Bharat Petroleum collaborates with BARC for green Hydrogen production
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500 Company has collaborated with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to scale-up Alkaline Electrolysertechnology for Green Hydrogen production. Presently, ElectrolyserPlants are imported. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative to support the country’s commitment to achieve renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Refineries use large quantities of Hydrogen for de-sulfurization to make petrol, diesel and other chemicals. Currently, Hydrogen is made at the Refinery via. Steam Reforming of Natural gas, but this results in high CO2 emission. Therefore, Refiners are setting up large scale electrolysers to produce Green Hydrogen from water and therebydecarbonizeHydrogen production. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arun Kumar Singh, C&MD –Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. said,“BPCL is fully committed towards environment protection and ensuring a greener planet. We have been extensively leveraging technology in all our activities. Today, through collaboration with BARC, we intend to scale up Indigenous Alkaline Electrolyser Technology and look forward to commercializing it for large use especially in Refineries. This will be another step towards “Atmanirbhar Bharat” in our journey for achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2040.” Bharat Petroleum has plans to expand its portfolio of renewable energy with solar, wind and biofuels thereby reaffirming its commitment towards sustainability and reduction of carbon footprint. Furthermore, the Company intends to meet power requirement for new projects in its Refineries, primarily from renewable sources.
India To Release 5 Million Barrels Of Crude Oil From Its Strategic Petroleum Reserves
In a bid to provide relief to citizens from the rising fuel prices, India will release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserves as a part of a coordinated move with other major global energy consumers such as the USA, China, Japan and South Korea. The Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum and Natural Gas said this in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The minister in his speech said that domestic price of crude linked to international benchmarks of crude prices. These get affected by many factors, including the supply and demand, futures’ trading, impact of Covid-19 and other geopolitical situation. Linear co-relation such as pricing and any one of these factors in isolation indeterminable. The government consistently reviewing high petroleum and diesel prices domestically. The Centre had reduced ‘central excise duty’ on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 per litre and Rs 10 per litre, respectively, on November 3. It was followed by reduction in VAT on fuel by several state governments, said MoS Petroleum and Natural Gas. The move is being seen as a strategic step to rein in spiralling global crude oil prices and to keep them under check. In response, the OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries, which accounts for about 50 per cent of global crude supply, has indicated that it may reconsider plans to restore production over the coming months. A release of 5 million barrels of crude oil would equate to about 12. 8 per cent of India’s strategic oil reserves of 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil, which is estimated to be equivalent to 9.5 days of its crude oil requirement.
Is cost of maintaining a strategic petroleum reserve justified?
On November 23, the United States administration authorised the release of 50 million barrels of crude oil from the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) operated by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Fifty million barrels of oil is about half the global oil consumption per day, and about three days of US oil consumption. Oil prices had touched levels not seen in seven years driving the US decision to release SPR oil crude oil. In the words of the secretary DOE, the release of oil from the SPR underscored the US President’s commitment to use the tools available to bring down costs for working families (by reducing the retail price of gasoline in the US), and continue economic recovery. The decision to release SPR oil by the US was co-ordinated with parallel decisions in China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. India’s share in the co-ordinated release of oil stored in SPRs was 5 million barrels, not sufficient to influence oil prices given that the world consumes 100 million barrels a day (b/d). The goal of SPR oil release was not achieved as oil prices increased marginally by $1/barrel, after the announcement of SPR release. But when news of a new COVID-19 variant in South Africa broke on November 26, it did what the release of the SPR by the Joe Biden administration could not — reduce oil prices and that too by a significant 10 percent. This implies that expectations of oil demand growth influenced by factors such as the pandemic are more important in moving oil prices than expectations of supply corrections such as the oil release by the SPR. The apparent impotence of the SPR release raises questions over the costs and benefits of maintaining SPRs. