NLCT OKs acquisition of IL&FS’s stake in OTPC by GAIL
Gail (India) said that the National Company Law Tribunal has granted approval for acquisition of IL&FS Group’s 26% equity stake in ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC). The stake is being acquired from Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (L&FS) Group companies namely IL&FS Energy Development Company (EDCL) and IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN). “The closing of transaction is yet to take place and actions are being taken by IL&FS and GAIL for the same, the company said in a statement GAIL (India) is an integrated energy company in the hydrocarbon sector and is engaged in gas marketing. The Government of India held 51.85% stake in the company as of 30 September 2021. The company reported 159% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 28.83 billion in Q2 FY22 from Rs 11.12 billion in Q2 FY21. Net sales during the quarter increased by 67% YoY to Rs 217.58 billion.
Five Indian companies leading the green hydrogen revolution
Move over electric vehicles, green hydrogen is here! The environment friendly gas has recently caught the fancy of some of the largest firms and governments around the world as they try to pivot to a more sustainable source of energy. Why, you might ask? As one of the cleanest forms of energy in the world, green hydrogen is one of the ultimate solutions to achieve net-zero emissions. The gas is produced with the help of electrolysis through electricity generated from renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. With electrolysis, all you need to produce large amounts of hydrogen is water, a big electrolyser, and electricity. An electric current then splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. This ensures no greenhouse gas emissions as the only by product of this process is oxygen, making it a great replacement for carbon emitting fuels. At present, the country’s entire production of hydrogen comes from fossil fuels. However, by 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green. The US has invested $150 m in hydrogen fuel infrastructure and development every year since 2017. Governmental bodies in Europe and Asia are also investing more than $2 bn annually in hydrogen fuel production. In fact, China has committed over US$217 bn of investment in hydrogen-powered transportation until 2023. The Indian government is not far behind. As green power takes precedence in the global scheme of things, the Indian government has already kick-started its green hydrogen journey. On 15 August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flagged the launch of a National Hydrogen Mission and announced his decision to transform India into a global hub for green hydrogen production and export. As a result, companies in India have started making the switch. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the largest private sector oil and gas company in the country, plans to go green. The company recently announced its plans to become a net carbon-zero firm by 2035. It aims to replace transportation fuels with clean electricity and hydrogen. The conglomerate said it will invest ₹750 bn over the next three years in renewable energy. Out of this, it will invest ₹600 bn in a 5,000-acre, green energy integrated complex called Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The complex will include manufacturing units for solar cells and modules, a battery unit for energy storage, a fuel cell-making factory, and an electrolyser plant to produce green hydrogen.
India’s longest drone flight conducted in Haryana for Hindustan Petroleum
A robotics and drone company has claimed that it has conducted the longest drone flight of 51 km in India to survey the pipeline of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Haryana. Omnipresent Robot Technologies Founder and CEO Aakash Sinha told PTI that the 51 km-long flight of Omni-Hansa V5 took place on November 3. “I believe the previous longest drone flight in India was of 42 km,” he said. The entire flight — from take off to landing — was fully autonomous, which means it was on auto-pilot, he said. “We had a tracker mechanism on the drone. We could track it over our 4G network with our tracker,” he noted. HPCL wants Omnipresent to extend the range of Omni Hansa V5 to 100-200 km, he said. Omni Hansa V5 can take off and land like a helicopter so it does not need a runway. However, once it is in air, it flies like a plane, Sinha stated. This drone is called hybrid fixed-wing VTOL (vertical take off and landing) drone, he explained. “We successfully completed India’s longest drone flight. We flew the drone for 51 km for one of our pipeline clients HPCL. It was a BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) flight. This is a record in India,” he claimed. He said the flight took place to survey the pipeline of HPCL that runs between Delhi and Haryana. “It (pipeline) starts from Bahadurgarh (in Haryana),” he added. Officials of HPCL were also present during the flight demonstration, he stated. The flight went up to the height of maximum 400 feet, as permitted by the rules of aviation regulator DGCA. Sinha said Omnipresent has registered 100 per cent growth in last one year and it is expected to grow three to five times in the next 3-4 years. The company aims to reach the target of ₹10 billion revenue in the next four years, he added. Currently, the company is also working with Indian e-commerce giants that want to deploy drones for delivering items.
