PM dedicates OPaL plant to the nation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated ONGC Petro additions Ltd’s (OPaL) Rs 30,000-crore plant to the nation at the Dahej Special Economic Zone. “It is India’s largest petrochemical plant having an investment of Rs 30,000 crore,” Modi said on the occasion. “Today, the average per capita consumption of polymers in India is 10 kg, while the global average is 32 kg. There is tremendous potential for growth in the wake of higher disposable income of middle class and urbanisation. As per an estimate, OPaL’s market share in the polymer sector will be 13 per cent by 2018,” he said. The Prime Minister said the Gujarat government has worked very hard for over 15 years to develop the Dahej SEZ under the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR). “Dahej has become mini India, as people from across the country are now working here. When I was Gujarat CM, I used to visit Dahej. I saw this place getting developed brick by brick. Because of the efforts of Gujarat Government, Dahej achieved such tremendous success,” Modi said. “Due to government’s efforts, Dahej SEZ has secured a place among the top 50 SEZs of the world. This region has given employment to lakhs of citizens. So far, it has fetched a total investment of Rs 40,000 crore. I congratulate all the people who are behind the success of Dahej SEZ,” he said. Modi also visited the plant and saw a detailed presentation inside the main control room of OPaL. He was accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Nitin Gadkari. Modi expressed confidence that this PCPIR in Gujarat would give employment to 8 lakh people upon its full utilisation. “Dahej was selected for one of the four PCPIRs to be developed across the country. At present, it provides employment to over 1.25 lakh people. When this PCPIR starts functioning at its full capacity, it would give employment to around 8 lakh persons,” he added. Modi said he has personally seen this PCPIR growing. “Therefore, it is natural for me to have an emotional bonding with it,” Modi said. OPaL is the single largest petrochemical plant in India that has a capacity to produce 14 lakh tonnes of polymers and 5 lakh tonnes of chemicals such as benzene annually. It is a joint venture company promoted by ONGC, GAIL, and GSPC with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore, an official statement by ONGC said. Jay Beagle Jersey
Italy’s 15-cargo LNG buy tender attracts competitive bids
A tender to supply Italy with about 15 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes between April and September attracted highly competitive winning bids from traders including Gunvor, Trafigura, MET and Uniper, trade sources said. Companies offered to supply the shipments at only a slight premium to prevailing prices at Britain’s National Balancing Point (NBP) trading hub, traders said. At the same time bids for a tender to supply Argentina with LNG attracted bids carrying a $0.30 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) premium to NBP levels, whereas the prices for the Italy tender showed only a slight premium, traders said. “It was very aggressively bid and suppliers may in the end opt not to deliver the cargoes if the economics don’t make sense,” one trader said. Under the tender, suppliers retain cancellation rights. The list of suppliers may not be exhaustive and the exact quantities to be delivered by each party are preliminary and could not be fully confirmed. According to traders, Gunvor will supply most of LNG – an estimated 10 cargoes – with Trafigura contributing about four. Italy launched a tender last month to buy 1.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas as LNG for delivery to OLT LNG, moored off the Tuscan coast, and the Panigaglia facility in northern Italy. The volume equates to about 15 standard-sized LNG carriers though some of the suppliers may opt to use smaller tankers, resulting in a higher carrier count. Tommy McDonald Jersey
OVL submits $3 billion new development plan for Farzad-B field
ONGC Videsh Ltd has finalised an over USD 3 billion master development plan for the coveted Farzad-B gas field off Iran and is likely to wrap up a deal by September. The new plan, filed with Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), excludes liquefaction facilities to turn the gas into LNG for ease of shipping to nations like India, sources privy to the development said. The two nations were initially targeting concluding a deal on Farzad-B field development by November 2016 but later mutually agreed to push the timeline to February 2017. Now, the deal is being targeted to be wrapped up by September after the two sides agree on a price and a rate of return for OVL’s investments. Farzad B was discovered by OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), in the Farsi block about 10 years ago. The project has so far cost the OVL-led consortium, which also includes Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), over USD 80 million. Iran was initially unhappy with the USD 10 billion plan submitted by OVL for development of the 12.5 trillion cubic feet reserves in Farzad-B field and an accompanying plant to liquefy the gas for transportation in ships. It felt the USD 5 billion cost OVL and its partners have put for developing the field was on the higher side and wanted it to be reduced. OVL will earn a fixed rate of return and get to recover all the investment it has made in the field development. Sources said in the new master development plan (MDP), the company has revised the cost downwards after making some adjustments in the production facilities. The field in the Farsi block was discovered by the