power generation and energy solutions at Arab Potash Company (APC), Jordan. This 54-megawatt gas-based power plant commissioned in the month of October 2018 and running successfully. This project includes Engineering, supply, erection and commissioning of the Gas turbine of 54 MW capacity, Heat recovery steam generator, step-up transformer of 80 MVA. Another global project by MEIL’s Hydrocarbons division is at Al-Zour project for KIPIC, Kuwait. This order is aimed at the construction of 66 storage tanks of capacity ranging from 60M dia to 78M dia which involves the structural quantity of 70,000 MT. “MEIL mobilised 3000 manpower to Kuwait for this project. Most of the construction of the tank completed and Hydro test is in process. The project expected to be completed by December 2019. MEIL received Appreciation Certificate from KIPIC for achieving 10 Million safe man-hours work.” Said P.Rajesh Reddy, Vice-President, Hydrocarbons division of MEIL. RGT in record time Gas processing plant with 90 MMSCMD capacity at Rageswari, Rajasthan constructed and commissioned within a span of just 7 months. This project is awarded by Cairn in the month of August 2018. MEIL mobilized its resources in the same month and started execution works immediately because of the fast-track nature of the project. The team took up the challenge on war-footing and began working 24 hours a day on the civil, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation aspects of the project. The project commissioning works started in March 2019. Explaining reasons to this achievement Mr P.Rajesh Reddy, Vice-President said that “After deploying close to 0.15 million man days, MEIL successfully completed the project with world-class quality standards and zero incidents. The project is the first of its kind to be built in a record period of six months. Due to this unparalleled achievement, MEIL proved its mettle once again and has risen to the position of a leading player in the international hydrocarbons industry.” Pipeline replacement projects ONGC awarded pipeline replacement project to MEIL. Six pipeline replacements Geleki, Assam and five pipeline replacement project in South Santal to Becharji. The first project involves 5 oil segments about 128.3 km and One Gas pipeline of 16.5km. These pipeline replacements are aimed at increasing operational efficiency of ONGC. MEIL laid 3 segments 48.3km of pipeline in 2017 and the balance pipeline segments of 91.62km in 2018 which are in use by ONGC. Assam Renewal Project ONGC awarded the Assam renewal project involves revamping and optimizing 21 existing ageing infrastructure to 9 new integrated complex’s, to mitigate maintenance, operational problems and environmentally friendly infrastructure fully compliant to statutory requirements for the production of balance recoverable reserve of Oil and Gas in North East region for at least next 25 years. As a part revamping of Assam Lakhmani Field, MEIL commissioned Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), Water Injection Plant (WIP) and Group Gathering Station V (GGS V) installed in 2018. Upgradation of firefighting ONGC’s Mehsana Asset’s four installations firefighting system up-gradation project also bagged by MEIL. According to MB Lal committee recommendation, to ensure an effective fire protection system at 4 installations in Mehasana, Gujarat. Out of 4 installations, MEIL completed 2 installations and balance 2 installation is in an advanced stage of commissioning and will complete by July 2019 City Gas Distribution (CGD) MEIL visualized and has undertaken the project of natural gas supply for Domestic, Commercial, Industrial and transport sector in South India. MEIL got approval from Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) to distribute natural gas in 16 districts – among them, 14 districts are in AP & Telangana, and 2 districts are in Karnataka. Presently, MEIL has created a network for the distribution of natural gas to consumers under the brand name ‘Megha Gas’ for domestic, commercial, industrial, & automobile sectors in Krishna, Tumkur, Belgaum districts. Soon, MEIL is creating a network in 13 Telangana districts. Until now, MEIL has laid a pipeline of length 360 km. In the future, MEIL is planning to lay pipelines of about 900 Km in AP, Telangana, & Karnataka. The nature of business is mainly divided into Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). PNG, the gas which is directly supplied to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers through the pipeline. CNG is used by the transportation sector. On shore Gas Fields. With a view to developing Gas Grid Networks in AP & Telangana, MEIL has strategically secured Onshore Gas fields from ONGC in the regions of Nagayalanka and West Penugonda. Gas evacuation from these fields will account to around 130000 SCM per day. For this purpose, MEIL had installed mechanical refrigeration units procured from the USA, compressors, & other mechanical packages. MEIL has already commissioned the Nagayalanka Field and currently supplying Natural Gas to PNG customers in and around Krishna District. MEIL also intend to supply the natural gas through cascades to industrial establishments in Telangana as well. MEIL is geared to start operations in other regions once approvals received from ONGC for the West Penugonda field.
