Maharashtra to soon introduce Energy Conservation policy
The Maharashtra government will soon come up with an Energy Conservation policy which will aim at enhancing the technology required to improve electricity generation. The draft of the policy, prepared in line with the Centre’s Energy Conservation Policy of 2001 has been uploaded on the government’s website and recommendations have been invited from experts to strengthen it, a statement released by the state Energy department said. “Increase in development and growing population of the state has caused a rise in the demand for electricity. Keeping in mind the development of industries, there will be a further rise in energy demand,” it said. As per the release, most of the electricity being generated today is through non-renewable sources like coal, fuels, etc which causes an imbalance in nature, increases pollution and is a factor causing global warming. “Also since these resources are fast depleting, we may not have enough of them in future. Thus these resources need to be used wisely,” it added. The Energy department said the new policy will ensure the government provides sufficient infrastructure for the Centre’s 2001 policy to be implemented. Once implemented after getting the state Cabinet’s nod, the government will save around 1000 MW energy in various sectors by 2020-21, it added. The policy once implemented will also aim to reduce the financial burden on the government by saving electricity, oil and gas. David Rundblad Authentic Jersey
Snag in MP plant, power dearer for Punjab
A snag in the ultra-mega thermal power plant located at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh has forced Punjab to buy electricity at much higher rates from other sources to meet the shortfall. The Sasan thermal power project is situated near a coal pit head and is run by the Reliance Power Limited (Anil Ambani group). Four out of six thermal units in the power plant broke down which caused the shortfall in power supply in Punjab. The plant supplies power to seven procurer states including Punjab, which buys 15% of the total produce. The plant with a capacity of generating 3,722.4 megawatts (MW) of electricity is now producing much less power affecting Punjab in the paddy season. The electricity produced by the Sasan thermal plant is priced at Rs 1.58 per unit while in Punjab the private projects plants sell power at a much higher rate. Talwandi Sabo power plant prices its energy at Rs 7.26 per unit and the Rajpura thermal plant sells it at Rs 4.10 per unit. Sources said on August 16, the production of Sasan thermal plant fell to 824 MW registering a loss of 2,898.4 MW, which caused Punjab a loss of 10.4 million units. Average availability of power at Sasan was been recorded as 851 MW on August 17, 1,608 MW on August 18, 1,795 MW on August 19, 1,646 MW on August 20, 2,505 MW on August 21, and 2,756 MW on August 22. Joakim Nordstrom Jersey
State electricity board officials caught taking bribe in Rajasthan
Two senior officials of the Rajasthan electricity board were today arrested by Anti-Corruption Bureau while they were accepting bribes. Additional Chief Engineer Narendra Kalra and Executive Engineer Jitendra Singh of the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam were caught taking bribes of Rs. 25,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively from representatives of a construction company. Acting on a complaint by the company manager Jitendra Singh, ACB laid a trap and sent Singh with the money to Kalra at his Jodhpur office while another employee of the company was sent to Dhankhad at his office in Jhunjhunu where they were caught. On the complaint of the project manager of the company, Jitendra Singh, we arrested Kalra and Dhankhad from their respective offices in Jodhpur and Jhunjhunu while accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000 today , said SP (ACB) Ajay Pal Lamba. Following their arrests, their residences were also searched, informed Lamba. They will be produced in the court tomorrow, he added. Kevin Labanc Jersey
PSU oil firms question Adani’s plan to set up Dhamra LPG terminal and pipeline project
