Consortium plans to develop $5bln UAE-Oman-India undersea pipeline
South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE), a consortium of companies in deepwater pipeline projects, is planning a $5 billion undersea liquefied natural gas pipeline. The consortium has sought help from India’s Ministry of Petroleum to develop the pipeline, Financial Express reported, citing SAGE director Subodh Kumar Jain. The project’s technical and financial feasibility has been carried out successfully, he said, seeking diplomatic and political support to take it forward. The proposed 2,000-km energy corridor connecting the Middle East and India will lead to an annual saving of about Rs 70 billion ($849.60 million). The route will run via Oman and UAE through the Arabian Sea, allowing import from Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Qatar, a region with 2,500 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. Last month, Raj Kumar Singh, Indian Union minister for power and new and renewable energy, said the country plans to link its power grid with the UAE and Saudi Arabia through undersea cables. Once approved by the cabinet, bilateral agreements will be signed with Saudi Arabiaand the UAE for the mega projects, he told Mint, an Indian financial news outlet. SAGE is promoted by the New Delhi-based Siddho Mal Group, in joint venture with a UK-based Deepwater Technology Company, according to its website.
India eyes refill of strategic oil stockpiles as US replenishes
India is considering refilling its strategic hoard of crude oil, joining the US as the world’s top guzzler begins to rebuild its depleted stockpiles after a period of drawdown. The South Asian nation plans to import about 1.25 million tons (9.2 million barrels) of oil to fill empty reserves, said people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The grades and timing are still under discussion, one of the people said. It’s unclear if India, which has emerged as a major buyer of Russian crude since the Ukraine invasion, will choose to buy cargoes from the OPEC+ producer, or its traditional suppliers in the Middle East. The US and India are making plans to beef up reserves — the back-up for emergencies such as acute global outages or price spikes — as benchmark prices trade near the lowest in more than a year. Brent is around 45% lower from its 2022 high as demand concerns hang over the market. An oil ministry spokesman didn’t immediately reply to phone call and text message seeking comments. The South Asian nation plans to fill about one-quarter of its reserve spread across two sites in Visakhapatnam facility on east coast and Mangalore on west coast. India has strategic storage in three locations with capacity to hold about 5.33 million tons. The capacity is not much considering India imported 232.4 million tons crude in the year ended March 31. India allocated Rs 5,000 crore ($606 million) in its budget earlier this year toward filling strategic stockpiles. The International Energy Agency said in February that the funds could cover purchases of about 10 million barrels of Russian crude, or around 7 million barrels of non-sanctioned oil. It last added to its strategic stockpiles in 2020 after oil crashed due to Covid lockdowns, buying crude at an average price of $19 a barrel. Scant Interest The Asian nation initiated a plan early last year to allow local and foreign companies to lease space that could accommodate around 8 million barrels at two underground locations. However, India’s refiners were unwilling to pay what the government was asking to rent the space, one of the people said. Discussions about leasing storage were also held with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., but they didn’t progress, according to Parliament documents. Adnoc signed a deal in 2017 to lease some space, enough for almost 6 million barrels. India is seeking to increase its reserve capacity by 6.5 million tons, but progress has been slow due to issues related with land acquisition. The feasibility of storage caverns near Bharat Petroleum Corp.’s Bina refinery and the use of salt caverns at Bikaner near Hindustan Petroleum Corp.’s Barmer plant is also being assessed.
Sri Lanka wants India to put a Oil and Gas pipeline to help its economy to recover
Sri Lankan High Commissioner in India Dr Milinda Moragoda today disclosed that his country had floated a proposal to the Indian government to lay an Oil & Gas pipeline through Trincomalee and claimed it had received favourable response from the leadership of the country. Speaking to foreign correspondents here this evening at the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia (FCC), Dr Moragoda, who has previously held several ministerial portfolios in the Lankan cabinet , said such a pipeline would help his country’s economic growth to receive petroleum products ranging from petrol, diesel, lubricants etc which it had to import at prohibitive costs. Thanking the Indian government under PM Narendra Modi for the extraordinary support it had extended at the dark hour in his country of an unprecedented economic crisis, he said his country was thankful for the $1.6 billion credit it was extending to resurrect the island nation’s shattered economy. On the economic crisis, he said the external debt was about $15 billion of which India was due to get $1.6 billion, $2.6 billion to the Paris Club of European nations and a huge chunk to China. China has also extended a $1.6 billion credit line but nothing concrete had been achieved so far , but negotiations were on , he said. On the controversy if the businessman Gautam Adani was favored to construct a multipurpose port in Sri Lanka, Dr Moragoda said, “he was among the first to arrive with a concrete proposal to construct the port. There is no politics in this. It’s purely an investment decision the government of Sri Lanka made. We are not competent to comment on the businessmen relations with the government in India. As far as Srilanka is concerned, we welcome investment decisions. “ The project is on and will be completed, he said. The Adanis are also the first to arrive in Israel and they are going to construct the Haifa port, he pointed. When it comes to geo-politics interests conflicting with geo-economic interests, every nation will choose the latter for economic development. He said as far as Sri Lanka was concerned it realized its geo-political situation and its proximity to India and knows its security concerns are best served by India than any other country.
GAIL shuts Ratnagiri LNG terminal till September, cuts imports: Sources
GAIL (India) Ltd has stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its 5 million tonnes/year Ratnagiri plant since mid-May as it has shut the facility until end-September, two company sources said. GAIL annually shuts the plant in the western Maharashtra state during monsoon season as rain and high tides make operations difficult without a breakwater. However, a breakwater is expected to be ready next year that would obviate the need to shut the terminal during monsoons, one of the sources said. The company received its last LNG cargo at the Dabhol port on May 11, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. The Maharashtra Maritime Board has ordered restricted operations by inland vessels during ‘four weather season’ from May 26 to Aug. 31, citing ‘safety of life and environment’, according to a notice seen by Reuters. GAIL delays the import of LNG to October as seas remain rough during September, the two sources said. GAIL did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
Bharat Petroleum unveils Rs 490 billion petrochemical and capacity expansion project at Bina Refinery
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a oil and gas company in India, has announced its ambitious expansion plans worth Rs. 490 billion, further increasing the Company’s footprints in petrochemical segment and renewable energy, together with augmenting marketing infrastructure. The core component of the expansion projects is the Ethylene Cracker Project, which will drive the production of essential petrochemicals. The project encompasses the establishment of an Ethylene Cracker (EC) Complex, downstream Petrochemical Plants, as well as the expansion of the existing Refinery capacity from 7.8 MMTPA to 11 MMTPA and associated facilities at Bina Refinery. With a capital expenditure of approximately Rs. 490 billion, this initiative marks a significant milestone for BPCL and energy sector as a whole. Bina refinery expansion will meet the growing demand of petroleum products in central and northern India while also providing necessary feedstock to EC complex. While Petrochemical Plant will cater to the growing domestic demand for petrochemical products. G Krishnakumar, C&MD, BPCL, said, “BPCL has leapfrogged into the world of Petrochemicals as we embark upon the ₹49000 Ethylene Cracker project in our Bina Refinery, in step with the expansion of Refining capacity to 11 MMTPA. Combined with our investment in Wind Energy and new age Petroleum Oil Lubricants installations built for sustainable processes, this is a watershed moment in our strategic endeavor to be at the forefront in meeting the rapidly growing demand for energy and Petrochemical products in India.” “We are steadfast in aligning our strategic imperatives with the Government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission to make India a self-reliant and globally competitive petrochemical powerhouse,” G Krishnakumar said.