OVL-led consortium in 2008. It has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 tcf, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. New Delhi is keen that the gas from the field comes to India to feed the vast energy needs. But it initially felt deterred from investing because of the fear of sanctions imposed by the US. But with the lifting of sanctions last year, it is back to discussing a master development plan. Sources said that gas evacuation plans are not part of the new MDP. Gas produced from the field can either be converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) by freezing at sub-zero temperature and shipping in cryogenic ships to India or transported through a pipeline — via overland passing through Pakistan or sub-sea. Options, they said, include an offshore liquefication facility. Another option on the table is that Iran would buy the gas and use it for reinjection into depleted oilfields to boost crude output. Malcom Brown Jersey
SOLAR ENERGY – now to catch the sun
The recent tenders for setting up and operating solar and wind power generation farms show that the price of renewable power is now approaching that from greenfield coal-based power plants in India. It will not take too long for solar photovoltaics to become the cheapest source of power. But solar power is generated only during the day , that too intermittently.Similarly , wind power is generated during certain months and the power output also varies. If energy storage was inexpensive, one could have dealt with this intermittency by storing excess energy generated to be used when needed. Since grid-connected energy storage continues to be very expensive, generated power needs to be consumed instantly . As the consumer demand for power also varies with time-of-day and season, there is a problem of matching demand to supply , both of which vary independently . One option would be to have excess capacity and get the non-renewable power generators, which are under our control, to back off when needed.However, this strategy has to be adopted judiciously , as it will increase the cost of non-renewable power. Demand management, where the customer is incentivised to use more power when available and consume less when there is a shortage, will help and will, indeed, become necessary . Smart buildings and factories will take us towards implementation of demand management in time. But what would really enable renew able power to become an unfettered dominant supplier is some kind of largescale storage. The electric vehicle (EV) is precisely such an application, where the cost of energy per km, including the cost of its storage, has to be only lower than the corresponding cost of a petroleum-based vehicle, to be economically viable. EVs use distributed storage. Growth of renewable energy in India, thus, has an EV compulsion, as it requires EVs to grow in the country and provide the first large-scale storage that the growth in renewables needs. In energy terms, if all vehicles in India were electric today , they would use up 15-20% of India’s electricity generated. If their batteries are charged intelligently , EVs could help overcome the intermittent nature of renewable-power generation. But are EVs in themselves economically viable in India today? The EV needs batteries to store energy needed for its operation. As battery prices fall steadily and the efficiency of motors grows to deliver higher mileage per unit of energy , there is a crossover point when EVs with sufficient range per battery charge become a more costeffective option than diesel, petrol or CNG based-vehicles. Left to itself, it may take three to five years for prices to fall enough in international markets for EVs configured for use abroad to emerge as a better alternative for consumers in India. This, however, implies that India would be importing EV subsystems from the start, and it will be difficult to establish any kind of technology leadership. We may later see local manufacturing of at least some of the subsystems. Nevertheless, there is the real possibility that the value of imports of EVs and EV subsystems will match the oil import bill today and leave us no better off than today . But there is another option towards large-scale EV adoption. The key elements of EV technology are available today at the right prices for several types of vehicles widely used in the Indian market. With an innovative, coordinated and market-oriented effort by industry and the government, certain EVs can be produced in India today .Adoption can be rolled out rapidly in a fully market-driven manner. In these specific segments, India could attain a globally competitive leadership position in three to five years. This effort will simultaneously encourage local intellectual property (IP) generation and the manufacture of most EV subsystems or substantial parts of them.India can move towards substitution of oil imports with locally produced energy and EVs including subsystems. Apart from these intrinsic benefits of early adoption of EVs, it forces the simultaneous growth of renewable energy production in India. This slew of reasons should drive us to single-mindedly pursue immediate efforts in a mission mode to enable early adoption of EVs in India. A laissez-faire attitude will negatively impact the indigenous manufacturing of India’s future automobiles and subsystems as well as India’s import bill.It will also slow down the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid at scale.Jhunjhunwala is adviser , minister of power , coal, new and renewable energy, and Ramamurthi is director , IIT-Madras Kyrie Irving Authentic Jersey
Govt says renewable energy capacity grew 26 per ccent in Apr-Jan
