Jio-bp to sell additive fuels at no extra cost; EV charging, battery swap, 24×7 retail at RIL’s fuel stations
Jio-bp, the fuel retailing joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc, will sell additivised fuel at no extra cost, instead of regular fuels, at its ‘mobility stations’, the company said in a statement today. Additionally, Jio-bp will also offer EV charging and battery swap at its mobility outlets and other standalone locations. The additivised fuel sold at Jio-bp stations will contain active technology, which forms a protective layer on critical engine parts to help keep the engines clean, it said. RIL’s 1,400 existing fuel retailing stations across the country too will soon be rebranded into Jio-bp mobility stations. Reliance BP Mobility launched its first Jio-bp branded Mobility Station at Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra on Tuesday. In addition to fuel refill and EV charging, Jio-bp will also offer oil change service in partnership with Castrol. Further, apart from fuel and oil services, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail will also offer 24×7 food and beverage retail at Jio-bp outlets. Wild Bean Café, a brand by bp, will serve its signature coffee along with masala chai, samosa, etc., to customers who are on the move. Jio-bp will also offer instant discounts, happy hour schemes, implementation of flexible and uniform digital payment across the network, going ahead. Jio-bp mobility stations have been designed to meet the growing demand for fuels and mobility. In 2019, BP had bought a 49 per cent stake in over 1,400 petrol pumps and 31 aviation turbine fuel (ATF) stations owned by Reliance for $100 crore. Reliance holds the remaining 51 per cent stake in Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML). RBML has already received the marketing authorisation for transportation fuels. The joint venture after taking over Reliance’s existing petrol pumps started selling fuels and Castrol lubricants. In due course, the outlets will be rebranded ‘Jio-bp’.
Numaligarh Refinery inks pipeline ‘Right to Use’ sharing agreement with Indradhanush Gas Grid
A pipeline ‘Right to Use (RoU)’ sharing agreement was inked between Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL), which is a joint venture of NRL with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and Oil India Limited (OIL), on 21st October 2021. The agreement, a mutually beneficial arrangement for both organizations, was signed by General Manager (Project), NRL P J Sarmah and Chief Project Manager, IGGL Pankaj Patowary in the presence of Director (Technical), NRL B J Phukan; Director (Finance), NRL Indranil Mittra; CEO, IGGL A K Thakur and senior officials from both organizations. NRL is in the process of laying the 1,630 KM long ParadipNumaligarh Crude Pipeline (PNCPL), a crude pipeline originating from Paradip Port in Odisha and traversing through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, before terminating at its refinery in Numaligarh (Assam). The pipeline project is a crucial part of NRL’s mega Integrated Refinery Expansion project for capacity expansion from 3MMTPA to 9 MMTPA, which is being executed with an investment of more than Rs.280 billion. IGGL is executing the laying of a natural gas pipeline from Guwahati to Numaligarh as part of its marquee project for connecting India’s North-east Region (NER) with the National Gas Grid. IGGL’s natural gas pipelines will connect Guwahati to major cities of NER like Itanagar, Dimapur, Kohima, Imphal, Aizwal, Agartala, Shillong, Silchar, Gangtok and Numaligarh. NRL and IGGL’s pipeline sharing agreement leverages synergies between the PNCPL project and NER Gas Grid project as the pipelines share a common route from Baihata (North Guwahati) to Numaligarh for around 386 KM. The RoU model streamlines land acquisition and resource sharing for optimal execution of pipeline laying work and subsequently, efficient operations of the pipeline. This pact follows NRL’s earlier pipeline RoU sharing agreement with GAIL, signed on 14th October 2020, for a 550 KM stretch from Purnia in Bihar to Baihata, also a part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project. These agreements form important milestones in the Government of India’s Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North-east India which seeks to leverage the region’s hydrocarbon potential for enhancing access to clean fuel in line with NER’s growing demand for petroleum products, and also underline NRL’s key role in ushering in socio-economic development of the region.
GAIL to build 4.5 tpd green hydrogen plant
India’s largest state-owned natural gas company is looking to buy a 10 MW electrolyzer to produce 4.5 tons of green hydrogen daily. Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), India’s largest state-owned natural gas company, wants to build the country’s largest green hydrogen plant in the next 12-14 months. As written in an article by Millennium Post then re-published by the natural gas corporation, Gail aims to buy a 10 MW electrolyzer to produce 4.5 tons of green hydrogen daily. Gail, which has already launched a global tender, is looking into a couple of different potential sites for the plant, including one at Vijaipur, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The electrolyzer will be based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. Earlier this year, IndianOil (Indian Oil Corporation Limited) announced its plans to build India’s first green hydrogen plant at its Mathura refinery in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. The project will strengthen the clean energy offerings of the state-run oil and gas major that has already been pursuing hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen-enriched hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (H-CNG) and solar. IndianOil plans to wheel wind power from its Rajasthan project to the Mathura refinery to produce green hydrogen from water electrolysis.