India’s three state-owned downstream oil firms have questioned Adani Group’s plans to set up a 650-Kilometer pipeline network that will connect Adani’s planned 1.6 million tonne LPG terminal at Dhamra port in Odisha to Asansol in West Bengal and Duttapulia near the Indo-Bangladesh border. Adani Gas Ltd (AGL), the natural gas distribution arm of Adani Enterprises, plans to capture the fast growing market for cooking gas in Eastern India and Bangladesh through the pipeline. However, the three PSU fuel retailers – Indian Oil (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) – have raised questions on the ambitious project in separate submissions to the downstream regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). An email sent to Adani seeking response on the PSUs’ questions remained unanswered. Experts said setting up an LPG import terminal of 1.6 mtpa capacity could entail an investment of close to Rs 1,500 crore. AGL had in April this year submitted an Expression of Interest (EoI) to PNGRB seeking authorization for laying the pipeline. Adani plans to make the terminal operational by mid-2018 and expects the initial volume to be around 1.6 MTPA which will be later increased to 2.5 MTPA. The IOC-BPCL-HPCL combine, however, has raised questions on the issue of parallel infrastructure – another LPG terminal being built by BPCL and Aegis Logistics at Haldia and a parallel 670-Km pipeline being constructed by IOC from Paradip to Durgapur via Haldia. “HPCL is of the view that due to upcoming LPG import terminal at Haldia by ALL and BPCL, there is no foreseeable requirement for LPG import terminal in the proposed pipeline route from Dhamra to Haldia,” HPCL has told PNGRB. The country’s third largest fuel retailer is already proposed to book 150 thousand metric tonne per annum (TMTPA) of the IOC pipeline. HPCL has also tied-up for usage of the upcoming import facility at Haldia with ALL. It stated that Adani Gas will have to make provision for input to their proposed pipeline from the ALL terminal for throughput of HPCL. IOC has also called the proposed pipeline by Adani Gas parallel infrastructure. Dhamra stands at a 30-Km distance from the route of the IOC pipeline and the distance between Duttapulia and Kalyani (the end point of IOC pipeline) is 50-Km, IOC has told the regulator. “Out of the around 650-Km pipeline route, for almost 550-Km, Adani Gas’ pipeline route is similar to IOC’s under-construction pipeline. With the requirement of major LPG marketers – IOC, BPCL and HPCL – being met by IOC’s pipeline, there might not be a need to create parallel infrastructure,” the nation’s largest fuel retailer said. The firm has already constructed 250-Km of the total 670-Km pipeline and plans to further extend it to Patna and Muzaffarpur. Raising similar questions, BPCL has said that there is no requirement of LPG from Dhamra port up to Haldia. “However, in exigencies and after evaluating the economics and circumstances, the option to use Dhamra can be exercised,” the company told PNGRB, adding the reason for terminating the (Adani Gas) pipeline at Asansol is not clear. According to Adani’s EoI, the proposed pipeline from Dhamra to Asansol and the Duttapulia pipeline would help evacuate cargo from the upcoming LPG terminal and help in increasing the penetration of LPG in the under-serviced markets of Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. AGL has been operating CGD networks in Vadodara and Ahmedabad since 2004 and Faridabad since 2009. The company also holds a 50:60 joint venture with IOC authorized by PNGRB to develop and operate CGD networks in Allahabad, Chandigarh, Panipat, Daman, Ernakulam and Dharwad. AGL services a customer base of around 350,000 daily through a network of 65 CNG stations, 400 Km of steel pipeline and 5,850 Km of Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE) pipeline. According to Adani Gas, the availability of draft and the infrastructure for handling Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) were major considerations for selecting the location of the import terminal at Dhamra port. India consumes around 18 MT of LPG annually even as domestic production stands at 10 MT. The country imports more than 8.3 MT of LPG a year. The LPG consumption is expected to grow to 25 MT in 2020 of which nearly 16 MT will be imported. LPG consumption in the Dhamra hinterland has also grown to 2.8 MTPA driven by sharp rise in demand in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Bangladesh and the north-Eastern regions of India. Bangladesh’s LPG supply is also heavily import-dependent. That nation consumed 150,000 tonne of LPG last year of which only 22,000 was produced locally. Tre Flowers Authentic Jersey
RIL may drop arbitration proceedings on government’s authority to fix gas prices