Petrobangla to amend Model PSC further to attract IOCs in offshore gas exploration
State-owned hydrocarbon corporation Petrobangla has moved to further amend the Model Production Sharing Contract (PSC) 2019 in order to attract international oil companies (IOCs) amid the hike in fuel prices in the international market. The principal upstream energy body is going to appoint an experienced foreign consultant to draw the amendments that would convince the IOCs to invest in Bangladesh’s offshore gas fields. “We have already sought expressions of interest (EOI) from interested parties to choose a consultant for the job,” Shahnewaz Parvez, general manager (Contract) of Petrobangla, told UNB. He informed that November 21 has been set as the deadline to submit the EIO by the interested bidders. Official sources said the recent excessive hike in petroleum fuel, especially that of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has prompted the government to go for further amending the existing PSC to attract the IOCs to invest in Bangladesh’s offshore gas blocks. The country has now a total of 48 blocks of which 26 are located in offshore areas and 22 onshore. Of the 26 offshore blocks, 11 are located in shallow sea (SS) water while 15 are located in deep sea (DS) water areas. Of these, 24 offshore gas blocks remained open for IOCs while two blocks —SS-04 and SS-09—are under contract with a joint venture of ONGC Videsh Ltd and Oil India Ltd where drilling works have recently started. Official sources said that the government had amended the Model PSC last in mid of 2019 raising the gas price for IOC to $5.5 per thousand cubic feet (MCF) for shallow water blocks and $7.25 per MCF for deep sea blocks from below $5 per MCF. There was a target to invite international bidding in March 2020 for exploration in offshore areas, which was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic that emerged at exactly the same time. “The recent upward trend in oil and gas prices has pushed the policymakers to further raise the gas price by introducing much more flexibility and incentives including keeping the export option open in the PSC”, said another Petrobangla official. He dropped an indication that gas price might be increased up to $7.25 per MCF for shallow sea blocks while $8.5 per MCF for deep sea blocks considering the upward global trend in petroleum price. He mentioned that the government had to import LNG at $36 per MMBtu while it was just below $10 early this year. Recently, the World Bank also made a prediction that the petroleum price might not see any fall until the end of 2022. Under a Model PSC, normally, if any IOC discovers gas, it gets 40% stake while the government obtains the remaining 60%. The government also buys the IOC’s gas at a certain price. So, if the gas price is raised, IOCs feel encouraged to invest in exploration works, said the Petrobangla officials. They said this is the first time, at least a 15-year experienced foreign firm will be hired to help the government to prepare the amendments in the PSC as foreign companies can give best suggestions as to which kind of incentives should be offered to attract IOCs. Officials said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division had instructed Petrobangla to hire such a consultant in February this year. But the negligence of some top officials delayed the work. They said Petrobangla now plans to complete the appointment of consultants within the next two months and receive their report by April next year. It hopes to complete the amendments by May and invite international bidding for IOCs in June next year in order to start exploration works before the end of 2022. Officials said that the foreign contractor, which was awarded a contract to conduct a multi-client seismic survey in the offshore sea blocks, has also suggested updating the Model PSC to attract IOCs in the changed scenario in the global petroleum market. Bangladesh’s offshore area remained unexplored despite it had settled its dispute with neighbouring Myanmar and India over the maritime boundary almost eight years ago. It has had no success in the exploration of oil and gas in its offshore areas located within its maritime boundary, said an energy expert wishing not to be named.
Pakistan takes costliest ever LNG to avert gas crisis
Pakistan accepted an LNG cargo at the highest-ever price of $30.6 per Million British Thermal Units (mmbtu) from Qatar Petroleum on the grounds of averting a possible gas crisis in the upcoming winter season, Dawn reported. The Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) had floated emergency bids for two cargoes to be supplied in November, as the firms involved, Gunvor and ENI, had defaulted on their commitments. The PLL has short- and long-term agreements with Gunvor and the ENI for one LNG cargo each every month, but both suppliers refused to honour their part of the agreements. As a result, the state-owned firm had to call a tender on emergency basis for two LNG cargoes for the months of December and January, the Dawn news report said. For the delivery in the last week of the current month, November 26-27, the lowest tender was filed by Qatar Petroleum Trading at $30.65 per mmbtu, followed by Total Energies at $30.96 and Vitol Bahrain at $31.05 per mmbtu. Sources in the Petroleum Division said the first tender for supply on November 19-20 was scrapped as the country was facing gas shortage in December. Therefore, the lowest bidder for the supply on November 26-27 was Qatar Petroleum at $30.65 per mmbtu, as re-gasification and supply of LNG into the system would be done in December, the sources added. The PLL has been facing criticism for lacking proper strategies and ensuring LNG supplies when its prices were low in the international market. At the same time the state-owned entities had restricted the private sector from importing LNG as it could challenge the monopoly enjoyed by the public sector, the report said.