Generation of renewable energy grew 26 per cent in Apr-Jan 2017 as compared to that of previous corresponding period. Generation of power from renewable sources grew to 55,518.3 units in Apr-Jan as against 70,129.15 units during the same period last year. “Strong focus on renewables is driving up total electricity generation figures. In 2017 alone, for Apr-Jan 17, electricity generation growth was 5.04 per cent excluding generation from renewable sources. However, if renewable generation is included then total generation for the same period became 6.25 per cent,” the government said in a release. During the same period, generation from conventional sources grew over 5 per cent to 922,299.71 units from 968,780.44 units a year back. Conventional sources of energy account for over 70 per cent of India’s current energy mix. In February alone, generation from conventional sources of energy stood at 3.57 per cent. “February 2016 was a leap year with 29 days and February 2017 had only 28 days. The extra generation of 1 day in February 2016 affected the February 2017 figure by 3.57 per cent. Had February 2017 also had 1 extra day the increase in electricity generation from conventional sources would have been 3.52 per cent,” the release said. The government wants to take up the renewable energy capacity of the country to 175 Gigawatts by 2022 with solar alone accounting for 1 GW. Boog Powell Jersey
Haryana government proposes lower fuel surcharge on electricity bills
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has proposed to lower fuel surcharge allowance (FSA) on power tariff by 50-60 paise per unit. He said this at the assembly on Monday. An electricity consumer is paying Rs 1.24 to Rs 1.43 per unit as FSA levied by the electricity distribution companies (discoms) – Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitram Nigam(DHBVN), revealed Khattar. FSA component forms one fourth of the electricity bills of the consumers, hence the announcement may bring relief to all sectors. Khattar also said the concerned officials had already taken appropriate steps to reduce the FSA. Nate Schmidt Jersey
Power Finance Corp provides Rs 2,703 crore to West Bengal’s first super critical project
State-run Power Finance Corp today said that it has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 2,703 crore for West Bengal’s first super critical thermal power project in Murshidabad district. “PFC, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) in power sector, has sanctioned a term loan of Rs 2,703.88 crore to West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) for construction of Unit 5 (1 X 660 MW) under phase III of Sagardighi Thermal Power Station in Murshidabad,” the company said in statement. According to the statement, WBPDCL is a company owned by the West Bengal government for generation and supply of electric power in the state. The 660 MW Sagardighi Unit 5 is the first super critical thermal power plant being developed by WBPDCL in the state, which is expected to be commissioned by October 2020 at an estimated cost of Rs 3,862.69 crore. It will generate approximately 4,209 million units of energy to meet the future power requirement of West Bengal. The project is proposed to be funded in the debt equity ratio of 70:30 and the entire debt is proposed to be funded by PFC, it said. The loan agreement was signed between PFC and WBPDCL officials yesterday in Kolkata. State government officials and utilities and senior management of PFC were also present during the signing of the agreement, it added. PFC has a long standing relationship with WBPDCL and has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,290 crore for various existing units of Kolaghat, Sagardighi, Santaldih and Bakreswar thermal power projects. Malcolm Mitchell Authentic Jersey
India announces new licensing policy to boost oil output
India today announced an open acreage licensing policy for oil and gas exploration, allowing bidders to carve out areas where they want to drill as the energy- hungry country looks at greater foreign investment to boost output. The world’s third-largest oil consumer will conduct auction of oil and gas blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) twice a year, with the first round being held in July this year, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here at the influential CERAWeek conference. OALP auction will be held under the overhauled exploration licensing policy allows pricing and marketing freedom to operators and shifts to a revenue sharing model. The July auction will be India’s first major exploration licensing round since 2010, although it had recently awarded 31 small discovered fields mainly to state-owned and local firms under the liberalised Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP). Showcasing HELP, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on March 10 last year, to global investors, Pradhan said the new policy is part of the strategy to make India a business and investor friendly destination and cut import dependence by 10 per cent by 2022. “In the new model, government will not micromanage, micro monitor with producers. Government will only share revenue. It will be an open and regular affair,” Pradhan told reporters on sidelines of the CERAWeek Conference here. India’s domestic crude oil production of 36.95 million tons in 2015-16 barely met 20 per cent of its oil needs. Natural gas output at 32.249 billion cubic metres meets less than half of its needs. OALP will be a departure from the current licensing policy of government identifying the oil and gas blocks and then putting them on auction. It gives an option to a company looking for exploring hydrocarbons to select the exploration areas on its own. This selection can be done based on the seismic and well data that the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons has put in a National Data Repository. NDR offers a total of 160 terabyte data of India’s 26 sedimentary basins. Troy Hill Womens Jersey