Malaysia’s Petronas shuts Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline for maintenance
Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd said on Tuesday it has shut the Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline that feeds gas to its liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex at Bintulu in the state of Sarawak as part of maintenance work. Operations will resume when the maintenance work is completed, said Petronas, as the company is popularly known, in a statement, without specifying how long works would take. “LNG supply from Petronas LNG Complex is not impacted as any shortfall of gas supply from the Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline shall be made up with the gas supply from other fields in offshore Sarawak during this period,” the company said. Reuters reported last week that Petronas had temporarily shut down the pipeline for repairs that will take about two months, slowing down production at its Bintulu complex and potentially curbing spot LNG exports from Malaysia. Petronas is the sole manager of Malaysia’s oil and gas reserves and is the world’s third-biggest LNG exporter after Qatar and Australia.
Reliance topples Indian Oil to become the biggest Indian company
Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani’s oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has toppled state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to become the country’s biggest company by revenue. Reliance in the 2018-19 fiscal year that ended March 31, reported a turnover of Rs 6.23 lakh crore. In comparison, IOC posted a turnover of Rs 6.17 lakh crore for the fiscal, according to regulatory filings by the two companies. It was also the most profitable company in the country with a net profit of more than double that of IOC in FY2019. Reliance, which was about half the size of IOC till about a decade back but its bet on burgeoning consumer base and foray into new businesses such as telecom, retail, and digital services vastly expanded its business, clocked a net profit of Rs 39,588 crore in FY19. IOC, on the other hand, ended the year with a net profit of Rs 17.274 crore. IOC till last year was the most profitable PSU but may have lost this position to Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) in 2018-19. ONGC is yet to declare its FY19 earnings but it had clocked a net profit of Rs 22,671 crore in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Net profit of IOC, which depends on oil refining, petrochemicals and gas business for its revenue, had in 2018-19 declined by 23.6 per cent over Rs 22,189.45 crore net profit it had earned in 2017-18. Reliance, on the other hand, posted a 13 per cent rise in profits over Rs 34,988 crore recorded in 2017-18. ONGC had a net profit of Rs 19,945.26 crore in 2017-18 fiscal, lagging behind IOC. With this milestone, Reliance has achieved the numero uno position in terms of all three parameters – revenue, profit, and market capitalisation. With strong refining margin and robust retail business, Reliance clocked a 44 per cent in revenue in FY19 over the previous year and posted a compounded annual growth rate of over 14 per cent between FY10 and FY19. In contrast, IOC turnover rose 20 per cent in FY19 and 6.3 per cent during FY10 and FY19. At Tuesday’s trading price of Rs 1,345, Reliance boasts of a market capitalisation of Rs 8.52 lakh crore. Interestingly, Reliance which boasts of the highest cash reserves of Rs 1.33 lakh crore on the book, also has the highest gross debt of Rs 2.87 lakh crore at the end of March 2019. In contrast, IOC had short and long-term loans totaling Rs 92,700 crore.
HPCL likely to borrow Rs 8,000 cr in FY20 to revamp its refineries: Chairman MK Surana
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, India’s third-largest oil refiner may borrow about Rs 7,000-8,000 crore in FY20 for revamping its refineries at Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam, company’s Chairman MK Surana said in its Q4 FY19 earnings press conference. In FY19, HPCL borrowed Rs 6,000 crore, Rs 3,000 short-term and long-term each. A large part of the company’s borrowings go into funding its capex. HPCL’s capex for FY20 is pegged at Rs 14,000 crore, as against Rs 11,000 crore last fiscal. HPCL will be investing a total of Rs 5000 crore for its Mumbai refinery and Rs 21,000 crore for the Vizag’s. The investments will happen over a period of time, and also include aligning refineries with the new BS VI regulation norms, with effect from April 1, 2020. “It may happen for various instruments. We have got a combination of instruments which we use via foreign currency borrowings and foreign currency bonds, and may do in multiple tranches,” said Surana. Surana also shared that as of March 31, 2019, HPCL’s total debt was at Rs 27,244 crore as against Rs 20,991 crore at the end of the previous financial year. The increase in debt was mainly due to higher investments in projects and is not a sign of worry for the company, confirmed Surana. He went on to adding, “Our debt-to-equity ratio is quite comfortable, it is not a concern.” The company’s leverage stood at 0.97 as of March 31, 2019 as against 0.88 at the end of the previous financial year. Surana expects international oil prices to remain around $70-75 per barrel for the next six months provided things remain constant. He predicts oil demand in India to grow by 4-4.5 percent, diesel by 2.5-3 percent, and petrol by 7-8 percent in the financial year 2019-20. HPCL Chairman also said that he would like to see the new government consider bringing petroleum products under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax regulation. This way it would help the industry to reap benefits of input tax credit. “It (bringing the petroleum products under the GST) will also help in more investments if the new government considers in the GST policy reform…,” he said, adding, “HPCL lost about Rs 400 crore in FY19 for petroleum products not been included under the GST regime.”