Oil Minister Hardeep Puri says India offers Rs 100 bn investment opportunities in explorations & productions
While addressing the ‘Urja Varta 2024’ , Union Minister for Oil and Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday that India offers an investment opportunity of at least 100 billion by 2030 in the Exploration and Production of energy. Despite the progress in exploration, Puri asserted that the potential still lies untapped within India’s 26 sedimentary basins. “Despite our progress much of our exploration and production potential still lies untapped within India’s 26 sedimentary basins. Despite the abundant geological resources available to us Our efforts in past have been far short of what needs to be done” said the Oil Minister. For now, only 10 per cent of India’s sedimentary basin is under exploration. However, it will soon increase to 16 per cent, said Puri. “Only 10 per cent of sedimentary basin is currently under exploration today, after the award of the blocks under the forthcoming event when it rounds, it will increase to 16 per cent by 2024” said the minister. The minister also stated during the global turmoil the oil prices would have shot up to very high if India had not changed its oil supplier. On using scientific technology in the exploration the minister said that the government is spending heavily on promoting scientific data-driven exploration and an investment of Rs 75 billion is going into the acquisition of new data.
Honeywell to acquire Air Products’ LNG biz for $1.81 bn
Automation, aviation and energy transition company Honeywell has acquired US-based Air Products’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) process technology and equipment business for $1.81 billion in an all-cash transaction, representing around 13x its estimated 2024 EBITDA. Honeywell says the acquisition will allow it to offer customers a comprehensive, top-tier solution for managing its energy transformation journey. This is the fourth acquisition Honeywell has announced this year as part of its disciplined capital deployment strategy. The acquisition covers natural gas pre-treatment and state-of-the-art liquefaction, utilising digital automation technologies unified under the Honeywell Forge and Experion platforms. Honeywell says the new offerings will enable efficient, reliable and optimised management of natural gas assets. Currently, Honeywell provides a pre-treatment solution to its LNG customers globally. Air Products’ LNG process technology and equipment business consists of a comprehensive portfolio, including in-house design and manufacturing of coil-wound heat exchangers (CWHE) and related equipment.
BPCL Likely To Set Up Its New Refinery In Machilipatnam
In a major development, Andhra Pradesh is likely to get two big ticket projects soon. While Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is looking at Andhra Pradesh to establish a new refinery, VinFast, an electric vehicle manufacturing company Vietnam, expressed interest to invest in Andhra Pradesh. BPCL’s refinery would fetch Rs 60,000 to Rs 700 billion investment and likely to bring up to 25,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. BPCL was considering Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for its new refinery but after the meeting with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday, they have zeroed in on AP, said sources. BPCL chairman and managing director (CMD), M Krishna Kumar along with other representatives of the company met Naidu at his office in Amaravati on Wednesday. During the recent visit to Delhi, Naidu held talks with union minister for petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri on BPCL refinery. Following his discussions with Hardeep, BPCL representatives called on the chief minister to take the talks further. Krishna Kumar told Naidu that it would require 4-5 thousand acres of land to establish oil refinery and petrochemical corridor. Naidu responded in affirmative and asked them to come up with a detailed project report. He promised to give complete cooperation from the state govt in acquiring the land and in providing other infrastructure. He asked them to come up with a feasibility report in next 90 days. The proposal is to establish the refinery at Machilipatnam. This project will become game changer for one of the oldest municipalities in the country, where population is on the decline. As Machilipatnam port is under construction, a refinery would give more impetus to industrial growth of the city. On the other hand, a delegation of VinFast India led by its CEO Pham San Chau met chief minister Naidu to discuss about possible investment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh. Naidu also explained the benefits of investing in the state and offered them complete support from the govt.