Mumbai to Goa in just 6 hours soon: Nitin Gadkari
Travelling to Goa from Mumbai by road may soon take only six hours due to the construction of a new four-lane concrete highway, Union Minister for Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. “It will soon take only six-hours to travel between Goa and Mumbai with the four-lane concrete highway we are building,” Gadkari said, adding that the rate of road building by his ministry was 22 kms per day. He was speaking at a function on the occasion of signing a concession agreement between the Mormugao Port Trust and Goa Seaport Pvt Ltd for redevelopment of two berths and other barge berths at the central government facility. The minister also proposed to shift a port project in Goa’s Betul village, which has faced local opposition, to either of the neighbouring states of Maharashtra or Karnataka, on account of a series of protests against it. He also said an eight km highway will be constructed, connecting the upcoming Mopa airport in North Goa, located 40 kms from Panaji, to the National Highway 17 at the cost of Rs 300 crore. Eric Ebron Authentic Jersey
Monsoon to keep India’s diesel exports near 3-year high
India’s diesel exports are expected to hover near a three-year high in September, as monsoon rains reduce the need to use the fuel in irrigation pumps, according to traders and refinery sources. Reflecting this trend, state-owned Indian Oil Corp exported diesel for the first time in more than five years and the ramp-up of a new refinery could also temporarily keep exports high after the monsoon draws to a close this month. The increase in shipments from the world’s no. 3 oil consumer has driven the profit margin for refining diesel in Asia to a seasonal six-year low. India is expected to ship out similar volumes in September compared with August, when it exported 2.85 million tonnes, according to traders. Last month’s volume was the highest since September, 2013, when India shipped out 3.371 million tonnes, government data showed. “Diesel demand has not been that good during this monsoon season and has generally been flattish,” a source at an Indian-refiner said. Indian Oil Corp exported its first low-sulphur diesel cargo in more than five years in August and followed up by offering a second cargo this week. While the first cargo was sold at a deep discount due to a low flash point making it more difficult to blend, any additional spot cargo will weaken an already oversupplied diesel market in Asia, traders said. IOC’s diesel demand during the monsoon was lower than the company’s initial estimates, while its inventory was high, leading to the unexpected exports, but this is likely to be temporary, a second source close to the matter said. Refineries in India are also running at near maximum capacity due to healthy refining margins driven by low feedstock prices, a third refining source said. IOC’s 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) new Paradip refinery, which was commissioned in late 2015, will run at full capacity by the last quarter of the current financial year, a company executive said this week. The refinery is expected to boost IOC’s diesel output by 200,000 tonnes next month, which will reduce its offtake of the fuel from private refiners by a similar amount, one of the sources said. This in turn could drive up exports from private refiners like Essar Oil and Reliance Industries, traders said. “Diesel demand was so good over the first half of this year, but fell during the monsoon season,” the third refining source said. “Demand should pick up after the monsoon but as of now that is still to be seen.” India’s monsoon season typically runs from June to September. Trevor Bauer Womens Jersey
Govt to fund 40% of Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra gas pipeline project
Almost 40% of the Rs 12,940 crore, proposed Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra (JHBDPL) gas pipeline project will be funded by the government. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved viability gap funding and partial capital grant for the project amounting to Rs 5,176 crore, on Wednesday. This 2539 km long JHBDPL gas pipeline project will ensure availability of clean and eco-friendly fuel like natural gas to industrial, commercial, domestic and transport sectors in West Bengal. Other states benefitting from the project will be Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. The JHBDPL project will connect eastern part of the country with the national gas grid. The capital grant will encourage supply of eco-friendly fuel at affordable tariffs to industries and will encourage industrial development in these states. The cabinet has also recently approved revival of three fertilizer units (FCIL- Gorakhpur, HFCL- Barauni and FCIL-Sindri) along the route of this pipeline project. On revival, these units will be the anchor gas customers for JHBDPL project and gas to these plants will be supplied under the gas pooling scheme for urea sector at pooled price. Terry Bradshaw Authentic Jersey
CCEA approves city gas distribution in Kolkata
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), has approved development of city gas distribution (CGD) networks in Kolkata as well as cities lying en-route Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra gas pipeline. Varanasi, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Cuttack will also get city gas distribution. City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks in cities are to be developed by GAIL in collaboration with the concerned state governments. It will bring clean cooking fuel at the door steps of domestic households as well as provide clean fuel to transport sector in the eastern region. About 1.25 crore people living in these cities will be directly benefitted by the establishment of these networks. All these projects will generate direct as well as indirect employment for about 21,000 people and will boost socio-economic development in the eastern part of the country. William Gholston Authentic Jersey
Large population still without power in India: Report