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited India’s SPR is managed by the State-controlled Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), which was set up in 2004 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian Oil, and then handed over to Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) in 2006. Under Phase I, the ISPRL established petroleum storage facilities with total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes (MT) at three locations: Vishakhapatnam (1.33 MT), Mangaluru (1.5 MT), and Padur (2.5 MT), all of which have been filled with crude oil. This will be sufficient to meet nine-and-a-half days of India’s crude requirement. In July, the government approved establishment of two additional commercial-cum strategic facilities with total storage capacity of 6.5 MT underground storages at Chandikhol (4 MT) and Padur (2.5 MT) under the public private partnership (PPP) mode under phase II of the SPR programme. When phase II is completed, it will meet an additional 12 days of India’s crude requirement. The capital cost for constructing the SPR facilities (phase I) was estimated to be Rs 23.97 billion at September 2005 prices. The revised cost estimate for the three locations stands at Rs 40.98 billion. Most of the capital cost was met with funds available with the OIDB while Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) met the cost of 0.3 MT compartment at Visakhapatnam. Operation and maintenance cost of the strategic reserves is met by the Government of India. In the year 2019-20, the ISPRL recorded a net loss of over Rs 1 billion. Origin and Rationale of SPRs The dramatic increase in the price of oil in the late 1970s redefined the energy policies of industrialised nations from one that managed abundance to one that managed scarcity. Countries in Western Europe, barring France, and the US reached an agreement to create the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974 to counter actions of the OPEC (Oil Producing and Exporting Countries). Though Henry Kissinger who co-ordinated the international response to the oil crisis had ambitious plans for the IEA, it eventually became a modest mechanism for managing scarcity through an oil sharing arrangement between member countries that required maintenance of strategic oil stocks to mitigate supply risk. All oil-importing member countries of the IEA have an obligation to hold emergency oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net oil imports. Industrialised countries represented by the IEA pushed for China and India to build and maintain strategic stocks of oil to address short-term volume, and price risk. Crude oil price increases generally result from actual or anticipated increase in demand, or decrease in supply, or both. The logic is that the release of SPR oil would potentially provide temporary relief from rising prices, but more importantly make up for temporary supply losses that are behind the price rises. Issues Though strategic stockpiling of oil was promoted by policymakers as the best way of insuring against supply shocks, questions remain as to whether the high cost of maintaining these stocks justified the benefits, especially for developing economies. Theoretically, the release of SPR oil by rich industrialised nations to influence crude oil prices provides a global public good of lower oil prices. No country can be excluded from lower prices that is expected follow the release of SPR oil, and therefore, it is possible for poor countries to ‘free ride’ on the SPRs held by industrialised countries. But industrialised countries have put pressure on India and China, now large importers of oil to share the burden of holding SPR reserves. Most studies estimate that the opportunity cost of holding crude oil is more than the cost of crude oil. To reduce this cost, auctioning or trading oil in SPRs is suggested. India initiated selling crude from its SPR in July, following news of China’s decision to auction crude from its SPR. India’s goal was to commercialise SPR crude reserves to generate revenue using oil stocks for trading, and from licensing capacity. The logic behind this is to purchase crude at lower levels, and supply in the domestic market when prices rise meaningfully. For example, China’s SPR crude that was bought in April-May 2020 when oil prices were about $40/b was auctioned on September 24 at $65-$70/b which helped improve refining margins for buyers of crude, and also improved state
India says oil producers artificially adjusting oil supply leading to price rise
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, on Monday said oil prices have to be reasonable and market-determined as it expressed concern over rise in rates on supplies being artificially adjusted below demand by producing countries. With a rise in international oil prices pushing retail petrol and diesel rates to record high, India last month agreed to release five million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserves, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. This was being done “in consultation and parallelly with other major global energy consumers including the USA, People’s Republic of China, Japan and Republic of Korea”, he said. “This step is being taken in a bid to control inflationary pressures and provide relief to citizens.” This is the first time ever that India, which stores 5.33 million tonnes or about 38 million barrels of crude oil in underground caverns at three locations on the east and west coast, is releasing stocks for such purposes. While the US will release 50 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserves, the stocks to be released by India are almost equal to its daily oil consumption of 4.8 million barrels. “India strongly believes that the pricing of liquid hydrocarbons should be reasonable, responsible and be determined by market forces,” the minister said. In a reference to output quotas set by OPEC and its allies to regulate prices, he said, “India has repeatedly expressed concern at