Blue Energy Motors’ LNG trucks cross 10 million kilometre on Indian roads
Pune-based Blue Energy Motors, a green truck manufacturing company has announced a significant milestone as its fleet of LNG trucks have cumulatively crossed the landmark of 10 million kilometres on Indian roads in various customer applications. The trucks while covering over 10 million kilometres have effectively helped reduce over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to the environmental benefit provided by 1,20,000 mature trees. India’s trucking market is expected to grow four times larger by 2050 from 4 million trucks in 2022 to 17 million trucks, which will boost the nation’s economy and increase transportation emissions. With this projected growth, it’s crucial to ensure that green trucks contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable transport system. As per recent NITI Ayog report, LNG provides a compelling alternative to diesel trucks. It is expected that LNG HDV in total HDV sales per annum would reach 10 percent by 2032. Green trucks produce near-zero tailpipe emissions and offer opportunities for long-term fuel cost savings, making them effective replacements for current diesel trucks. Hence, the Indian government is proactively adopting policies and developing infrastructure for swift adoption of clean energy trucks. Anirudh Bhuwalka, CEO, Blue Energy Motors said, “Crossing the milestone of 10 million kilometres is a significant achievement for Blue Energy Motors and a testament to the efficiency and reliability of our zero-emission trucking technology. The government of India has been encouraging the use of alternate fuelled Green Trucks and has been providing relentless support to streamline infrastructure for early adoption of LNG trucks. We are committed in this journey to provide a cleaner and greener environment by decarbonising heavy-duty trucking and mitigating the impact of transportation on climate change.
Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association Withdraws Strike
It’s a big sigh of relief for people of Rajasthan as the petrol pump strike in Rajasthan has been withdrawn by Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association after holding talks with the state government. Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association announced that they have called off its strike on 11th March. They had called a strike demanding reduction in VAT imposed on petrol and diesel. The association withdrew its strike from 6 am on March 11. Association & Govt Talks The association said that the government had called for talks at 12 noon on Sunday, in which RPDA executive members Rajendra Singh Bhati, Sunit Bagai, Vijay Meena and Jaipur District President Ladu Singh, Secretary Amit Saraogi and Jaipur dealer Sandeep Bhardwaj were present. On behalf of the government, Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Anandi, Secretary of Information Technology and Communications and officials of the Finance Department were present in the meeting. The conversation lasted for about an hour and was completely positive. ”Rajyavardhan Singh ji understood our views well and assured us that the government will take positive steps on our demands and he appealed to call off the strike to save the public from trouble”said Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association reported ABP News.
What Does China’s New Economic Growth Target Mean For Oil Prices?
China’s stunning economic growth was almost single-handedly responsible for the commodities supercycle from the late 1990s to the onset of the 2014-2016 Oil Price War, as analysed in full in my new book on the new global oil market order. This was characterized by consistently rising prices of the key commodities that the country required in its dramatic economic expansion. In 2013, China became the world’s largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels and, as late as 2017, its still high rate of economic growth allowed it to overtake the U.S. as the largest annual gross crude oil importer in the world. Late 2019 saw most of this activity grind to a halt as Covid hit the country, and the economic slowdown was exacerbated by its Draconian handling of the virus, with its ‘zero-Covid’ policy seeing complete shutdowns of major economic centres at the slightest hint of infection. Last week saw China officially announce its economic growth target for 2024 of “around 5 percent” – the same as last year’s, which it managed to beat by 0.2 percent. The key question now, given China’s enduring status as the world’s leading gross importer of oil, is whether can this be achieved again. One factor that cannot be underestimated in this question is the sheer political will to ensure that this growth target is met. China’s top political figures – including President Xi Jinping – are acutely aware of the potential for high youth unemployment caused by low economic growth to spiral into widespread protests. They know that just before the series of violent uprisings in 2010 that marked the onset of the Arab Spring, average youth unemployment across those countries was 23.4 percent. This is why China stopped publishing the youth unemployment data after June 2023’s figure showed this jobless rate at an all-time high of 21.3 percent – very close to the Arab Spring level. The previous November had seen the beginnings of anti-Covid lockdown protests in China, after a fire in Urumqi led to several deaths, which the leadership knows have the potential to change focus into broader anti-government movements if the economy does not maintain a high growth rate. The basic trade-off in China has long been the people’s acquiescence for most things, provided that the government provides them with what they need and want – food, a place to live, a job, education, healthcare, and the chance for their children to have even more opportunities. This is why towards the end of 2023, President Xi ordered several new stimulus measures to ensure that the government’s economic growth target – also “around 5 percent” then – was hit. This included CNY828 billion (US$115 billion) of reverse repurchase contracts announced by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on 20 October. On the