Even though government data shows low power deficit and a surplus situation in the country, a large population is still without electricity and power cuts are part of daily life, says a report. According to clean energy consultant Mercom Capital Group’s latest report, the power deficit numbers in India do not paint the full picture. “….large populations in India are still without electricity and power cuts are still part of daily life in urban areas and more so in rural areas,” the report ‘India Solar Quarterly Market Update’ said. “The reduction in the power deficit we are seeing is largely due to a combination of a drop in power demand in the commercial and industrial sector, and the financial health of discoms,” it added. Falling demand has led to record low prices on the power exchanges, it said. According to Central Electricity Authority (CEA), plant load factors have fallen by 20-30 per cent due to the drop in power usage from commercial and industrial customers, a major source of revenue for discoms. These customers also usually end up subsidizing residential and rural customers for whom discoms refuse to increase tariffs in line with costs, leading to massive losses year after year. Discoms, which continue to have financial struggles, are purchasing cheaper power from the exchanges, which is resulting in curtailment issues for solar power. Some discoms are simply resorting to power cuts as they cannot afford to even purchase power at low rates on the exchanges. Some states have surplus power but still do not supply power round the clock for fear of losses due to low tariffs from residential and agricultural customers. Ramon Foster Womens Jersey
LG scraps AAP govt’s appointment of DERC head
The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, has set aside the appointment of Krishna Saini as Chairperson of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission and has asked the elected government to initiate the process of selection of a new chairperson. Jung’s office said Saini was appointed as the chairman of the power regulatory body of Delhi in March with the approval of the LG as mandated under the procedure. “As the constitution of the Selection Committee as well as the appointment of the Chairperson, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) was done without putting up the matter to the Lt. Governor at any stage, for his views and concurrence, the entire process of appointment of DERC Chairperson has been vitiated right from the beginning and suffers from serious legal infirmities, ” LG’s office said in a statement. It further said DERC is a statutory body, discharging important functions and illegalities in the appointment of Chairperson are bound to have legal and other repercussions. “In the given circumstances, the appointment of Chairperson, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has been declared as void, ab initio,” LG’s office said in a statement. The Delhi High Court is also hearing two public interest litigations regarding the appointment of Saini. The next hearing of the PILs is in Friday. Will Hernandez Womens Jersey
IPCL to adopt smart grid with USTDA in Gaya
India Power Corporation Ltd has entered into a partnership with US Trade & Development Agency to implement smart gird technology on India Power’s distribution network – particularly to its Gaya Franchise in Bihar. It will boost efficiency and reliability while minimizing wastage. A smart grid is commonly characterized by the application of digital processing and communications to centralize data flow and information management. American expertise will help overcome challenges like integration of new grid information – one of the key issues in designs of smart grids. At present, electric utilities now find themselves making three classes of transformations: improvement of infrastructure; addition of the digital layer; and business process transformation, necessary to capitalize on the investments in smart technology. Much of the work going on in electric grid modernization, especially for substations and distribution automation, is now included in the general concept of the smart grid. The opportunity to conduct USTDA sponsored technical assistance for IPCL will be completed by interested US firms through Federal Business Opportunities. Marqise Lee Authentic Jersey
IndiGo opts for bigger single-aisle planes for overseas expansion
IndiGo is for the first time opting for bigger aircraft in the single-aisle segment, as it steps up overseas expansion plans. India’s biggest airline by market share has tweaked part of its aircraft order, converting 20 Airbus A320Neo planes to A321Neos, said two people in the know. In IndiGo’s single-class configuration, the A321 will have a sitting capacity of over 230, compared to the A320’s 180. The airline has a total of 422 planes on order. After the tweak, 402 of them will be A320s and the rest A321s. The A321s will start coming in from 2019, said one of the executives. He added the conversion was a clause in the initial plane purchase contract between IndiGo and Airbus. There’s also a possibility that IndiGo may opt for the A321LR (Long Range) planes, touted as the longest range single aisle jetliner in the world. The shift to bigger planes highlights IndiGo’s bigger plans for overseas operations. The airline currently flies to five neighbouring overseas destinations: Kathmandu, Dubai, Singapore, Muscat and Bangkok. India is ahead of the world in terms of domestic air travel demand growth, say figures from the International Air Transport Association. But experts have said that at the breakneck speed in which capacity is slated to be added by airlines in the next few years,supply will outstrip demand. Also, with the government relaxing rules to fly international—domestic airlines now need 20 planes in their fleet, compared to the earlier requirement of 20 planes and 5 years of local operations—airline such as Go Air and Vistara have been drawing ambitious plans to fly international. The Indian government has also opened up talks for enhanching bilateral air traffic rights—airlines of two countries deploy equal number of seats/flights in the air route—which means foreign carriers too will increase capacity to India. Under all such cases, IndiGo needs to step on its international expansion plans. This A321 has a stretched fuselage with an overall length of 44.51 metres, along with an extended operating range of up to 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 kilometers) while carrying a maximum passenger payload, according to the Airbus website. The A321LR will be able to do 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometers). D.J. Swearinger Authentic Jersey