the supply of oil being artificially adjusted below demand levels by oil-producing countries, leading to rising prices and negative attendant consequences.” As per the consumption pattern of 2019-20, the total capacity in the established Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) facilities is estimated to provide for about 9.5 days of crude oil requirement. Oil marketing companies (OMCs) currently have stock for 64.5 days. “Hence, total capacity storage of petroleum products is 74 days,” he said. India is 85 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs and so domestic retail rates are aligned with prices of benchmark global commodities. The government, he said, has been taking all ameliorating measures to safeguard the energy security of the country by ensuring energy justice for all citizens. And, with domestic retail rates rising to record highs, it reduced the central excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹5 per litre and ₹10 a litre, respectively, on November 3, he said. This was followed by a reduction in value-added tax (VAT) on fuel by 28 states and Union territories. “Refilling of Strategic Petroleum Reserves is undertaken keeping in mind a host of factors, including the grade of crude and international market conditions,” Teli added. International crude oil prices get affected by many factors including supply and demand, futures’ trading, the impact of the COVID-19 scenario and geopolitical situation, he said adding that linear co-relation between pricing and any one of these factors in isolation, is indeterminable. India joined other major oil consumers in releasing stocks from SPR after members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies rebuffed repeated requests to speed up their production increases. New Delhi has been the most forceful about flexing its muscles as a major oil consumer, cutting shipments from Saudi Arabia by about a quarter after OPEC extended production cuts. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri last month in Dubai had said high prices will undermine the global economic recovery. India is the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importing nation and has been severely impacted by the relentless rise in international oil prices. OPEC and other ally producers, including Russia, known collectively as OPEC, have been adding around 4,00,000 barrels per day to the market on a monthly basis, which many see as not sufficient to cool prices that had been rising as demand returns to pre-pandemic levels. India has built 1.33 million tonnes of storage at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, 1.5 million tonnes at Mangaluru and 2.5 million tonnes at Padur (both in Karnataka). ADNOC of the UAE has leased half of the Mangalore storage, while the remaining is with state-owned MRPL. State-owned firms and the government have stocked oil at the other facilities.
Wood Mackenzie says green hydrogen cost reduction will boost energy transition
Green hydrogen created from the electrolysis of water using renewable energy has a tiny share of the global energy market, Wood Mackenzie said. The hydrogen boom is well under way but the real game-changer for the energy transition will come when the cost of green hydrogen production is reduced, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie. Many countries are focusing on hydrogen production to cut emissions to limit global warming and protect the environment. “Green hydrogen – hydrogen created from the electrolysis of water using renewable energy – has a tiny share of the global energy market today,” Bridget van Dorsten, a research analyst from Wood Mackenzie’s hydrogen research team, said. “It is currently still largely uncompetitive against fossil-fuelled alternatives. However, the momentum behind net-zero ambitions means that investors are betting on its long-term potential.” Hydrogen comes in various forms including blue, green and grey. Blue and grey hydrogen are produced from natural gas, while green hydrogen is derived from renewable sources. Globally, the hydrogen project pipeline has grown sevenfold since December 2020 as the world focuses on energy transition, according to the study. But most projects are at an early development stage, with the bulk of new projects advanced during the second quarter of this year. “Until 2019, global estimated electrolyser manufacturing capacity was just 200 megawatts. By the midway point of 2021, that had jumped to 6.3 gigawatts of announced capacity, with 1.3GW added in the first quarter alone,” Ms van Dorsten said. “Now, as we reach the end of the fourth quarter, electrolyser manufacturers are dramatically expanding plans for gigawatt-scale factories.” Wood Mackenzie expects a significant drop in electrolyser capital expenditure by 2025, driven down by a variety of factors, including economies of scale, new entrants to the market and greater automation. “Capex reduction will help drive down the levellised cost of hydrogen production. Combined with cheap renewable PPAs [power purchase agreements] and good renewable utilisation in many markets, the potential for competitive green electrolysis-based hydrogen really starts to grow,” she said. Globally, the size of the hydrogen industry is expected to hit $183 billion by 2023, up from $129bn in 2017, according to Fitch Solutions. French investment bank Natixis estimates that investment in hydrogen will exceed $300bn by 2030. The UAE and other countries around the region have formulated plans to introduce hydrogen into the energy mix and tap into the clean fuel’s potential. State entities Adnoc, Mubadala and ADQ formed an alliance this year to develop a hydrogen economy in the UAE.