The board of Reliance Industries will consider next year dropping the arbitration against the government on the latter’s authority to fix gas prices, sources familiar with the matter said. Reliance must withdraw the arbitration if it wants to charge a higher price for its deep sea gas, according to a recently announced government policy that has more than doubled prices available to gas from difficult fields. Following the policy announcement, Reliance hasn’t clearly said if it wants to withdraw the arbitration but has initiated the process of developing its deep sea fields in the KG Basin. Reliance and its partners, BP Plc and Niko Resources, have sought contractors for concept engineering and design for deep water field development. “The fact that Reliance Industries has sought vendors for the field shows that it is keen on developing it. Dropping arbitration is a precondition for availing higher prices for gas from the field. Therefore, once the development plan is ready, it will be put to the board next year which would then take a call if it made sense to develop the field and drop arbitration. It will be a purely commercial decision,” a source familiar with the matter said. The new policy on gas prices can potentially benefit Reliance’s eight discoveries with reserves of 2.53 trillion cubic feet of gas. The maximum price available to gas from difficult fields in India is $6.61 per unit currently, according to the government formula, which compares favourably with the global spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) rates hovering between $5 and $6 per unit these days. The price available to domestic natural gas from other fields is $3.06 per unit. The price of gas from difficult fields has been linked with alternative fuels. Kevin King Authentic Jersey
HPCL, GAIL to divest up to 50% stake in petrochem plant in Andhra Pradesh
Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and gas utility GAIL India Ltd will divest up to 50 per cent stake in the Rs 300 billion petrochemical plant which is being set up in Andhra Pradesh. HPCL and GAIL are looking at setting up a 1 million tons Ethylene Derivatives plant, which will produce a wide range of petrochemical raw materials for the manufacture of detergents, paints and coatings, cosmetics, textiles and adhesives. “Currently, it is a 50:50 project but we are open to inducting a strategic partner,” HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh K Surana told here. The project at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, will cost Rs 300 billion. “We are willing to give up to 50 per cent stake in the project to the strategic partner,” he said. Some global petro hem companies have shown interest in the project but talks are at preliminary stage currently, he said without disclosing details. The planned project is a truncated version of the earlier proposed refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex in Andhra Pradesh. HPCL has for the timebeing shelved plans to build a new refinery and is only pursuing petrochemical project. HPCL and GAIL decided to do the petrochem plan together after their plans to team up with France’s Total, Lakshmi N Mittal Group and Oil India Ltd (OIL) for a 15 million tonnes a year refinery-cum-petrochemical plant at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh fell through. “That project fell as partners pulled out one after the other due to weak global demand,” another official said. “Now, HPCL and GAIL are looking at setting up a petrochemical plant at the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) sites identified by the state government at Kakinada.” Surana said currently detailed feasibility report (DFR) is being prepared and details will work out following that. HPCL owns a 7.5 million tons refinery at Mumbai and a 8.3 million tons unit at Vizag. While the Vizag plant is being expanded to 15 million tons, HPCL is expanding the Mumbai refinery to 9.5 million tons at a cost of Rs 40 billion by 2019, he said. Vizag refinery will also be expanded to 15 million tons by 2020 at a cost of Rs 209.28 billion. It has also setting up a 9 million tons refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan at the cost of Rs 373.20 billion. But the project hinges on the state government giving fiscal incentives, he said. HPCL had in 2007-08 planned an only-for-exports refinery to target demand in South East Asia and the Middle East. The five-way alliance of HPCL, explorer OIL, gas utility GAIL India, Mittal Investment Sarl and Total had in October 2007 signed a memorandum of understanding to look at the feasibility of setting up the Vizag project. In 2009, the Rs 500 billion project was put on hold as petrochemical demand then was seen as too weak to justify the investment. Total did pre-feasibility for the refinery project and demand studies, while GAIL was in charge of the study of the petrochemical unit. But the project was in 2010 put on back burner before equity structure could be decided Chad Thomas Womens Jersey
NGT slaps Rs 1 billion damages on shipping firm for oil spill