Adnoc poised for capacity expansion
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is expected to spend $122 billion over the next five years to boost its oil and gas production capacity in a move that will involve a mix of greenfield and brownfield developments, along with its push for unconventional resources. The state-owned emirati player presently has an oil production capacity of 4 million barrels per day, while its gas production capacity is about 11 billion cubic feet per day. It also produces about 1.3 Bcfd of sour gas, mostly driven by the Shah sour gas project. However, the company aims to increase its oil production capacity to as much as 5 million bpd by the end of this decade and plans to add at least 3 Bcfd of gas production capacity in the next few years. Adnoc’s expansion plans are underpinned by robust oil and gas prices and it believes that hydrocarbons will continue to remain relevant, despite the increased focus on energy transition. “In this transition, the world will still need oil and gas for many decades to come, so our mission at Adnoc is to provide that oil and gas as responsibly as possible,” a company spokesperson told Upstream. Wake-up call Adnoc chief executive Sultan Ahmed al Jaber recently said the ongoing global energy crisis is a wake-up call for the need to invest more in the oil and gas sector, which could avoid another energy supply crunch. As the oil-rich emirate scales up capacity, a majority of Abu Dhabi’s incremental crude production is likely to come from key offshore fields such as Upper Zakum, Lower Zakum, Umm Shaif, Umm Al Dalkh and Belbazem, Upstream understands. Adnoc earlier this year awarded contracts for the Belbazem and Umm Al Dalkh developments. Belbazem is expected to produce around 45,000 bpd of oil and about 30 million cubic feet per day of gas in the next few years, while the Umm Al Dalkh early production scheme aims to ramp up the field’s oil output to 20,000 bpd in another year or two and sustain this level for a three-year period. The field is currently producing about 15,000 bpd from the existing offshore infrastructure. Many believe that with Adnoc having approved the Belbazem and Umm Al Dalkh development, other big-ticket items — including long-term development plans for the Umm Shaif, Upper Zakum and Lower Zakum oilfields — are likely to gain momentum. The expansion of Adnoc’s Upper Zakum field is seen as integral to Abu Dhabi’s long-term oil output strategy. “The Upper Zakum field is one of the key projects enabling our production capacity growth. It is capable of producing over 900,000 bpd and we plan to further increase its capacity as part of our 2030 strategy,” an Adnoc spokesperson said. Tender process The initial expansion stages for Upper Zakum and Lower Zakum are thought to be in the engineering phase, with those projects likely to enter the EPC phase within the next year or two. In addition, Adnoc is carrying out the tender process for the first phase of its Umm Shaif long term development scheme, known as Umm Shaif LTDP-1. The project aims to sustain oil production from the offshore field until 2028 and is a key part of the emirate’s strategy to achieve its output capacity growth target. Umm Shaif is believed to be producing around 275,000 bpd at present and LTDP-1 will sustain plateau oil production from 2024 to 2028, Upstream understands. While some sceptics have raised concerns over Adnoc’s ambitious expansion plans for its oilfields, a company spokesperson told Upstream that it remains “on track to expand its crude oil production capacity to 5 million bpd by 2030”. Onshore, the Bab oilfield remains at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s development efforts, with a significant ramp-up to 485,000 bpd targeted by the end of the year and further exploration on the agenda, according to an Adnoc spokesperson UPSTREAM Along with Bab, several additional onshore fields in Abu Dhabi are expected to witness significant brownfield development to maintain their production profiles over the years, project watchers say. Abu Dhabi steps up natural gas plans As Adnoc continues to press ahead with key oilfield developments in line with its 2030 strategy, the company is also expected to spend billions of dollars to ramp up the emirate’s gas output capacity. Adnoc is expected to spend close to $20 billion on the Ghasha sour gas concession alone, which will include the development of Hail & Ghasha and Dalma offshore fields. Adnoc has not set a timeline for the execution of Ghasha, but industry experts say a final investment decision could be reached as soon as early next year. As well as sour gas projects, Adnoc is expanding into unconventionals, tapping into gas cap reservoirs and unlocking new resources as it aims for gas self-sufficiency and, in time, to emerge as a key gas exporter. A company spokesperson told Upstream that gas-based developments are a key part of the company’s long-term goals. “At the heart of this goal is the expansion of our producing assets like Shah and the development of new ones, like the unique Umm Shaif gas cap and the Hail, Ghasha and Dalma project,” the spokesperson said. Together, the ongoing gas developments are expected to add more than 3 billion cubic feet per day of gas production in the coming years. The company’s Adnoc LNG subsidiary recently launched the chase for key engineering work on a giant liquefied natural gas export terminal in the UAE. Adnoc plans to build a 9.6 million tonnes per annum export facility at Fujairah, able to cater to the markets of India, Pakistan, China, Japan and other Asian countries. The company recently sought expressions of interest from several international engineering contractors for conceptual studies and for front-end engineering and design work on the surface facilities required. Chief executive Sultan Ahmed al Jaber has highlighted the UAE’s ambition to become a major LNG exporter in the region, competing with neighbour Qatar, a world leader in LNG exports.