Petrobras cuts spending, raises asset sales goal in five-year plan
Brazil’s state-led oil company Petrobras on Tuesday cut planned investments by 25 percent in a drive to reduce the largest debt burden among global petroleum producers and revive investor confidence battered by a corruption scandal. Petrobras contributes about 10 percent of the nation’s economic output and Brazil’s government, the company’s controlling shareholder, is counting on it to help pull the economy out of its worst recession in decades. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, pledged up to $74.1 billion in capital spending for the 2017-2021 period compared with a $98.4 billion target in the prior four-year 2015-2019 plan, according to a securities filing. This program outlines Petrobras’ smallest capital budget since 2006 and fell short of the $82.7 billion average forecast of eight analysts surveyed by Reuters. Petrobras reaffirmed its goal of $15.1 billion in asset sales for the 2015-2016 period and plans to raise an additional $19.5 billion through divestments and partnerships between 2017 and 2018. The company said it could sell as much as $40 billion of assets over the next 10 years. Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente is seeking to cut the company’s $125 billion of debt, amassed after years of state-directed policies overstretched the company. Parente faces several obstacles including the lowest oil prices in a decade, a corruption scandal highlighting governance flaws, and its struggle to recover from huge losses incurred over many years because of government-mandated fuel subsidies. Petrobras’s stock rose 2.68 percent in afternoon trading in Sao Paulo. Its U.S.-traded common stock rose 1.31 percent in New York. Speaking to reporters in Rio de Janeiro, Parente vowed to cut costs and sharpen the focus on high-return activities to restore profitability. “This plan should start bearing fruit within two years, when we expect to have strong metrics that will allow us to return to the good situation of a few years back,” said Parente, who was appointed in May to turn around the struggling oil giant. In line with focusing on oil and gas production, Petrobras said it will exit the biofuels business by selling ethanol and biodiesel production assets. The plan shows how far Parente, appointed by new President Michel Temer, is prepared to go to reverse the policies of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, removed from office in August for breaking budget laws. OUTPUT MAINTAINED “Lower capital spending makes absolute sense as the company aims at decreasing cash burn to accommodate interest and debt payments and to avoid stretching even further its balance sheet,” said Rodolfo de Angele, an analyst with JPMorgan Securities in Sao Paulo, in a note to clients. Exploration and production will get 82 percent of the investment budget. Spending on “downstream” refining, natural gas distribution and electricity generation will see spending cut 24 percent to $12.4 billion. While investment cuts were bigger than analysts expected, production targets were largely unchanged. Petrobras expects crude output in Brazil to fall in 2017 to 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd) from an average 2.22 million bpd in August. However, the company maintained its target of 2.70 million bpd for 2020, 16 percent above the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Reuters. The company expects to produce 2.77 million bpd in 2021. Total output of domestic and international oil and natural gas equivalent is expected to rise 19 percent in the 2017-2021 period to an average of 3.41 million bpd. Before the plan was released, Luana Siegfried, oil and gas analyst at Raymond James in Houston, said failure to cut the outlook for 2020 Brazil crude oil production in the face of significant budget cuts raises the risk Petrobras will fall short of its promises. In the past 14 years Petrobras has met its annual oil output target only once, in 2015. Parente said that big efficiency gains and higher-than-expected output from new offshore wells will allow Petrobras to meet its targets in the years ahead. The business plan is based on a price of Brent crude oil averaging $48 a barrel in 2017 rising to $71 a barrel in 2021. The plan expects the U.S. dollar to be worth an average of 3.55 reais in 2017, strengthening to 3.71 reais in 2021. Ryan Ramczyk Authentic Jersey
Groundwork for Rs 16,500-crore Navi Mumbai airport to take off next month
Work on construction of the Navi Mumbai international airport (NMIA) is set to start next month, almost two decades after a second international airport for Mumbai was proposed. The state government wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perform the bhoomi pujan for the Rs 16,500 crore project in the last week of October. According to sources, Cidco, the nodal authority, has made a proposal to this effect and the Devendra Fadnavis government is trying to ensure Modi’s presence for the inauguration of the project that has been bedevilled by various issues — from villagers’ protests over compensation to a plethora of clearances. In mid-October, work will start on mobilizing resources, men, material and machinery for the cutting of the Ulwe hill and diversion of the Ulwe river. But the actual infrastructure work will start only after the bhoomi puja, a Cidco official said. The hill cutting and river diversion will be a major part of the Rs 4500-5000 crore first phase of the airport development by a strategic partner — the financial bid for strategic partner is in the final stages. The other work that will be part of the first phase is the construction of the runways, terminal building, ATC and hangars. The infrastructure work will be videographed and archived, officials said. The stage II of forest clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) paving the way for the airport development work in the core areas is expected soon. The story of the dream project traces way back to 1997 when the civil aviation ministry constituted a committee to examine various sites for a second international airport for Mumbai. In May 2009, the MoEF issued notification for amending the CRZ notification of 1991 permitting greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai in CRZ areas, subject to environmental safeguards. Doug Baldwin Jersey