A Panama-based shipping company and its two Qatar-based sister concerns were today directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to pay up Rs 1 billion as damages for causing an oil spill when a cargo vessel sank off Mumbai coast in 2011, damaging marine ecology. While asking the three companies to pay Rs billion as environmental compensation (EC) to the Ministry of Shipping, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar also ordered Gujarat-based Adani Enterprises Ltd to pay Rs 50 million as EC for dumping in the seabed 60054 MT coal, being carried by the ship M V RAK, and polluting the marine environment. The tribunal asked Republic of Panama’s Delta Shipping Marine Services SA, Qatar-based Delta Navigation WLL and Delta Group International to pay Rs 1 million to the Ministry, observing that reports showed that the documents in favour of the ship were issued in a biased manner and the vessel was “not seaworthy”, right from the inception of its voyage. It also held the respondents to be defaulting entities which had adopted the “most careless and reckless attitude” in protecting the marine environment. “We are of the considered view that determined damages of Rs 1 million should be paid by and recovered from respondents number 5, 7 and 11, jointly and severally while respondent number 6 is held liable to pay Rs 50 million as environmental compensation for dumping of the cargo in the sea and then failing to take any precautionary or preventive measures. “The consignment of 60054 MT of coal has caused marine pollution and continues to be a cause and concern for environmental pollution. The respondents are defaulting entities which have not complied with law and have adopted a most careless and reckless attitude in relation to protecting the marine environment,” the bench, also comprising Judicial Member U D Salvi, Expert Members A R Yousuf and Ranjan Chatterjee, said in its 223-page judgement. The tribunal constituted a committee to look into various aspects, including to study and report to it within a month on whether removal of the ship wreck and cargo from its present location should be directed as per global conventions and in the interest of marine environment. NGT passed the verdict on a petition filed by Samir Mehta, a Mumbai-based environmentalist, who had sought compensation for damages caused to the marine ecology due to the oil spill. The ship, which was sailing from Indonesia to Dahej in Gujarat, sank 20 nautical miles off the South Mumbai coast in the Arabian Sea on August 4, 2011. The vessel was owned by Delta Shipping Marine Services SA. While Delta Navigation WLL and Delta Group International were responsible for its voyage. The ship was also carrying more than 60,000 metric tons of coal for Adani Enterprises Ltd thermal power plant in Gujarat besides containing 290 tons of fuel oil and 50 tons of diesel. The bench said it was “a clear case where negligence is attributable to the four firms” and added that it was not a case of sinking of a ship by “accident simpliciter”. “But it is a case where element of mens rea can be traced from the unfolding of the events that finally led to the sinking of the ship on August 4, 2011. Non-rendering of requisite help by the ship owner and other persons interested and responsible, to the Master of the ship, despite the fact that they had complete knowledge about the status of the ship prior to the occurrence of the incident on August 4, 2011. “The ship had developed mechanical and technical snags at Colombo and Singapore and the Master of the ship had asked for help there during its onward journey. There is nothing on record to show that ship owner and other respondents provided timely assistance to the Master of the ship,” it said. The bench said “on the true and purposive construction of the International Conventions and the statutory provisions afore-referred, no party from any country in the world has the right/privilege to sail an unseaworthy ship to the Contiguous and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and in any event to dump the same in such waters, causing marine pollution, damage or degradation thereof.” It said the ship and its cargo should be removed by the four companies or they shall get it removed within six months from the date of submission of report of the committee, consituted by it, before the tribunal. “The liabilities to pay environmental compensation as aforedirected are on account of and subject to adjustments, after the submission of the final report by the Committee,” it added. A year before this oil spill off the Mumbai coast, another such accident had occured in the Gulf of Mexico when an oil rig ‘Deepwater Horizon’ had exploded, leading to sea- floor oil gushing out for 87 days till it was capped. Eleven people had gone missing in what is considered to be the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. In July 2015, after a long legal battle, BP, formerly known as British Petroleum which owned the rig, agreed to pay USD 18.7 billion in fines, the largest corporate settlement in US history so far. Lester Hayes Authentic Jersey
How India Saved $470 Million a Year With Real-Time Data