Methane Promise
In recent years, there has been increasing focus on the role of methane as a driver of climate change. Traditionally, conversations on global warming had much to do with energy, industry and transport. However, there is now evidence that a quarter of the global emissions are products of agriculture and land-use changes. According to the IPCC, more than 40 per cent of methane emissions come from farms or are an outcome of peatland destruction. The pledge by more than 80 nations, helped by the US and EU, to cut emissions of this GHG (greenhouse gas) by 30 per cent is, therefore, an important step in global warming mitigation efforts. But the announcement should be read with a number of caveats. Such pledges are commonplace at UNFCCC meets. Multiple similar promises to arrest deforestation, for instance, await concrete action — on Tuesday, another group of nations vowed to stop the destruction of forests. More importantly, its links with agriculture make methane a sensitive topic amongst developing countries. It’s not surprising, therefore, that India, China and Russia are amongst the nations that did not lend their voice to the pledge. As a global warming agent, methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. The latter, however, stays in the atmosphere for much longer. Cutting methane emissions, therefore, is seen as a potent way of mitigating global warming in the near term. While much of the contentious aspects of curbing emissions of this GHG pertain to agriculture, the oil and gas industry — especially natural gas, whose popularity as a relatively cleaner fossil fuel has led to a 50 per cent increase in its use in the past 10 years — is the second-highest emitter of this gas. Persuading people to change their dietary or farming practices can be a tricky proposition but slashing methane emissions from other sectors can be a relatively straightforward matter — even profitable for the industry in the long run. The International Energy Agency estimates that the fuel industry can achieve a 75 per cent reduction in methane emissions using existing technologies. In June, the US Congress voted to reinstate the Obama-era rules to reduce methane emissions from the US energy sector, rolling back one of the most climate-regressive measures of the Trump administration. The Biden administration has also proposed stricter regulations to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas industry operations. In his speech at Glasgow, President Biden avoided any reference to India, China and Russia but he did exhort more countries to sign the pledge. If the history of climate diplomacy is any indicator, it’s only time when outliers to the methane compact would face pressure to check methane emissions — India is amongst the top three emitters of this gas. It’s heartening, therefore, that agriculture research institutes in the country have started work on farmer-friendly technologies to reduce emissions from the livestock sector. Conversations have also begun on ways to change paddy cultivation practices to make them climate-friendly. These technologies must reach the farmers at the earliest.