Oil Rises on Optimism Omicron Impact Will Be Limited on Fuel Demand
Oil prices rose on Monday, extending gains from last Friday, helped by growing optimism that the Omicron coronavirus variant’s impact will be limited on global economic growth and fuel demand. Brent futures climbed 53 cents, or 0.7%, to $75.68 a barrel by 0100 GMT, after rising 1% on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 69 cents, or 1.0%, to $72.36 a barrel, following a 1% increase in the previous session. Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly gain in seven. They have recovered more than half the losses suffered since the Omicron outbreak on Nov. 25. “Market sentiment has improved as the threat of the Omicron variant has receded,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd. “WTI will probably test its recent high of $73.34 and then try to rise towards $78, the level before the Omicron fears led to a sharp sell-off late last month,” he said. South African scientists see no sign that the Omicron variant is causing more severe illness, they said on Friday, as officials announced plans to roll out vaccine boosters with daily infections approaching an all-time high. Booster COVID-19 shots significantly restore protection against mild disease caused by the Omicron variant, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday. Still, investors remained cautious on the U.S.-led coordinated release of crude reserve by oil consuming countries as well as tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it will sell 18 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) on Dec. 17, as part of a previous plan to try to reduce gasoline prices. On Sunday, the Group of Seven warned in a statement that Russia faces massive consequences and severe costs if President Vladimir Putin attacks Ukraine. U.S. intelligence assesses that Russia could be planning a multi-front offensive on Ukraine as early as next year, involving up to 175,000 troops. Meanwhile, Iraq’s oil minister said on Sunday he expected the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at its next meeting to maintain its current policy of gradual monthly increases in supply by 400,000 bpd.
Doing nothing is the best oil producers can do right now
The OPEC+ meeting that began on Dec. 1 is still technically “in session” 11 days later. Remarkably, perhaps, it’s still short of being the oil producer group’s longest gathering — it has another week to go to beat the one held in October 1986. This time, of course, it is much easier to conduct a lengthy meeting. With the deliberations held by videoconference, ministers are free to conduct their normal duties until the chairman decides they need to reconvene. Thirty-five years ago, the ministers and their delegations were ensconced in Geneva hotel suites, far from their desks back home. Then, as now, they were grappling with a market that was slowly recovering from an unprecedented demand shock — although the trigger was very different. Right now, the OPEC+ group is doing most good by doing nothing. The meeting is “in session” in name only. Nonetheless, it is proving to be a very successful strategy to support crude prices in the face of uncertainty over the omicron variant’s impact on oil demand. The ministers convened amid widely held expectations that they would delay January’s planned output increase. Back in July they decided to add 400,000 barrels a day to supply each month until they restored all the production they’d agreed to cut back in April 2020. But forecasts of the oil market swinging from deficit to surplus by the year’s end had OPEC+ worried, as did the world’s five biggest oil-consuming countries outside the group coordinating a release of strategic stockpiles to ease inflation. None was more concerned than Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, who has consistently urged a cautious approach to boosting supply. To the surprise of many, the group agreed to go ahead with January’s planned output increase. That decision undoubtedly helped defuse tensions with the Biden Administration in the U.S. The strain was triggered by the producers’ earlier refusal to make a larger increase in production in December and then exacerbated by the announcement that the U.S. and other countries would release crude from emergency stockpiles. But keeping the meeting officially “in session” has sent a clear warning to oil bears that the producer group will step in quickly at the first sign of prices weakening, reducing any appetite to short crude. That move put a floor under crude prices, which had fallen by $13 a barrel, or 16%, since the new Covid-19 variant emerged just two days after Biden announced the stockpile release. Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline prices have eased, if only slightly, allowing Biden to quietly claim success for his strategy. But he can’t shout too loudly as prices are still the highest for the time of year since 2012. The release of strategic stockpiles is still going ahead, although they have yet to hit the market. The deadline for bids for the initial 32 million barrels of U.S. crude was Dec. 6, with contracts to be awarded on Dec. 14. Only then will we know the strength of buyers’ appetites. There’s no guarantee they will want all the oil on offer. Other countries that said they would join the U.S. — India, Japan, China, South Korea and the U.K. — are also yet to release oil from their reserves. With above-average uncertainty around both oil supply and demand, the producer group did what it could. It successfully reduced producer-consumer tensions by keeping January’s supply boost in place and went from a program of monthly meetings to one of perpetual meeting. That plan of keeping the meeting live while actually doing nothing is looking like a master stroke. After all, the world needs to digest the impact of both the omicron variant and the release of emergency stockpiles.