LNG Demand to Rise 25-50% By 2030 – Morgan Stanley
Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to rise by 25 to 50% by 2030, making it the fastest growing hydrocarbon over the next decade, analysts from Morgan Stanley Research said in a note on Monday. Morgan Stanley has raised its long-term LNG price outlook to $10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), expecting spot prices of the super-chilled fuel to average 40% higher over the next decade, versus the past five years. Asian spot LNG prices hit a record above $56 mmBtu earlier this month as surging demand ahead of the northern hemisphere winter spurred by an economic rebound from the pandemic outstripped supply. Morgan Stanley said at least 73 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of new projects are needed to meet LNG demand by 2030. This will require an additional $65 billion of new projects, on top of the $200 billion of projects already under construction which were sanctioned since 2019. “Contrary to investor expectations, the world is going to need more LNG in the initial phase of the energy transition,” the analysts said. “Competing technologies for natural gas are not being developed fast enough, and there are significant benefits in reducing coal consumption while greener fuels are commercialized.” Projects with lower emission intensity will be more sought after and are more likely to progress, they said. While higher gas prices are likely to underpin further investment in LNG, supply will be slower to respond than in previous cycles, the analysts said. “This will be driven by uncertainty over medium-term demand along with more capital discipline from the industry, including diversification into greener energies,” they said. “We think investor sentiment towards LNG-focused companies is likely to increase given better prices and returns expectations.” LNG demand will outpace growth in other hydrocarbons over the next 10 to 15 years, they said, adding that oil demand is expected to grow in line with recent averages while coal demand is expected to be flat. Asia, where coal makes up a high proportion of the energy mix, will be the key driver for LNG demand growth led by China and India as well as Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia, they added.
Tractebel to manage LNG fuelling station construction projects in India
As part of the government’s initiative to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, LNG will soon be available at fuelling stations in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, for dispensing to long haul trucks. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, an Indian government-owned company, has selected Tractebel’s gas and energy experts for the overall design, detailed engineering, project management, and construction supervision at two locations. The company is also assisting with the procurement of LNG equipment such as cryogenic tanks, dispensers, pumps, and associated fittings. Once operational, the LNG stations will provide commercial vehicle operators with increased access to cleaner fuel, thereby driving a reduction in vehicular pollution. The LNG fuelling stations are expected to open in July 2022. Mridul Kumar, Project Manager at Tractebel, stated: “A top priority of the Clean India Green India sustainability plan is to reduce vehicle pollution, a major contributor to GHG emissions throughout the country. We are pleased to be a part of the initiative by providing LNG as a cleaner alternative at retail fuelling stations. Expanding the availability of LNG will help reduce the volume of harmful CO2 emissions, an essential step in stopping the clock on climate change.”
RIL to press KG-Basin for higher revenues after govt hikes gas price
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) is reaping the benefits of an increase in production from its oil and gas assets. The higher production from RIL-bp controlled Dhirubhai-6 (D6) block in the Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin will coincide with the government significantly hiking the price allowed for selling domestically produced natural gas. RIL’s share of production from the KG-D6 basin sequentially rose by 18.4 per cent to 39.2 billion cubic feet equivalent (BCFe) during the quarter ending September 30 of the current financial year. This stood at 33.1 BCFe in April-June 2021. There was nil production from this asset in July-September 2020. “Commissioning of R-Cluster and Satellite Fields in KG D6 block led to a turnaround in the oil and gas segment earnings,” RIL said in a presentation. The gas produced from this asset, awarded under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) regime, is priced in line with a government approved formula instituted in March 2016. The KG-D6 asset is enlisted under the Deepwater, Ultra Deepwater, and High Pressure-High Temperature area (collectively called difficult discoveries) category. This allows RIL and bp marketing freedom including pricing freedom, subject to a ceiling price on the basis of landed price of alternative fuels. The landed price is calculated once in six months and applied prospectively for the next six months. According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the price data used for calculation of ceiling price in $ per million British thermal units (mmBtu) shall be the trailing four quarters data with one quarter lag. One BCF is equal to one million mmBtu. Under this pricing regime, RIL-bp was allowed to sell natural gas produced from KG-D6 subject to a price ceiling of $3.62 per mmBtu during the first half of financial year 2021-22 (till September 30, 2021). This drove up RIL’s revenue from the oil and gas business sequentially by 28.3 per cent to Rs 16.44 billion in Q2FY22. However, these earnings are expected to multiply when the year closes since the notified gas price ceiling has been almost doubled to $6.13 per mmBtu for the remaining six months of the current financial year. “A price of $7 to $8 per mBtu is remunerative for gas produced from difficult discoveries. These price levels are also expected to be attained in the April 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022 price revision,” said Sabri Hazarika, senior research analyst at Emkay Global Financial Services. These price hikes come on the back of global price movement. An unprecedented demand across the globe has led to a historic increase in gas prices, with most markers up three times (sequentially). According to RIL, a further increase is likely in the ceiling price applicable for KG-D6 gas buoyed by current high prices. In addition to the existing production, first gas is expected from the KG D6 – MJ Field by Q3FY23. RIL-bp expects to produce 1 BCF of gas per day, in a phased manner, from the integrated development of KG-D6 by 2023. This will be approximately 25 per cent of India’s production and 15 per cent of demand.