India’s oil minister says volatility could hurt energy transition
India’s oil minister said on Monday he was concerned about high oil prices, and price volatility could harm the world’s energy transition. Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi that when “petrol prices are – and diesel prices – are going literally through the roof, obviously, we are concerned”. India has been at the forefront of efforts to urge the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to ensure “responsible pricing” of oil that suits both producer and consumers. “Does it have to be affordable? Yes. If energy is not affordable, you’re going to have a problem,” he said. He said it was up to OPEC and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, whether to quicken the pace of increasing output, but “you cannot have a situation in which the transition is not orderly, stable, and predictable.” Puri said despite underinvestment in the sector, excess capacity of some 5 million barrels per day was available that could be pumped into the market and stabilise prices, but is being held back by producing countries. “Those decisions, they are taking for whatever reason, maybe they think it’s a good time to make up for the low prices that were there during the economic lockdown, he said. “I have a very different take on it. Sometimes when you take decisions for short-term gain, you may unleash other forces.” He said he expected oil demand to fall if prices “go beyond a point”. “Already, one big country, which is a 20 trillion-dollar economy, has the highest inflation figures in the last 30 years. So there is reality staring you in the face.” He said producers also need the energy transition to be orderly and would be hurt if prices became too high.
UAE says world still needs to invest billions in oil and gas
The UAE, one of the world’s top crude exporters, said a recent UN climate summit in Glasgow was a “success” but that the world needs to keep investing billions in oil and gas. Nearly 200 countries at the COP26 summit pledged Saturday to speed up the fight against rising temperatures, after two weeks of negotiations. But they failed to secure a consensus to keep coal in the ground, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that “climate catastrophe” is still knocking at the door. The summit “was indeed a success”, said Sultan al-Jaber, the UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology. But he forecast that the oil and gas industry would have to invest “over $600 billion every year until 2030 just to keep up with the expected demand”. “While the world has agreed to accelerate the energy transition, it is still heavily reliant on oil and gas,” he told the opening session of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. “As economies bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic at the fastest rate in 50 years, demand has outpaced supply.” Both the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world’s number one oil exporter, have announced net zero carbon goals, despite plans to ramp up oil production. Net zero refers to emissions created within a country, not by products sold and consumed abroad. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers have defended their plans to continue investing in fossil fuels. “The future is coming, but it is not here yet,” said Jaber, whose country is set to host COP28. “We must make progress with pragmatism. If we are to successfully transition to the energy system of tomorrow, we cannot simply unplug from the energy system of today.” Also at the Abu Dhabi conference, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman hit back at critics questioning Riyadh’s net zero ambitions. “I can understand the scepticism, but I also would refer those sceptics to what we’ve agreed to just two days ago,” he said, referring to the COP26 summit.
India to pitch for global investments in oil and gas value chain at Dubai Expo
India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, will address global investors at a round table on Wednesday at the India Pavilion of Dubai 2020 Expo to spell out the government’s strategies for accelerating investments in the oil and gas sector. The minister will use the global platform to understand the best global practices and discuss reforms with the captains of the industry, according to a press release. The round table will also provide the National Oil Companies (NOCs), international oil & gas majors, sovereign funds and institutional investors an opportunity to have in-depth discussion with the regulators and decision-makers from the Indian oil and gas sector, the release said, adding that they will be exploring collaboration opportunities in India and understand the ongoing market and regulatory reforms in the country. India is the 3rd largest oil consumer and 4th largest LNG importer and is a key player in the global oil and gas sector. The deliberations are aimed at utilising this opportunity to invite global investors to contribute and gain from the country’s objective of becoming self-reliant in this sector and its vision towards attaining energy security, it said. Other topics which will also be discussed during the round table include, India’s increasing role in the global oil & gas value chain, energy security, access, as well as transition to sustainable energy along with Indo-UAE energy cooperation. The round-table will be attended by Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai; Subhash Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director, ONGC; Prachur Sah, CEO, Cairn Oil and Gas and Prashant Modi, Managing Director & CEO, Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited & Chairman, FICCI Hydrocarbons Committee, the release added. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited the India Pavilion, where he met his counterparts from Slovakia, Cyprus and Luxembourg and discussed strengthening cooperation in key areas including healthcare. During his visit to the India Pavilion, Jaishankar praised it for having crossed the mark of 300,000 footfalls. The India Pavilion, which was inaugurated on October 1, crossed two lakh footfalls on November 3, becoming one of the most visited pavilions. Expo 2020 is being hosted in Dubai from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
India’s oil firms pledge to install 22,000 EV charging stations by 2026
EV charging stations supply in India will surge as the IndianOil Corporation (IOC) and two other public sector oil firms pledge to install 22,000 charging stations over the next five years. Taking the lead, IOC said it would equip 10,000 fuel outlets with EV chargers over the next three years. IndianOil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya set the above target. In a separate press statement, Bharat Petroleum Corporation said it would set up 7,000 stations over the next five years. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has plans for 5,000 EV charging stations in place. However, plans at IndianOil, a state-owned company under the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, appear most advanced. The Chairman elaborated the company would focus on nine cities in the first phase, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat and Pune. “I am confident that this small step by IndianOil will be a giant leap for the EV ecosystem in India,” he added. The company at present has 448 EV Charging Stations and 30 Battery Swapping Stations across the country and said it collaborated with Tata Power, Fortum, Hyundai, Tech Mahindra, and Ola, among others. For the expansion, the IOC specified chargers suited for 2W/3W and added they could further upgrade as per requirement and market conditions. Indian Oil also mentioned initiatives such as a hybrid microgrid connected to EV chargers in Bangalore run together with Hygge Energy. The Corporation also has set up IOC Phinergy, a 50:50 joint venture with Phinergy of Israel, to commercialize Aluminium-Air Battery Technology in India. Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) claims to be India’s second-largest “oil marketing company” (OMC), also owned by the state of India. Arun Kumar Singh, the company’s Chairman & Managing Director, said: “Over the next few years, we are aiming at reaching the count of 7,000 stations to support the growing EV industry and these stations would be known as ‘Energy Stations’.” BPCL runs 19,000 service stations across India. However, the company has yet to disclose where they will install the EV charging facilities. The last company in the mix – again state-owned – Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) had made the announcement to install 5,000 charging stations earlier in September. The company currently operates just 84 EV charging stations but agreed with Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), Tata Power and Magenta EV Systems for setting up charging infrastructure at their retail outlets. Unlike its competitors, HPCL also launched a proprietary charger collaborating with Magenta EV Systems and looked to incorporate it in streetlamps for curbside charging. Plans at the state-owned energy company also include infrastructure to address the two and three-wheeler market. Charging stations will be installed at select retail outlets in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune over the next ten years, said the company. In summer, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) announced plans to target having EV charging stations every 40 – 60 miles along the country’s highways. Details on funding or partners remain scarce, however. India has been running subsidy programs for years to increase EV uptake. For example, the government extended the FAME II subsidies program in June this year until 31 May 2024. The FAME II subsidy programme provides for subsidies with a total value of the equivalent of $1.4 billion. In summer 2019 and early 2020, grants were also approved for almost 5,600 electric buses and 2,636 charging stations. This year, India plans to incentivise EV manufacturing while famously high import duties for electric vehicles may be dropped. At the Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow, the world “biggest democracy” pledged to become climate-neutral no sooner than 2070.