Lanka, India hold joint exercise on oil spill prevention
Sri Lanka and India on Thursday held a joint oil spill prevention exercise onboard the Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Samudra Paheredar’, which is on a two-day official visit to the island country. The Navy said that prior to the training exercise, the ship’s crew of ‘Samudra Paheredar’, personnel from Sri Lanka Coast Guard, Marine Environmental Protection Authority and Sri Lanka Navy participated in a two-day workshop which included a wide range of activities related to oil spill prevention, Xinhua news agency reported. The Navy said oil spills from vessels that occur as a result of sudden collisions with oil platforms and various other related reasons, had posed a significant threat on the marine environment to date. As both India and Sri Lanka are located close to one of the busiest network of international shipping lanes, the readiness is of paramount importance for both countries to take remedial action against oil spills. Mark Bavaro Jersey
BPCL plans to spend $6.8 billion on refinery expansion by 2022
India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd plans to spend $6.75 billion through 2022 to raise refining capacity by 62 percent to meet rising fuel demand in the world’s fastest growing major economy, a company official said. India is replacing China as the driver of global oil demand growth as its economy expands and a rising middle class buys motor vehicles. The International Energy Agency expects India to account for a quarter of global energy use by 2040. BPCL, the country’s second-biggest state refiner, aims to lift its crude processing capacity to 1.18 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2022 from the current 730,000 bpd, its head of refineries R. Ramachandran told Reuters on Wednesday. In the fiscal year to March 2016, Indian fuel demand rose to its highest level in at least 15 years partly because of the nation’s renewed manufacturing push under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make In India’ drive. “We are aiming for an economic growth rate of 7 to 8 percent so if that happens, Indian fuel demand is bound to grow. We will see a (fuel demand) growth rate which will continue to remain at 6 to 7 percent at least for the next 10 to 15 years,” Ramachandran said. About half of the planned refinery expansion spending will be used to raise the capacity of the Bina plant in central India to 320,000 bpd from 120,000 bpd. BPCL, which operates Bina in a tie-up with Oman Oil Co., will initially expand the capacity to 156,000 bpd by mid-2018, Ramachandran said, adding the overall expansion could cost 200 to 250 billion rupees ($3 billion to $3.75 billion). The refiner intends to spend about 100 billion rupees to expand its coastal plants at Kochi in southern India and Mumbai in the west. The company is currently raising the capacity of its Kochi plant by 63 percent to 310,000 bpd and plans to expand the plant to 400,000 bpd by 2022, Ramachandran said. “Mechanical completion is in-progress and final touches need to be given to some units. From next fiscal we will operate it at full capacity (of 310,000 bpd) on sustained basis,” he said. The Mumbai refinery expansion faces limitations because of high population density and land constraints. By 2022, BPCL will raise the Mumbai capacity by about 17 percent to 280,000 bpd, he said. BPCL also intends to triple the capacity at its Numaligarh plant in northeastern Assam state from 60,000 bpd currently, he said. The company would invest about 150 billion rupees, drawn by the potential to export to neighbouring countries. “Besides meeting local demand the refinery is positioned to also supply products from the plant to Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal,” Ramachandran said. However, the expansion hinges on the continuation of the federal tax incentives, he said. India gives some tax relief to refineries in the northeast to make them profitable as the fuel demand in the region is very low. Todd Gurley II Authentic Jersey
Cabinet approves revision of ethanol price for supply to oil firms
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Modi, today announced it has approved the mechanism for revision of ethanol price for supply to Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). OMCs will now be provided ethanol at a subsidized rate to carry out the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme The administered price of ethanol for the EBP Programme will be Rs 39 per litre during the next sugar season from 1st December 2016 to 30th November 2017. Additional charges will be paid to the ethanol suppliers as per actuals in case of Excise Duty and VAT/GST and transportation charges as decided by OMCs. Increase/reduction in the retail selling price of Petrol would proportionately factor in the requirement of maintaining the fixed cost of purchase of ethanol during the ethanol supply year. The prices of ethanol will be reviewed and suitably revised by Government at any time during the next sugar season depending upon the prevailing economic situation and other relevant factors. The revision in ethanol prices will facilitate the continued policy of the Government in providing price stability and remunerative prices for ethanol suppliers. The Government on started revision of ethanol prices in December 2014, and decided that the delivered price of ethanol at OMC depots would be fixed in the range of Rs. 48.50 per litre to 49.50 per litre including Central/State Government taxes and transportation charges. Lamin Barrow Authentic Jersey
Niti Aayog rejects OilMin’s Rs 100 billion demand to build new reserves