same day, the central bank maintained record low lending rates for the one-year loan prime rate (of 3.45 percent) and for the five-year rate (of 4.2 percent), and implied that more monetary easing may be effected if required. Additionally, on 24 October, CNY1 trillion of new special sovereign bond issuance was approved, with the paper to be placed in Q4. Chinese government news channels stated that the bond proceeds would be allocated to local governments to help deliver growth. The budget adjustment also raised the cap on the general fiscal deficit to CNY4.88 trillion – or 3.8 percent of GDP, from the initially planned deficit of 3.0 percent. The effects of this latter measure partly washed through into the early part of this year too, Eugenia Victorino, head of Asia strategy for SEB in Singapore exclusively told OilPrice.com. “The incoming bond supply remains elevated, and this will require continued liquidity injections from the central bank,” she said last week. “Aside from a bigger bond supply, the central government will likely raise the pressure on local government to implement the budget in a timely manner and, assuming the run rate of government bond issue is accelerated in the coming months, growth in aggregate financing will likely pick up,” she added. “The 50 bps [basis points] reduction in reserve requirement ratio implemented in February [2024] has already injected CNY1 trillion in long term liquidity and this gives the PBoC some time to assess if there is need for further policy easing,” she concluded. Added to this, there are signs that China’s trade globally is beginning to markedly trend up again. Exports jumped 7.1 percent year on year to US$528 billion in January and February, following a 2.3 percent gain in December 2023, and ahead of market forecasts of a 1.9% rise. This was echoed in its trade surplus, which increased to US$125 billion over the January and February period, compared to just US$104 billion in the same period a year earlier, again beating market forecasts. Stronger global trade on its own is unlikely to be sufficient to achieve the official “around 5%” growth figure, though. To reach its target, Beijing will need to increase infrastructure investment and to do so it will need to overcome two key obstacles, Rory Green, chief China economist for GlobalData.TSLombard exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. The first obstacle is the lack of money in local government for such projects, and to deal with this the government is likely to set an expansive fiscal stance, with central government taking on greater debt and redistributing to weaker provincial authorities. “The deficit target of 3.2 percent, a central government special-purpose bond quota of CNY1 trillion, and a local government special purpose bond quota of CNY3.9 trillion, mark a departure from the hawkish fiscal stance over H2 2022 and H1 2023,” he added. The second obstacle is a lack of projects that would promote Xi’s longer-term policy objectives, and here the expansive fiscal position might indicate that Beijing is shifting to a cyclical pro-growth stance, thinks Green. “In addition to the stimulus announced at the NPC [National People’s Congress], we expect government borrowing – CNY1 trillion between central and provincial balance sheet) and pledged
PNGRB Advances Plans to Transport Green Hydrogen Through Natural Gas Pipelines
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is making strides in transporting green hydrogen through natural gas transmission lines by blending hydrogen with natural gas to integrate green energy into the nation’s infrastructure. With a considerable portion of the Natural Gas Transmission pipeline network already operational, PNGRB views this as a strategic step in bridging the gap between regions abundant in renewable energy resources and hydrogen-consuming centers such as fertilizer plants, refineries, and heavy iron and steel industries. In a recent mega-stakeholder interaction, PNGRB convened to discuss and gather inputs on a draft report developed in collaboration with the World Bank and study partner ICF. The report, titled ‘Pathways for Hydrogen Transmission in Natural Gas Pipelines and City Gas Distribution Networks,’ aims to outline the feasibility and regulatory framework for integrating hydrogen into the existing infrastructure. Dr. Anil Kumar Jain, Chairperson of PNGRB, emphasized the importance of hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines and city gas distribution networks, underlining PNGRB’s commitment to ensuring the safety and integrity of the infrastructure. He also mentioned PNGRB’s efforts in formulating a global-level regulatory regime for the transportation of green hydrogen. The stakeholder interaction witnessed participation from representatives of various Ministries, Statutory/Autonomous bodies, research institutions, and Oil & Gas entities. Presentations from ICF, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO), GAIL (India) Limited, and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) shed light on initiatives and perspectives regarding hydrogen promotion in the country. PNGRB’s collaboration with the World Bank since August 2023 has focused on a comprehensive study, encompassing the mapping of hydrogen demand and supply, technical assessment of the existing pipeline network, commercial evaluation of the sector, and identifying policy and regulatory bottlenecks. The study aims to frame milestones until 2040 for the expeditious implementation of hydrogen blending in India. According to the draft study report, the total Hydrogen demand in India is expected to increase from the current demand of 6 – 7 MMTPA to 16 – 18.5 MMPTA by 2040, driven mainly by sectors such as ammonia, refineries, and transport. The report also recommends blending limits for various components in the transmission pipeline and city gas distribution networks, along with projections for additional capital and operational expenditures required for equipment and fittings. This mega-stakeholder interaction serves as a pivotal step towards achieving the Government of India’s target of 5 MMTPA green hydrogen production by 2030, as part of its clean energy agenda through the National Green Hydrogen Mission.