Numaligarh Refinery inked pipeline right to use agreement with GAIL
Assam based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has inked Pipeline Right to Use (RoU) sharing Agreement with GAIL (India) Limited. Under the agreement, both the companies shall share a common Right to Use (RoU) for laying their respective pipelines for a stretch of 550 Km from Purnia in Bihar to Guwahati in Assam. NRL stated that GAIL is laying its Barauni – Guwahati pipeline (BGPL), which is a part of Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra Natural Gas (NG) Pipeline Project, popularly known as ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’ extended up to Guwahati to supply natural gas to pipelines under North East Gas Grid (NEGG). NRL is also laying its 1,630 Km long Paradip Numaligarh Crude Pipeline (PNCPL) crude pipeline, originating from Paradip Port, traversing through the States of Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Assam and terminates at its refinery at Numaligarh (Assam). The pipeline project is part of the mega Integrated Refinery Expansion project from 3MMTPA to 9 MMTPA currently under implementation at a project cost of more than Rs. 22 thousand Crore. The company added both the pipelines share a common pipeline route from Purnia (Bihar) to a place near Guwahati (Assam) for around 550 Km. The sharing of the pipeline RoU shall help in optimisation of land acquisition for pipeline laying. Both the companies shall also be benefited in terms of resource sharing during execution and operation of the respective pipelines. The agreement, a win-win for both the sides was signed by GM (Project) NRL P J Sarma and GM (Projects),GAIL K K Sachdeva in presence of MD NRL S K Barua and CMD GAIL Manoj Jain in presence of Directors of GAIL and senior officials of both the organisations.
‘EVs distant dream, India needs cleaner fuels to combat pollution’
With a massive spike in air pollution in Delhi and its surrounding regions, experts believe that the country needs to incentivise public transport, disincentivise personal vehicular transport and have a basket of cleaner fuels in a bid to mitigate the pollution emanating from the automobile sector. Road transport constitutes a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In India, the transport sector is the third-most greenhouse gas emitting sector, with the major contribution coming from road transport. Speaking to IANS, Suyash Gupta, Director General of Indian Auto LPG Coalition, stressed on the need to invest in a wide range of alternative options to power the transport sector. “Much like DTC buses in Delhi shifted to cleaner CNG twenty years back, private vehicles need to shift to cleaner alternatives.” He said that the country must ensure that over the next decade, it manages to phase out a significant portion of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles, including two-wheelers, in favour of cleaner and cheaper gaseous fuels such as Auto LPG. Auto LPG, a mix of propane and butane, is a cleaner automotive transport fuel than traditional fuels. The environmentally-friendly and economically-viable fuel can help in better mobility while minimising the impact of transport on human health and the environment. Unfortunately, despite significant price advantage over petrol and diesel and practical benefits, Auto LPG has achieved only marginal success in India, he said. According to Gupta, another way to reduce the pollution is to switch to electric vehicles but it has several ifs and buts. He maintained that a single technology cannot solve the air pollution challenge, especially if the technology is at least 10-15 years away from commercial viability. “The challenge of creating a mammoth network of charging infrastructure is a major one. Until sufficient charging infrastructure is in place, electric vehicles will always be clouded with the issue of range anxiety,” he said. Gupta added that with almost 68 per cent of electricity being thermally produced, the so-called ‘clean’ electric vehicle may not really be as clean. “That is why it is important to invest in a wide range of alternative options to power the transport sector rather than putting all eggs in the electricity basket.” “Electric Vehicles are still a distant future and we cannot just wait for them to become widely usable and continue with the current levels of pollution. We desperately need immediate and near-term solutions to clean up the urban air,” he said. Rupa Nandy, Head of International Association of Public Transport (UITP), meanwhile, contended that a clean and green traffic jam would still be a traffic jam and hence, the overall focus of city and state authorities should be to strengthen and augment public transport and promote it as much as possible. “The government should also work on disincentivising personal vehicular modes of transport. Better walking and cycling infrastructure is also required to reduce dependency on personal transport. The government should also work on making the last mile connectivity of public transport better to make journeys seamless,” she added.
Bharat Petroleum tries to cut dependence on LPG from the Middle East
An Indian buyer of liquefied petroleum gas is once again attempting to ease its dependence on Middle East shipments after some supply shocks last year stemming from drone attacks and even a trade war. Bharat Petroleum Corp. is seeking bids from global suppliers for a fifth of its typical LPG needs in 2021, according to a tender seen by Bloomberg. Bidding is still open to Middle East producers, which already provide BPCL with the majority of its contracted needs. India’s second-biggest fuel retailer made an attempt to broaden its sources of supply earlier this year but the tender wasn’t awarded due to a lack of attractive offers, said traders. The latest tender is aimed at getting better prices for supplies compared with those from the Middle East and to diversify sources of LPG, according to the objectives listed in the document. India’s fuel retailers get most of their LPG — typically used for cooking — from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.A.E. and Kuwait, leaving them exposed to price fluctuations and supply shocks. This was highlighted by drone attacks on Saudi Arabian processing facilities and fields, which happened just before India’s festival season, followed by curbed output from the Middle East as OPEC tried to manage the virus-driven oil supply glut. India also faced more competition for Persian Gulf LPG amid the trade war between Washington and Beijing as China stopped importing from the US, its main supplier. “It’s a logical move,” said Jeslyn Chua, an analyst at industry consultant FGE, adding that almost all of India’s LPG imports in August and September were from the Middle East. If tensions between the US and China escalate into another trade war, diversifying supply will be beneficial, she said. The Middle East, however, still has the advantage of being the closest major producer to India. Other options for BPCL could include Europe and the US, although both alternatives face the additional cost of longer shipping times. BPCL is seeking bids for about 800,000 tons of LPG in 2021, a fifth of its annual import requirement of about 4 million tons. To reduce freight costs, BPCL will consider taking responsibility for shipping if cargoes are sold free-on-board from the Arab Gulf region, unlike its tender earlier this year, which required the seller to deliver cargoes to India. Offers are to be based on a premium or discount to Saudi contracted prices published every month. LPG has defied a broader demand slump for oil products in India, benefiting from authorities stocking up on supplies for lower-income people and as families spent more time cooking at home amid the world’s biggest lockdown. Imports of the fuel are expected to climb to 16.6 million tons next year, from 16 million in 2020, according to FGE’s Chua.
India’s diesel sales rise above pre-COVID-19 levels in October – Industry data
India’s diesel consumption rose 8.8% in the first half of this month from a year ago, its first annual increase since March, when the nation imposed lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, preliminary industry data showed. Diesel sales, which accounts for roughly two-fifths of refined fuel demand in the country, totalled 2.65 million tonnes, showed the preliminary data compiled by Indian Oil Corp , the country’s top refiner and fuel retailer. Petrol sales during Oct. 1-15 rose 1.5% from a year earlier to 982,000 tonnes, the data showed.