A new system for LPG pricing in India involved real-time consumption data. Name of Organization: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Industry: Oil and gas Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Business Opportunity or Challenge Encountered: When the Indian government decontrolled petroleum prices recently, that paved the way for market-driven LPG pricing in India. But for Indian Oil, the challenge to tie prices to the market was immense. The company has 43,000 customer touchpoints in oil and gas refining, distribution, and retailing. LPG pricing in India: The Indian government used to have a dual pricing system for liquid petroleum gas, including a subsidized and market price. “We have the largest refining capacity in India,” says Abhishek Choudhary, manager of information systems at Indian Oil, which is 80-percent owned by the Indian government. The company faced challenges implementing a dual pricing system for liquid petroleum gas (LPG). As Choudhary explained, every household in Indian has a connection for LPG, which Indians use for cooking. The Indian government subsidizes LPG, but wanted to bring the product under market pricing while still allowing subsidies to continue through direct transfers to a customer’s bank account. How This Business Opportunity or Challenge Was Met: Indian Oil deployed the Informatica Platform, which included the Vibe Data Stream and Real-Time Data Integration components. The challenge was to be able to recognize if a sale qualified for a government subsidy, and to immediately transfer money into the consumer’s bank account, versus selling LPG at a separate subsidized price. “We converted our systems into a real-time consumption package,” says Choudhary. “We actually know how much consumption happened yesterday night. We’re capturing real-time data from secondary sales through gas stations across India.” Leveraging Internet of Things capabilities also plays a role in the effort, Choudhary adds. The initiative takes “old-line LPG and petrol refinery stuff, and modernizes it with the real-time analytics from Informatica,” Choudhary points out. “We’re getting this data on a real-time basis, and then putting in systems or real-time systems that decide whether these subsidies get transferred to consumers or not, to make settlement.” Measurable/Quantifiable and “Soft” Benefits from This Initiative: Indian Oil saw a number of benefits from real-time data integration, including: ? The audited savings from the effort were $470 million a year, which included benefits of $200 million in a year preventing subsidy leakage by integrating consumer accounts across LPG companies in India. ? The company met the goals of the Indian Government to remove$1.5 billion (USD) in budget provisioning for LPG subsidies. Rather, the new system ensured that $125 million in subsidies reached the correct end consumer. Plus, citizens can log into the system and check the status of their accounts, Choudhary adds. ? Indian Oil was able to make better decisions on dynamic pricing of petroleum and gas as well as achieve better monitoring of stock and dispensing units at retail outlets. Monitoring enabled preventative maintenance on equipment and averted market dry-out situations at petrol stations. The impact, however, goes well beyond the company, and is playing a role in the Indian economy, Choudhary says. “We are capturing the data on a real-time basis direct from these devices and applying real-time analytics. We’re sourcing the secondary sales coming out of these deals. Once we have this data, since we control 70 percent of the Indian market, we actually know the consumption that India is having on a real-time basis. That is huge data.” The real-time initiative is helping to “change the way business is done in India, at least for the oil industry,” he adds. “The sheer magnitude makes it so large, that up to today, we have actually transferred $120 billion into the banking industry that was not there.” Jordan Reed Authentic Jersey
ONGC Videsh Ltd gets 1-year extension for exploring Vietnamese oil block
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has received one-year extension to explore a Vietnamese oil block in the contested waters of the South China Sea. This is the fourth extension for OVL to explore Block-128, the license for which is now valid till June 15, 2017, sources privy to the development said. OVL had in May applied to the Vietnamese authorities for a fourth extension of the exploration licence for the deepsea block to maintain India’s strategic interest in the South China Sea. Vietnam’s national oil company PetroVietnam has granted the extension, sources said. OVL had signed Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the 7,058 square km Block 128 in offshore PhuKhanh Basin, Vietnam on May 24, 2006. Ministry of Planning & Investment (MPI), Vietnam issued investment licence