GMR-led Delhi Airport ranked No. 2 position in passenger survey
Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd, a GMR led consortium, has announced Indira Gandhi International Airport has become the world’s number 2 airport in the over 40 million passengers per annum category, as per the Montreal (Canada)-based Airports Council International 2016 rankings. DIAL’s score increased from 4.96 in 2015 to 4.99 in 2016 that helped IGIA scale over several other airports and attain the second position globally, only after Incheon, South Korea. Delhi Airport has joined the club of international airports handling over 40 MPPA. I Prabhakara Rao, CEO- DIAL, in a statement, said: “Our focus has always been on enhancing customer’s experience. As we witness robust growth, we look forward to strong collaboration and support of airport stakeholders as well as our passengers. We are now geared to undertake the expansion works at Delhi Airport. IGIA Master Plan-2016 will further enhance the experience of our passengers and create new benchmark for the aviation community worldwide”. Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World, said: “Promoting a culture of continuous service improvement has become a matter of gaining competitive advantage and optimising non-aeronautical revenue performance. ACI recognises these accomplishments and we look forward to seeking more effective, efficient and profitable ways of serving the flying public together.” The ASQ awards are presented to those airports whose customers have rated them the highest over the course of the year. The awards will be presented in Port Luis, Mauritius, October 2017. Delhi Airport is served by 11 domestic and 51 foreign carriers with average of 1124 flight movements a day. DIAL is a consortium comprising of GMR Group, Airports Authority of India and Fraport. Hyderabad airport too flies high Meanwhile, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has secured the first position in Airport Service Quality passengers survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum category for 2016. The survey statistics shows that Hyderabad Airport has steadily improved its score from 4.4 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2016, measured on scale of 1 to 5. Hyderabad Airport has the honour to be the first airport in the country to have been awarded by ACI, The Director General’s Roll of Excellence in Airport Service Quality in 2014 for consistently earning the top five ranking in its category in the ASQ for five years in a row. SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, in a statement said, “We are thankful to our passengers and all stakeholders to be part of this journey and helping us in reaching this milestone, yet again. The efforts put in by our partner airlines, concessionaires, housekeeping and other support staff have played a major role in this achievement.” Kishore, said, “Hyderabad Airport, running in to its 9th year of operations, is designed to cater to 12 MPPA. It has witnessed a growth of more than 20 per cent in the last year with a passenger throughput of close to 15 MPPA in CY 2016. We soon plan to go for expansion of the airport, where it can enhance its capacity to meet 20 MPPA.” The airport, with an initial capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 1,50,000 MT of cargo handling capacity per annum, has the flexibility to increase capacity to accommodate over 40 MPPA in a phased manner. Russell Wilson Jersey
PAC’s study of PPPs to begin with a visit to Delhi airport
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is starting a detailed study on public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the country with a visit to the Delhi international airport on Tuesday. The panel, which has already constituted a sub-committee to discuss the issue, will start its work by studying the PPP between the Civil Aviation Ministry and the GMR Consortium on Tuesday. A source in the panel told BusinessLine that the panel will meet officials of the Airports Authority of India, Civil Aviation Ministry and the GMR on Tuesday. “We will study such PPPs in other sectors like roads, power generation, distribution and use of natural resources such as spectrum and minerals,” the PAC member added. Earlier, during the UPA regime, the panel, then headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, studied the PPP between the AAI and GMR and said the PPP in Indira Gandhi International Airport could be considered a success as there have been significant improvements in services for the travelling public. “It is also noteworthy that the Airports Council International had adjudged the airport as the second best in the world in the category of 25-40 million passengers per annum,” it said, adding that the panel found several lacunae and shortcomings in the operationalisation of the joint venture mode and implementation of Operation, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) and State Support Agreement (SSA). “We will go into the details of measures such as development fees imposed on passengers. We will also study the commercial use of land allotted to the DIAL,” the member added. The panel member said the effort was to ensure that the Comptroller and Auditor General has a role in auditing the PPPs in which the money from exchequer is involved. Steven Matz Authentic Jersey