Oil India reports 6% increase in Q1 crude oil production
State-run Oil India Ltd’s crude oil production for the April-June quarter stood at 871,000 tonnes, 6.2% higher on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis Its crude oil production in the corresponding period of the last fiscal was 820,000 tonnes Further, the public sector energy company’s natural gas production rose nearly 10% to 818 million cubic meters. “Oil India Ltd (OIL), registers phenomenal growth in its crude oil and natural gas production with an increase of 6.22% in crude oil while the natural gas production is up by 9.80% in Q1 FY25 vis-a-vis Q1 FY24,” said a company statement. The increase in production comes at a time when the Centre is looking at increasing India’s oil and gas production in a bid to reduce import dependence. India imports about 85% of its energy requirement. For the first quarter of FY25, Oil India had reported a consolidated turnover of ₹93.5089 billion, nearly 45.9% higher than ₹64.0876 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal. Its consolidated net profit rose 44% to ₹20.1630 billion in the quarter ended June from ₹13.9949 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY24.
Indian refiners cornered over one-third of Russia’s crude oil exports in H1 2024
India, the world’s third largest crude oil consumer, accounted for more than one-third of Russia’s cumulative crude oil exports in the first half of the current calendar year. Besides, India coupled with China and Turkey bought more than 90 per cent of the crude oil shipped out of the erstwhile Soviet Union during January-June 2024. According to the Energy Comment series by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), Russian crude exports to China, India, and Turkey accounted for 93 per cent of the total in H1 2024 Calendar Year (CY). India and China accounted for the lion’s share at 48 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, the commentary, by Bassam Fattouh and Andreas Economou, added. As per the data from energy intelligence firm Vortexa, India’s crude oil imports from Russia during H1 2024 averaged at around 1.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) compared to roughly 1.7 mb/d imported in the year-ago period. Particularly for India, the Energy Comment pointed out that the transformation has been “phenomenal”. Prior to the 2022 sanctions on Russian oil, India’s largest annual intake of Russian crude was 52,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2017. In 2023, India’s imports of Russian crude averaged nearly 1.8 mb/d accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the country’s total imports, while on a monthly basis they reached as high as 2.2 mb/d,” it added. There are reports that India’s state-owned refineries are considering entering into long-term oil supply agreements with Russia. But this has not been without its challenges, the latest Energy Comment said. For instance, it said that “payment issues” have caused the diversion of some Russian cargoes away from India. “Russia has recently announced that it has accumulated billions of rupees that it hasn’t yet found a use for. Also, the US and its allies have stepped up the enforcement of sanctions creating difficulties for buyers of Russian oil and idling many tankers used in the transport of Russian oil,” it added.
Govt approves ONGC’s Rs.183.65 billion additional investment proposal in OPaL to increase petrochemical presence
The government has approved ONGC’s proposal to additionally invest Rs.183.65 billion in ONGC Petro-additions Limited (OPaL), the oil and gas giant announced in a statement on Firday, August 9, 2024, and added that this would increase ONGC’s stake in OPaL from 49.36% to 95.69%. ONGC’s total investment in OPaL so far will also thus, add up to Rs.227.28 billion This move is to increase ONGC’s presence across the downstream and petrochemical value chain. ONGC’s total investment in OPaL so far will also thus, add up to Rs.227.28 billion. What os OPaL? OPaL is a petrochemical complex based in Dahej, Gujarat, which was commissioned in 2017. It has the largest standalone dual feed cracker in South-East Asia. A dual feed cracker converts naphtha and offgases from refining into polymer grade ethylene and propylene using a process which is known as thermal cracking. Thermal cracking can also produce byproducts such as benzene, butadiene, gasoline, and toluene. OPaL has the capacity to produce up to 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of polymers and 0.5 MMTPA of chemicals and has a 12% market share in India’s polymer segment. The deal can also make OPaL be able to get a sustained supply of gaseous feed from ONGC at a premium of up to 20% over the government’s Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) gas price. ONGC is currently allowed a premium of up to 20% over the APM price.