for the block on June 16, 2006, being effective date of the PSC. The company has not found any hydrocarbon in the block but is continuing to stay invested. OVL first took a two-year extension of the exploration period till June 2014 and then another one year. A third extension was granted on May 28, 2015 and now a fourth extension has been granted. The company has so far invested USD 50.88 million in the block. The block lies in the part of South China Sea over which China claims sovereignty. In 2011, Beijing had warned OVL that its exploration activities off the Vietnam coast were illegal and violated China’s sovereignty, but the company continued exploring for oil and gas. OVL forayed into Vietnam as early as 1988, when it bagged the exploration licence for Block 6.1. The company got two exploration blocks – Block 127 and Block 128 – in 2006. However, Block 127 was relinquished due to poor prospectives, the other Block was retained. The first extension followed China putting the area under Block 128 for global bidding. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea where the two Blocks are located and had warned the Indian arm from drilling in the region. OVL continues to own 45 per cent stake in Vietnam’s offshore Block 6.1 and its share of production was 2.023 billion cubic metres of gas and 0.036 million tonnes of condensate. The company in October 2014 signed an agreement to pick up to 50 per cent stake in the two exploration blocks in the South China Sea. OVL took 40 per cent stake in Block 102/10 and 50 per cent in 106/10 that lie outside the sea territory claimed by China. In return, PetroVietnam took half of OVL’s 100 per cent stake in Block 128. Brooks Reed Authentic Jersey
Major ports, entities to take Rs 50,000 crore loan in USD: Nitin Gadkari
India’s major ports and state-run shipping entities may take Rs 50,000 crore loan in US dollars at a low interest rate to augment infrastructure, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today. A pact for External commercial borrowings (ECB) by Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) with SBI and Singapore’s DBS, for USD 400 million (around Rs 2,600 crore) loan, has paved way for other major ports besides Shipping Corporation, Dredging Corporation and Cochin Shipyard to take the same route, Shipping and Road Transport and Highways Minister said. “ECB in ports will increase capital in infrastructure sector. JNPT has paved way for our ports and shipping entities to take loans in dollar term at a very low interest rate which in turn would enhance the viability of projects,” the Minister said at a function here for exchange of documents by bankers and JNPT officials for ECB of USD 400 million. “We can take loans of Rs 50,000 crore in US dollars,” Gadkari said. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has entered into an agreement with State Bank of India (SBI) and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) for a loan of USD 400 Million. Gadkari said the rate of ECB loan is only 2.025 per cent and with Libor it comes to about 3.15 per cent which is cheaper than any other Indian currency loan. The funding by JNPT is the first-of-its-kind for major port and it opens up one more avenue for major and government ports to raise funds by accessing international markets for their requirements, he said. He said the loan would be used for augmenting JNPT infrastructure that include a 45 km 6/8 lane road which will be tolled and added JNPT may repay it in 5-6 years as it has 45 lakh containers which are going to be increased to 1 crore. “Loans in dollar term in 3 per cent interest would reduce our project costs as there will be a saving of interest of 8 per cent. Cost of our construction will reduce and economic viability of projects will increase. We are planning to use the financial strength of our ports to develop inland waterways,” Gadkari said. Gadkari said ECB of USD 400 million by JNPT will be used to improve the infrastructure required for doubling its existing capacity to 9.85 million TEUs annually. The ECB comprising USD 300 million from SBI and USD 100 million from DBS will be primarily utilised by JNPT, which has US dollar denominated foreign currency earnings that can be leveraged for a low cost foreign currency borrowing, for expansion of existing roads network. “Borrowing by JNPT is for Door-to-Door tenor of 7.5 years. However, lending by JNPT to MJPRCL (Mumbai JNPT Port Road Company Limited) for 45 Km 6-8 lane road is for 16 years (two years construction and 14 years repayment),” JNPT Chairman Anil Diggikar said The project will be developed by MJPRCL, a joint venture company of NHAI, JNPT and CIDCO at a cost of Rs 2,895 crore. JNPT is going to double its capacity in the next seven years and the road project would boost EXIM trade. Demarcus Walker Jersey