The government’s think-tank Niti Aayog has shot down petroleum ministry’s demand for nearly Rs 100 billion of public money for building more strategic crude oil reserves as the proposal strays from the agreed plan to rope in private sector investments for crude storage beyond the existing 5 million tonnes. While pointing out that there was neither plan fund allocated for the project nor any funding tie-up for it from other resources, Niti Aayog said that during the preparation of the 12th Five Year Plan the ministry had agreed to private sector involvement in building and operating strategic storage. “There is significant interest in global crude oil majors to create storages to secure markets and also on arbitrage on fluctuating prices. As regards energy security, as long as the crude is stored on our mainland, we will always have the first right,” it commented on the proposal. “Niti Aayog, therefore, is not in agreement with the proposal and recommends that the ministry ought to come up with a policy to encourage private sector investment instead of deploying government funds,” it added. Under the first phase, India built 5.33 million tonnes storages at Visakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur to provide for 12 day supply cover. Of this, Visakhapatnam has been commissioned while the other two are slated to start by end of this year. National oil companies of Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and private major Shell have expressed interest in storing oil at these caverns after India’s last Budget announced income tax exemption on sale of stored crude oil by foreign firms to local buyers as an incentive for foreign oil companies to lease space. However, foreign investors are awaiting regulatory issues such as local taxes and India’s ban on crude oil exports to be settled before pumping money in building storage facilities. Under Phase II, the petroleum ministry plans to build an additional 10 million tonnes of storage capacity at Bikaner (5.6 million) in Rajasthan and Chandikhol (4.4 million) in Odisha to take the strategic cover to 99 days from current 75 days (63 days at refinery plus 12 days strategic). For this, it had asked the Ministry of Finance to provide Rs 100 billion partly from plan funds and partly out of the oil industry development cess collected on crude oil production as there is no Budget provision for this project. Texas Rangers Jersey
ONGC, United Energy said to vie for $2 billion Chevron fields
Oil & Natural Gas Corp., the largest Indian oil and gas explorer, and Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group Ltd. are among bidders for Bangladesh natural gas assets being sold by Chevron Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said. United Energy submitted a joint offer with Chinese conglomerate Orient Group Inc., one of the people said. The gas fields, which could fetch as much as $2 billion, have also drawn interest from Brightoil Petroleum Holdings Ltd., the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The Bangladeshi government has also expressed interest in taking over Chevron’s interests in the assets, according to the people. No final agreement has been reached with any party, the people said. Energy companies have announced $43.2 billion of asset sales this year after crude prices fell to the lowest level in more than a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Chevron, the largest US oil producer after Exxon Mobil Corp., is seeking buyers for Asian geothermal assets that could fetch as much as $3 billion and is also holding talks to sell assets in Indonesia and Thailand, people familiar with the matter said earlier. State partner The San Ramon, California-based company operates the Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar natural gas fields in Bangladesh and sells all the production to state oil company Petrobangla, according to its website. Its net daily production last year averaged 720 million cubic feet of natural gas and 3,000 barrels of condensate. “We can confirm that Chevron has been in commercial discussions about our interests in Bangladesh,” Chevron said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. “At this stage, no decision has been made to sell our interests. We will only proceed if we can realize attractive value for Chevron.” Representatives for ONGC, United Energy, Brightoil Petroleum, the Bangladeshi energy ministry and Petrobangla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Calls to Orient Group’s general line were unanswered.
India to double LNG import capacity to 50 million ton per year
India plans to more than double its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity to 50 million tonnes a year, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a news conference on Thursday, without giving a timeline. It has a capacity to import 21 million tonnes of the super-cooled fuel currently. As the nation moves to a gas-based economy, India wants to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 percent in the next three-to-four years from 6.5 percent now, Pradhan said. Dawuane Smoot Jersey
Kochi:Steps taken to expedite National Highway widening: Pinarayi Vijayan
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday that the state government has taken steps to expedite the widening of the national highway between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram into four lanes. Inaugurating the Palarivattom flyover on Wednesday, Vijayan said that efforts are on to sort out the issues related to land acquisition for widening of national highways. The chief minister said that respective district collectors have been given instructions to hold discussions with landowners to resolve the land acquisition crisis. The government will be preparing a better compensation and rehabilitation package for the land owners to minimise their hardships. He said that the government stands for environment-friendly construction that is suitable for the state’s climate and geography. The government plans to start a system which make use of factors like recycling of waste materials during construction and environment-friendly raw materials. Various methods like optimum of utilization of power will be introduced to check cost escalation, he said. PWD minister G Sudhakaran said that the detailed project reports for the flyovers at Vyttila and Kundanoor would be prepared soon and construction works would begin once the central government gave approval to National Highways Authority of India to undertake the work. Once these two flyovers are completed, there would be four flyovers along the stretch between Kundanoor and Edappally to address traffic snarls, he said. The minister said that all roads, constructed or repaired in future, will have well-covered drains. Pavements for pedestrians and cycle tracks would also be part of the new plan, he said. The government has decided to construct two highways – high range and coastal – between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 crore. Mayor Soumini Jain requested the government to take urgent steps to complete the work on Pullepady-Thammanam Road. She also wanted the state government to revise the PWD manual so as to facilitate smooth completion of road works. The chief minister also took a ride on the newly-commissioned flyover. Guy Lapointe Authentic Jersey