India makes plans for EVs, green hydrogen
From government to businesses, India is accelerating its pace to keep up with the wave of global vehicle electrification. India hopes to rid itself of uneasiness caused by the mass amount of energy it has imported during the petroleum age, but the age of electrification may bring even more instability to India’s energy security. Oil became the world’s most important strategic resource after World War II. Compared to domestic reserves and widespread international coal mining, oil has continued to be a major source of unrest for India since its founding over 70 years ago. While semiconductors have surpassed oil as China’s biggest imported commodity, data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) indicate that oil was still India’s largest imported commodity in 2020. Oil imports were valued at US$64.58 billion, surpassing gold, India’s second-largest import, by over US$40 billion. In light of this data, the Indian government is promoting vehicle electrification as the key to leading India away from the uneasiness caused by energy in the petroleum age. However, what this has done is shift India’s dependence in the transportation sector from petroleum to lithium batteries. Electric vehicles (EV) currently use various battery technologies. Since the technology for lithium batteries is the most mature, the cost is expected to continue falling to a level acceptable to Indian consumers. Other technologies such as metal-air batteries and solid-state batteries have yet to achieve large-scale commercialization. In fact, it’s possible that the automotive supply chain may be transformed into one dominated by EVs before these other technologies even reach commercialization. Compared to oil, lithium reserves are concentrated in a small number of countries, particularly Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, which together make up South America’s Lithium Triangle. The concentration of lithium in these countries is likened to the concentration of oil in less developed countries with unstable political situations, like the Middle East. India itself has natural lithium reserves. In 2021, the first important lithium reserve site was discovered in Mandya, Karnataka. However, the reserve only holds 1,600 tons, according to a report by Livemint, an amount that is nothing compared to 9.2 million tons in Chile. The Geological Survey of India also found seven other sites to mine, but they must wait until the demand for lithium in India is high enough to make the value of mining worthwhile before going forward. The concentration of the lithium supply chain in East Asia, particularly China, makes India feel uneasy. According to data from the International Trade Center, lithium-ion batteries imported by India in 2016 amounted to US$300 million. In 2020, that number grew to over US$1 billion. Among that, the amount of lithium batteries India imported from China for the same period went from US$240 million to US$580 million. Although the dependence on imports from China fell from 80% to 54%, India still heavily relies on them as a source for imports. India also has plans for future cars. It aims to reward the local auto supply chain with a production-linked incentive scheme (PLI). India will subsidize investments and sales for EVs and clean vehicles such as hydrogen-fueled vehicles that ae made in India. Fuel cell vehicles (FCV) together with the announcement from the National Hydrogen Mission in 2021 are expected to encourage the production of green hydrogen in India. The production process for green hydrogen is the biggest consumer of energy, but it can be supported by India’s inherent geographical advantages and the fast growth of renewable energy in recent years. Up to now, though, India has only taken its first steps toward green hydrogen development. Compared to the rapid development of the EV supply chain in China, the development of hydrogen-fueled vehicles is concentrated in Japan and South Korea. It should also be noted that India sells nearly 20 million two-wheeled vehicles annually, and hydrogen-powered scooters have yet to become commercialized.
Govt asks ONGC to give 60% stake in mainstay oil fields to foreign firms
The petroleum ministry has told ONGC to give away 60% stake plus operating control in India’s largest oil and gas producing fields of Mumbai High and Bassein to foreign companies, according to an October 28 letter to the state-owned company. Amar Nath, additional secretary (exploration) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, wrote a 3-page letter to ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Subhash Kumar, saying productivity of the Mumbai High and Bassein & Satellite (B&S) offshore assets under state-owned firm was low and international partners should be invited and given 60 per cent participating interest (PI) and operatorship. This is the second time since April that Nath, who is part of the ONGC management as the longest-serving government nominee director on its board and often considered a potential candidate to replace Kumar next year, has written an official letter, painting a poor picture of the company’s performance. According to the October 28 letter, reviewed by PTI, he said the redevelopment projects will raise recovery of the mature and continuously declining Mumbai High field from 28 per cent to 32 per cent, “which is quite low”. “The field has substantial potential to contribute to domestic production,” he said adding the infrastructure such as pipelines and platforms on the fields are “ageing and leaking and need replacement/revamping”. “The ONGC will, however, find this challenging as its improvement/development projects have lagged behind schedule. Procedural aspects and other constraints will not encourage ONGC to take quick decisions,” he said. The company “should bring a joint venture partner of international experience and farm out 