EV charging stations, CNG outlet at petrol pumps before petrol sales: Govt
India’s new liberalised petrol pump licensing norms allow setting up of EV charging stations and CNG outlets even before the start of petrol and diesel sales, the government has stated. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in a clarification to its November 8, 2019 order that eased norms for setting up of petrol pumps by new entities, said the order provides for petrol pumps selling one new generation alternate fuels like CNG, LNG or electric vehicle charging points alongside retailing petrol and diesel, but does not prescribe an order of them being set up. “While an authorised entity is required to set up its retail outlets for petrol and diesel… the said entity is required to install facilities for at least one new generation alternate fuels like CNG, biofuels, LNG, electric vehicle charging points etc at the proposed retail outlets,” the ministry said in an October 5 notice. The 2019 order however “does not prescribe the order in which the dispensation of conventional fuels (petrol and diesel) and the new generation alternate fuels would be started, i.e. dispensation of bio fuels and CNG, EV charging can be started before dispensing of petrol and diesel,” it said. The new liberalised rule allows any entity with a minimum net worth of Rs 2.50 billion to apply for authorisation to retail petrol and diesel. Under the November 2019 policy, petrol pump licence has so far been granted to Reliance Industries Ltd, IMC Ltd, Onsite Energy Pvt Ltd, Assam Gas Company, M K Agrotech, RBML Solutions India Ltd and Manas Agro Industries and Infrastructure. RIL already had a fuel retailing licence, under which it had set up over 1,400 petrol pumps in the country. But this licence was transferred to its subsidiary Reliance BP Mobility (RBML). And so, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s firm applied and got another licence. A separate joint venture of the firm with BP, called RBML Solutions India Ltd too has got a licence. It isn’t clear if RIL and RBML Solutions will set up separate, competing petrol pumps. Besides doing away with the earlier requirement of investing Rs 20 billion in oil and gas sector to be eligible for a fuel retailing licence, the new liberalised petrol pump norms require licensees to set up a minimum of 100 outlets with at least 5 per cent of them in remote areas. The licensee is required to “install facilities for marketing at least one new generation alternate fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG), biofuels, liquefied natural gas, electric vehicle charging points etc at their proposed retail outlets within three years of operationalisation of the said outlet.” It fixes Rs 2.50 billion as the minimum net worth for obtaining the licence. State-owned oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) — currently own most of the 78,751 petrol pumps in the country. RBML, Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil) and Royal Dutch Shell are the private players in the market but with limited presence. RBML has 1,427 outlets, Nayara 6,250 while Shell has just 285 pumps. BP had a few years back secured a licence to set up 3,500 pumps but has not yet started doing so. It has since decided to venture into the business with RIL with plans to scale up RIL’s present network strength to 5,500. Those granted licences include Chennai-based IMC (once called Indian Molasses Company), which specialises in oil terminals, and Assam government firm, Assam Gas Company. Assam Gas Company is in the business of gas transportation. Not much is known about Onsite Energy which was incorporated in May 2020. M K Agrotech is part of a diversified conglomerate with interests across agricultural products such as sunflower oil, real estate, and crude oil and gas extraction, while Manas Agro Industries and Infrastructure has its own brand of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or cooking gas).
NTPC, Gujarat Gas to blend hydrogen for CGD networks
At a time when leading Indian companies like Reliance Industries Ltd and Adani Group are betting big on renewables with a special focus on hydrogen production, Indian government-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in association with Gujarat Gas is also planning an ambitious project to blend hydrogen with piped natural gas (PNG). To begin with, NTPC aims to reach out to its 200-home housing colony at Kawas near Surat by using about 100 cm/d of PNG where it will initially blend hydrogen to the extent of 5% for domestic use, to be later ramped up to 20%. “The residential township project will be the first of its kind in the country where we plan to blend green hydrogen in the city gas distribution (CGD) network. Once this is successful, we plan to roll it out in various cities and towns of India with our CGD partner,” said an official of NTPC aware of the development.
Global oil demand seen returning to pre-pandemic levels within a year: Moody’s
Credit rating agency Moody’s has increased its medium-term oil price range to $50-$70 per barrel — the range it had before the coronavirus pandemic — to reflect the expectation that the full average cost of production of a marginal barrel of oil will keep increasing in step with a continued recovery in demand. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently raised its estimates of growth in global demand, and now expects that oil demand will marginally exceed the pre-pandemic level of 101 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2022, after a strong recovery to 97 million bpd in 2021. Updated expectations from the International Energy Agency and OPEC also anticipate that oil demand will almost fully recover to its pre-pandemic level in 2022. Moody’s said the price range reflects its view of the level of oil prices necessary for producers to reinvest profitably. Since oil producers deplete their existing reserves as they generate earnings, oil prices must support reinvestment over the medium term for the industry to maintain its ever-depleting resources and support existing levels of production, as well as growth. “The ongoing recovery in demand, rising costs and reduced levels of inventory as of September 2021 will continue to support strong momentum in oil prices. We expect that the OPEC-plus producing nations will continue winding down their production cuts in 2022, achieving a modest surplus of supply over demand by the end of 2022, shifting from a sustained deficit in 2021,” the agency said in a report. Moody’s had in May 2020 reduced its medium-term oil price expectations by $5 per barrel amid a sharp drop in production and development costs based on a rapid decline in demand. It had then expected that the oil industry would need to postpone its development of higher-cost reserves until demand had fully recovered. But an accelerated recovery in global oil demand in the third quarter of 2021 propelled oil prices into the $70-$80 per barrel range. Oil producers achieved significant cost savings in 2020-21, but production costs started to rise in step with oil demand and a broader economic recovery. According to Moody’s the industry will also need to rely more on developing higher-cost greenfield assets to meet medium-term demand, following a prolonged period of investment in lower-cost and brownfield assets that allowed the industry to hold back development costs.
Need to boost biofuel production to reduce dependence on import of crude oil: Gadkari
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday stressed the need to enhance the production of biofuel in the country by using the stubble of certain crops to reduce the dependence on the import of crude oil and fuel gases and said he had converted his tractor into a CNG vehicle. Gadkari virtually addressed the International Soy Conclave organised by the Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) here in Madhya Pradesh. “I have converted my (diesel-run) tractor into a CNG-powered vehicle. We should encourage the production of bio CNG and bio LNG using the stubble of crops like soybean, wheat, paddy, cotton etc. to reduce the dependence on imports of crude oil and fuel gases. This will generate additional income for farmers,” the Road Transport and Highways Minister said. Gadkari’s suggestion came at a time when the retail prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed in the country following the rise in the rates of crude oil in the international market. The Union minister said India is currently importing 65 per cent of the total edible oil it needs at the cost of Rs 1.40 lakh crore every year. “Due to import, the prices of edible oils are high in the country’s retail market while on the other hand domestic oil seed-growing farmers are not getting good prices for their produce,” he said. Gadkari stressed the need to develop GM (Genetically Modified) seeds for soybean on the lines of mustard to remove its shortcomings to ensure that the country becomes self-reliant in the production of edible oil. “I have also discussed this (issue of GM seeds for soybean) with Prime Minister. I know that many people in the country are opposed to GM seeds. But we could not stop the import of soybean oil, extracted from GM soybeans, from other countries,” he said. Gadkari said the people should be made aware of the development of GM soybean seeds in India. He also underlined the need to conduct detailed research on making food products from Soya oil cake (residue after the extraction of oil from soybean seeds) to address malnutrition, especially in tribal areas.