Government approves Rs 1,955-crore road link project
A highway project worth Rs 1,955 crore for construction of a road link between Sahibganj in Jharkhand to Manihari in Bihar, including a bridge on the Ganges, received Cabinet clearance today. “The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a new link between Sahibganj bypass in Jharkhand to Manihari bypass in Bihar, including a four-lane bridge on river Ganga,” an official statement said. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1,954.77 crore, including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 kms. The job will be executed in hybrid annuity Mode, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said, adding that the concession period is 19 years, including a construction period of four years. The new link road will be approximately 16 km long, starting (from Sahibganj Pass in Jharkhand) to another six-km stretch near Narenpur (junction of NH-133B and NH-131A on Manihari bypass in Bihar). This stretch also includes a four-lane bridge on the Ganga. The project, the government said, will help expedite improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand and also reduce the time and cost of travel in these states. The development of this stretch is also expected to help uplift socio-economic conditions of people of this region in the state. It would also increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities. “It has been estimated that a total number of 4,076 mandays are required for construction of one kilometre of highway. As such, employment potential of 89,000 (approximately) mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of this stretch,” it said. The new project highway is a new formation of the missing link at NH-131A to NH-133B connecting Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Manihari in Bihar. At present, there is a missing link between Jharkhand to Bihar as there is no bridge on the Ganga at this point. The vehicular traffic uses Vikramshila Setu at Bhagalpur on Farakka barrage, which means covering a long distance for destinations in North Bihar. Jack Conklin Jersey
Top Canadian funds like Brookfield Asset Management, CDPQ and PSP Investments drawn to India’s highway projects
Top Canadian funds including Brookfield Asset Management, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) and PSP Investments have evinced interest in investing in India’s highway projects. Brookfield Asset Management and Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) have had preliminary talks with state-run National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the roads ministry, NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra said. “We have had initial talks with Canadian funds. They have been coming to me on and off and have shown interest in the toll operate transfer investment model (TOT),” he said. PSP Investments and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have also expressed interest in the projects, another official aware of the matter said. The government has identified some 100 operational highways owned by the NHAI for leasing to private players through the auction route for maintenance and toll collection for 30 years. The highway projects will be leased along with local operations and maintenance partners. The ministry expects about Rs 70,000 crore in upfront payment from this process and plans to use the funds to meet its target of laying 15,000 km of national highways in the current fiscal. “Brookfield is in constant touch with us and they have conveyed they are very much interested in participating in the process of bidding,” Chandra said. The highways authority has roped in SBI CAPS as a consultant for its monetisation plan. Canadian funds led by Brookfield and Canadian Pension Fund Investment Board have been bullish on India and are making big bets. Brookfield has already said it is planning to invest $2 billion over the next two-three years. CDPQ has also planned large investments in different sectors in India. “We have been looking at various projects in India to invest in, including roads. A string of investments were announced last week. We also want to partner in one of the port projects,” a senior executive of Quebec-headquartered CDPQ told ET. CDPQ recently inked a longterm partnership with Edelweiss Financial Service Ltd to invest about Rs 5, 000 crore in stressed assets and specialised corporate credit in India. To make the highway projects more lucrative for private funds, the government is also allowing bundling of highway projects so that a bidder can take up a portfolio of projects. The ministry has already asked NHAI to identify projects where bundling can be done and the process of bidding started.(The correspondent was in Montreal at the invitation of government of Canada) Kirk Gibson Jersey
ICRA: Air passenger traffic continues on a strong growth trajectory; records 20% increase in August 2016
During August 2016, the air passenger traffic in the country stood at 21.4 million, exhibiting a substantial growth of 20% over August 2015. In 5m FY2017, the passenger traffic has reported a y-o-y growth of 19%, aircraft traffic has grown by 15% and cargo traffic has grown by 7%. Harsh Jagnani, VP, ICRA Ltd elaborates, “August 2016 reported slight decline (1.1%) in total passenger traffic on m-o-m basis; however, on y-o-y basis there had been a growth of 20% reflecting the continuing overall positive growth trajectory. The passenger traffic growth in August has been driven primarily by significant y-o-y increase in domestic passengers (23%), which constitute over 77% of the total passenger traffic in the country as of August 2016. The aircraft traffic has reported similar trends with a negligible m-o-m growth and y-o-y growth of 13% in August 2016”. The domestic traffic (both passenger and aircraft) continues to dominate the total traffic with domestic passenger traffic and domestic aircraft traffic reporting a 23% and 15% y-o-y increase respectively in August 2016, significantly higher than the 8% growth reported in both international passenger and aircraft traffic. The passenger growth in the country has remained broad-based with 18 out of the top 20 airports exhibiting double-digit y-o-y growth rates. The growth remained robust across both metro cities (y-o-y growth of 20%) and non-metro cities (y-o-y growth of 19%). Chris Hogan Authentic Jersey