Qatargas delivers its first LNG cargo to India’s Ennore terminal
Qatargas said Feb. 28 it delivered its first LNG cargo to India’s Ennore LNG receiving terminal as the Asian country seeks to increase its use of natural gas. The cargo was delivered via a Q-Flex vessel, named Al Nuaman, which was loaded with 147,000 cm of LNG on Feb. 11 at Ras Laffan port, and called at the Ennore terminal, near the southern Indian city of Chennai, on Feb. 20. The cargo was delivered to Indian Oil LNG Private Ltd., a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corp., which operates the 5 million mt/year terminal. India relies on both domestic gas production and the more expensive LNG imports to meet its gas demand. The country is targeting a 15% share of gas in its energy mix by 2030, from about 6% in 2019. Earlier in February 2019, Qatargas helped commission the Ennore terminal by supplying LNG volumes, which were delivered by the Swiss commodity trader, Gunvor, Qatargas said. The $735 million LNG terminal, commissioned in February 2019, is the first one to be built on India’s east coast, at Tamil Nadu’s Kamarajar port. The terminal has two above-ground storage tanks, with a capacity of 180,000 cm each, and two 36” lines fitted along the jetty trestle that are used for transferring LNG from ship to the storage tanks. The terminal is dedicated to LNG import, storage, regasification and send-out. Qatargas started supplying LNG to India in July 1999, serving Petronet. India is set to commission the Jaigarh LNG receiving terminal in Maharashtra later this year, in addition to other gas-related infrastructure projects, Qatargas said. These additional terminals will “significantly” increase India’s capacity to import LNG, it said. In 2020, India took advantage of low spot prices, and boosted its purchase of LNG cargoes, as COVID-19 related demand destruction started impacting northeast Asia.
Gujarat-based City Gas Distribution companies lead CNG station surge
Gujarat-based city gas distribution (CGD) companies are planning to aggressively add new compressed natural gas (CNG) stations. The expansion is driven by the government’s greater push for the usage of cleaner fuels, growing adoption of CNG amid surging petrol and diesel prices, as well as the allotment of new geographical areas for creating CGD networks. Companies such as Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL), Torrent Gas Ltd (TGL) and Sabarmati Gas Ltd (SGL) have chalked out ambitious plans to expand their network of CNG stations next fiscal. In fact, these firms continued adding new stations during the current fiscal despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. “GGL has so far commercialized 107 CNG stations across geographies this fiscal,” said Sanjeev Kumar, managing director, GGL, the largest CGD player in India. Kumar added: “We plan to further increase the number to 150 by March 2021.” The company added 107 stations in just eight months, which was the fastest addition by any company in India during the given timeframe. Now, the state-run GGL plans to add 200-plus CNG stations in 2021-22, involving a capital expenditure of about Rs 4 billion. At present, the company has 500 stations in several parts of the country, including Gujarat. Torrent Gas intends to set up 150 CNG stations in 2021-22. The private sector CGD player has so far commissioned 86 CNG stations this fiscal and aims to establish 25 more by the end of 2020-21, which will take its total tally of operational CNG stations to 160. “The company intends to invest about Rs 10 billion for creating CNG infrastructure over the next five years,” said a spokesperson of Torrent Gas. Sabarmati Gas Ltd set up 26 new stations and plans to reach 30 by March-end. The public sector CGD player aims to establish similar number of new stations in the next fiscal as well, said sources. “To ensure wider and faster availability of green fuel, our chief minister Vijaybhai Rupani launched the unique CNG Sahbhaagi Yojana, under which 384 letters of intent (LOIs) have already been issued,” said the managing director of GGL. “In order to achieve this, GGL has doubled its executive capabilities.” The company is also setting up a CNG station at Kevadia in Narmada district. According to a Torrent Gas spokesperson, there is significant emphasis by the Government of India on the usage of cleaner fuel for transportation and hence there is a general push to set up more CNG stations. As petrol and diesel prices have been de-regulated, the price of CNG is cheaper by 50% and 60% when compared with diesel and petrol, respectively. Hence, the consumer adoption of CNG has accelerated.
Fuel prices may fall by April, says petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan
Union minister for petroleum, natural gas and steel Dharmendra Pradhan said that he has asked his counterparts in petroleum producing countries to increase their oil production so that Indian consumers get relief from soaring fuel prices. “In April last year, major oil-producing countries decided to cut production as there was a sharp fall in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These countries are producing less fuel to make more profit. While less fuel is still being produced, the demand for fuel has reached the point as it was before pre-Covid situation. Therefore, petrol and diesel prices have increased in the country,” Pradhan told reporters during an interaction in Varanasi on Saturday evening. “I am in touch with my counterparts of major oil-producing countries and have spoken to them. I have asked them to increase fuel production in order that prices of oil may come down in our country which buys fuel from these countries.” He said that as the largest oil buyer, India is creating pressure on oil-producing countries like Russia, Qatar and Kuwait among others to increase production. When production will increase, the cost of per barrel buying will come down and subsequently retail fuel price will also fall. Asked about a timeline by when prices of diesel, petrol and gas will come down, he said that no one can predict that. “But the prices of cooking gas, diesel and petrol may come down by March or April,” he said. Fuel prices have been on fire this month with oil companies raising petrol and diesel prices 16 times so far. The last upward revision of fuel prices was on Saturday. On Friday, Pradhan had said fuel prices are likely to drop as winter ends and attributed the rising rates to an increase in demand during the season. In Varanasi on Saturday, the minister said that all boats that along the Ganga in the city will now run on CNG for which a CNG station has been set up at Khidkiya Ghat. He also said that his ministry is working to ensure cooking gas connection in every house, in all eastern UP districts from Gorakhpur to Sonbhadra.
Bringing petroleum products under GST will be good move: CEA K V Subramanian
Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian has backed a proposal to bring petroleum products under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). He, however, said the decision will have to be taken by the GST council. “It will be a good move, but the decision rests with the GST Council,” Subramanian said during a recent interaction with FICCI FLO members. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had also urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to bring petroleum products under the ambit of the GST. Continuous rise in fuel prices has burdened the common man and become a political issue in states where assembly elections are due. Subramanian also said inflationary pressures are mostly on account of “food inflation”.