ONGC seeks minimum $4 for CBM gas, $3.5 for gas in North East
India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC is seeking a minimum price of USD 3.5-4 for the natural gas it plans to produce from coal seams in Jharkhand and a field in Tripura. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has issued separate tenders seeking buyers of 0.02 million standard cubic meters per day of coal-bed methane (CBM) it plans to produce from the North Karanpura CBM block in Jharkhand and 0.1 mmscmd from Khubal field in Tripura. For the CBM gas, it asked buyers to quote a percentage equal to or higher than 8 per cent of Dated Brent Price, according to the tender document. “Floor price shall be the higher of the USD 4 per million British thermal unit or Domestic Gas Price notified by (government’s) PPAC for the period,” it said. The PPAC notified price for the six months beginning October 1 for gas from fields given to ONGC and Oil India Ltd on a nomination basis is USD 2.9 per mmBtu. ONGC has been complaining that the government-notified gas price is way below cost and the company incurs a loss of production and sale of natural gas from most of its fields. It says its cost of production ranges from USD 4.5 to USD 9 per mmBtu for gas from different sources/fields. For gas from Khubal field, it sought a mark-up over the domestic gas price +(plus) USD 0.5 per mmBtu. The floor or minimum price was set at USD 3.5 per mmBtu, according to the tender. Earlier this year in April, ONGC had sought bids for the sale of an initial two mmscmd of gas from its KG basin fields. It had sought bids indexed to Brent crude oil for the gas from the KG-DWN-98/2 or KG-D5 block, which sits net to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)-BP Plc-operated KG-D6 fields in the Bay of Bengal. Bids were sought at a minimum of 10.5 per cent of the three-month average Brent crude oil price. At Brent crude oil price of USD 70, the minimum price came to USD 7.35 per mmBtu. The tender was however scrapped as consumer consumers went to court against the bidding process. In the latest tender, ONGC has mentioned a 3 to 5-year sale tenure for CBM gas, with supplies commencing with immediate effect. ONGC owns 55 per cent in the North Karanpura CBM block in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) holds 20 per cent and Prabha Energy Pvt Ltd the remaining 25 per cent. For Khubal field, the gas supplies are to begin from April 2024 and bids have been sought for 3 to 5 years tenure. While ONGC is seeking a price benchmarked to Brent crude oil, RIL-BP sold about 13 mmscmd of new gas from KG-D6 at a price linked to Platts JKM (Japan Korea marker) – the liquefied natural gas (LNG) benchmark price assessment for spot physical cargoes. That tender of RIL-BP mandated the lowest bid at JKM minus USD 0.3 per mmBtu. The highest acceptable bid was JKM plus USD 2.01 per mmBtu.