60% PI and operatorship of the field,” he wrote. While projects on B&S Assets, which encompasses Bassin field–the largest gas producing field in India, envisage raising recovery factor to 70% from the current low of 45%, “ONGC can plan for a substantial increase from this field” and “can provide an entry point to international players to India to invest in gas and energy infrastructure,” he wrote. “ONGC should plan to invite experienced international partners and give 60% PI and operatorship,” he added. Mumbai High, which was discovered in 1974, and B&S, which was put into production in 1988, are Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) mainstay assets, contributing two-thirds of its current oil and gas production. Without these assets, the company will be left with only smaller fields. Nath also reiterated his earlier demand for ONGC to “divest its drilling and well services arms” to become asset lite and increase capital efficiency. However, such a move would entail ONGC having to pay GST every time it would hire a rig or any other service from the hived off unit. Nath had on April 1 written to Kumar to sell stake in producing oil fields such as to Ratna R-Series to private firms, get foreign partners in KG basin gas fields, monetise existing infrastructure, and hive off drilling and other services into a separate firm to raise production. He gave a seven-point action plan, ‘ONGC Way Forward’ to Kumar, who had taken over as the head of the company on that day. The action plan, reviewed by PTI, called on ONGC to consider the sale of stakes in maturing fields such as Panna-Mukta and Ratna and R-Series in western offshore and onshore fields like Gandhar in Gujarat to private firms while divesting/privatising ‘non-performing’ marginal fields. It wanted ONGC to bring in global players in gas-rich block KG-DWN-98/2 where output is slated to rise sharply by next year, and the recently brought into production Ashokenagar block in West Bengal. Also identified for the purpose is the Deendayal block in the KG basin which the firm had bought from Gujarat government firm GSPC a couple of years back. It also wants the company to explore creating separate entities for drilling, well services, logging, workover services and data processing entities. The two letters by Nath are the third attempt by the oil ministry to get ONGC to privatise its oil and gas fields under the Modi government. In October 2017, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the ministry’s technical arm, had identified 15 producing fields with a collective reserve of 791.2 million tonnes of crude oil and 333.46 billion cubic meters of gas, for handing over to private firms in the hope that they would improve upon the baseline estimate and its extraction. A year later, as many as 149 small and marginal fields of ONGC were identified for private and foreign companies on the grounds that the state-owned firm should focus only on big ones. The first plan couldn’t go through because of strong opposition from ONGC, sources aware of the matter said. The second plan went up to the Cabinet, which on February 19, 2019, decided to bid out 64 marginal fields of ONGC. But, that tender got a tepid response, they said adding that ONGC was allowed to retain 49 fields on the condition that their performance will be strictly monitored for three years. Nath in both April 1 and October 28 letters stated that two years have elapsed since the Cabinet decision but ONGC is yet to initiate the process for partnerships. ONGC produced 20.2 million tonnes of crude oil in the fiscal year ending March 31 (2020-21), down from 20.6 million tonnes in the previous year and 21.1 million tonnes in 2018-19. It produced 21.87 bcm of gas in 2020-21, down from 23.74 bcm in the previous year and 24.67 bcm in 2018-19.
Relook at oil taxation possible: Sitharaman
Rising crude oil prices remain a cause for concern and a relook at taxes on petroleum products is possible, according to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “It is a major concern. We are looking at ways in which we can assess what is going to happen. We are keeping a watch on the global fuel situation, particularly the Indian basket,” she says in an exclusive interaction with Fortune India. In FY21, the Centre collected ₹2332.96 billion excise on diesel and ₹1015.98 billion on petrol. This is more than five times the amount collected from diesel (₹428.81 billion) and nearly three times the amount collected from petrol (₹292.79 billion) in FY2015. On whether a relook at taxation of petroleum and diesel products is possible only after the economy revives, she says, “There can be a re-look even without the economy picking up. If it picks up, it’s all the better. But what will be the outcome of the relook, we will have to wait to hear for it.” How far will the Centre let fuel prices run away? “I will not be able to say anything on the cut-off. Because a few years ago, petrol at ₹50 a litre, or ₹60, or ₹70 would have been a cause of worry. It is matter of relative position in the economy and component of fuel in inflation-determining basket of goods,” she says. Sitharaman also drives home the point that the government has “limitations in thinking what can be done about it,” despite the impact on the common man, as it is an imported good and not a luxury like gold. With the onset of the Covid pandemic, the Centre had increased excise duty on petrol and diesel in March and May last year as a revenue mobilisation measure. This did not have any impact on retail prices as state-run oil marketing firms adjusted the increase against the fall in global crude prices. Ahead of the lockdown in March last year, the excise duty on petrol was ₹22.98 per litre. The Centre raised it to ₹32.90 per litre on February 2 this year. Similarly, excise duty on diesel was ₹18.83 per litre on March 14, 2020. It was raised to ₹31.80 per litre on February 2 this year.