India interested in boosting oil, LNG supplies via Northern Sea Route
India is interested in boosting supplies of the Russian oil, liquified natural gas, as well as utilization of the Northern Sea Route for energy supplies, according to a joint statement released following the 21st Russia-India summit on Monday. “The sides reaffirmed their commitment for increasing sourcing of Russian crude oil on long term contracts through preferential pricing, strengthening LNG imports to India, and the possible utilization of the Northern Sea Route for energy supplies,” the statement said. “The two sides further agreed for the expansion of cooperation in gas sector and welcomed the creation of a Gas Task Force to identify mutually beneficial areas including the development of investment in gas infrastructure and distribution projects, use of natural gas in transport and emerging fuels including hydrogen,” according to the statement. They also noted “the fruitful, wide-ranging collaboration between the oil and gas companies of the two countries, including between JSC Rosneft Oil Company and Oil and Gas Public Sector Undertakings of India in implementing the Vankorneft, Sakhalin-1 and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha projects in Russia, and Nayara Energy Limited’s oil refinery in India,” the statement said.
Russia and India sign oil supply deal, see need for stable prices in talks
Russia and India signed Dec. 6 new energy cooperation agreements including a contract for Rosneft to ship almost 15 million barrels of crude to the world’s third-largest consumer of oil in 2022, according to government and company statements. Both countries also acknowledged the importance of dialogue between consumers and producers to ensure stable energy prices. S&P Global Platts assessed Dated Brent has gained 43% year-to-date to trade around $70/b in early December despite continued concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. “The signing of a new oil supply contract confirms the strategic nature of the long-term partnership between Rosneft and IndianOil,” Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said, according to a company statement. Russia’s largest crude producer said it has agreed to a contract to ship up to 2 million mt, or around 14.66 mil barrels, of crude by the end of 2022. Deliveries will be shipped through the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, the company said. Rosneft’s owns a 49.13% stake in the Indian company Nayara Energy, which owns the 20 million mt/year Vadinar oil refinery. The Kremlin also said both countries acknowledged the important role of dialogue between consumers and producers. “India highlighted the need for responsible and informed market pricing of global energy supplies. Both sides noted the importance of dialog between consumers and producers to stabilize energy prices.” Renewable energy On President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, both sides “reaffirmed their commitment to increasing Russian crude oil production under long-term contracts at preferential prices, and increasing LNG imports to India with the possible use of the Northern Sea Route for energy supplies.” Russia and India cooperate extensively on energy, including Indian companies’ stakes in Russian upstream projects Sakhalin 1, Vankorneft, and Taas-Yuryakh. “The parties also agreed to consider prospects for expanding cooperation on hydro and thermal energy, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy sources,” the Kremlin said. Continuing joint work on developing payments in national currencies to reduce costs, time, and risks associated with payments were also discussed. Interest in non-dollar payments including for energy resources has increased in Russia in recent years, due to the risk that Western sanctions may restrict Russian companies’ access to the dollar in the future. Series of agreements During the bilateral annual summit in the Indian capital, Putin held discussions with Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi on a host of trade and energy cooperation issues. “We are also adopting a long-term vision to deepen our relationship in the economic sector,” Modi said at the summit. Russia agreed to strengthen LNG imports to India, and the possible utilization of the Northern Sea Route for energy supplies, including crude and gas. “We have set a target of $30 billion in trade and $50 billion in investment by 2025,” Modi said. Russian oil major Rosneft signed one memorandum of understanding each with India’s state-run No 1 refiner Indian Oil Corp. and ONGC Videsh. While the agreement with IOC seeks to renew the previous crude supply agreement with Rosneft, the agreement with OVL led consortium seeks to promote education and training in the oil and gas sector. In addition, IOC and Grazpromneft agreed to collaborate in vacuum gas oil hydrocracking technology, catalytic iso-dewaxing lobs and catalyst regeneration for fixed bed catalyst, said a statement issued in New Delhi after the summit Dec.6. Both countries agreed to expand cooperation in the development of gas infrastructure and distribution projects, the use of natural gas in transport, and emerging fuels, including hydrogen. Both countries also agreed to expand collaboration through Russian participation in the Indian petrochemical sector by way of investment, technological, and other means of collaboration. An agreement was reached between IOC and Russia’s integrated petrochemical company SIBUR to explore the feasibility to set up a dual-feed cracker unit along with downstream units at Paradip, in India’s East Coast, the statement said.