Videocon to give Anil Agarwal’s group majority stake in Ravva oilfield
Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s metals-to-oil group on Wednesday said it will make an upfront payment of almost $40 million (about Rs 2.92 billion) for the acquisition of Videocon Industries Ltd, which will help it become the largest shareholder in the Ravva oil and gas fields in KG basin. The National Company Law Tribunal’s Mumbai bench on Tuesday approved the acquisition of bankrupt Videocon Industries by Vedanta group firm Twin Star Technologies, with the lenders set to take a haircut of about 90 per cent. In a filing to the London Stock Exchange, Agarwal’s Volcan Investments Ltd said its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Twin Star Technologies India Ltd (TSTIL), had submitted a resolution plan for Videocon Group companies, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India. “The bid for the Videocon asset consists of an upfront payment of almost $40 million, which is less than 10 per cent of the total bid value, and the remaining deferred payments shall begin post completion of 2 years from the acquisition date,” it said. Agarwal made a fortune buying state companies and fixing them up, building a metals and mining powerhouse. His group acquired state-owned Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (BALCO) in 2001 and Hindustan Zinc in 2002 and bankrupt assets such as Electrosteel and Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited. It acquired Sesa Goa in 2007 and VS Dempo in 2010. It acquired Cairn India in 2012. Its 22.5 per cent stake in Ravva oil and gas field came from the Cairn acquisition. Ravva field produced 22,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day. “Mr Anil Agarwal’s visionary leadership has successfully turned around various stressed assets in the past. The Videocon acquisition shall be no different and we are really excited to nurture the asset for overall value creation for our employees, customers, and stakeholders,” the filing said. Globally, Volcan’s business interest ranges from zinc, iron ore, steel, copper, aluminum, power, oil and gas. “We are excited with this acquisition mainly for Videocon’s 25 per cent participating interest in Ravva oil field. This acquisition shall therefore consolidate the overall interest of Volcan Group at 47.5 per cent,” it said. Other shareholders in the fields that lies in shallow waters of Bay of Bengal are ONGC (40 per cent) and Ravva Oil Singapore (12.5 per cent). “Apart from the oil assets, Videocon Group Companies has a diversified asset base in real estate and electronics segment which shall further bring synergies with our growing electronics and LCD business,” it said. Videocon, a consumer durables company manufacturing air-conditioners to washing machines, was among the first 12 companies pushed into bankruptcy after directions from the Reserve Bank of India in 2017. It had unpaid loans of Rs 594.5187 billion as of November 12, 2018, according to bankruptcy case-related disclosures on the company’s website. Of this, Rs 574.4362 billion due to over three dozen banks and other financial institutions, was admitted for settlement. Another Rs 255.53 billion claims were made by operational creditors.
Petronet LNG to invest $2.6 bln for local expansion over 5 years
India’s top gas importer Petronet LNG will invest $2.6 billion over five years to expand local infrastructure as investing in overseas projects is ‘not lucrative’ in the current liquefied natural gas (LNG) surplus market, its head of finance said. “Right now, investment in LNG terminals anywhere outside India is not very lucrative because LNG is available at very low prices it is only recently that prices have increased… availability of LNG is plenty,” Vinod K Mishra said during an analyst call after the company reported its March quarter earnings. He said at the moment, there was no financial incentive to invest in overseas projects to lock in LNG supplies. The company was earlier planning to invest in projects in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Qatar and Tellurian’s Driftwood LNG project. India wants to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from 6.2% and is raising its local output. Mishra said higher domestic supplies could hit costly spot LNG imports in the short term, but would not impact imports in the long term as India’s gas consumption is expected to jump. Petronet plans to invest 66.9 billion rupees to expand its 17.5-million-tonne per annum (mtpa) Dahej terminal in the West coast to 22.5 mtpa, build a new terminal in the east coast and building new jetty and LNG tanks at Dahej and Kochi, he said. Mishra said in the first phase, the Dahej terminal will be expanded to 20 mtpa by mid-2023, while a new 5-mtpa Gopalpur terminal in the east coast is expected to be ready by 2025. Petronet, which was previously planning to sell gas to fuel station owners, will invest 80 billion rupees to set up its own 1000 LNG fuel stations, he said. It will invest 40 billion rupees to set up 100 compressed bio gas generation plants over 3 years. Earlier in the day, Chief Executive A.K. Singh said the company was talking to various sellers, including Qatar, to buy gas at reasonable rates for the price-sensitive Indian market.
Indian oil refiners shut for work before likely demand pickup
Indian oil refiners are taking advantage of weak demand due to the virus resurgence to carry out maintenance in anticipation of a revival in fuel consumption in the coming months. Bharat Petroleum has lined up work at its plants across India, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp. is completing pending repairs and an expansion of its Mumbai refinery. There’s no set season for maintenance in India, although processors often do it around March and April. Fuels sales plunged about 30 per cent in May from pre-virus levels in 2019 as a spike in infections forced people to stay at home and savaged consumption. That led to swelling fuel stockpiles at refineries and storage facilities, forcing plants to cut crude processing by about 15 per cent last month. Indian oil refiners shut for work before likely demand pickup With a steady decline in Covid-19 infections from a peak in early May and a relaxation of restrictions on movement, refiners are expecting fuel demand to start improving. Consumption will be higher in June than last month and should recover to around 90 per cent of pre-virus levels in July, a BPCL executive said Monday. India’s economy is likely to see an improvement in activity due to an accelerated pace of vaccination from next quarter, according to UBS Securities. New Delhi and Mumbai, India’s political and financial capitals and two major fuel demand centers, began to ease their lockdowns on Monday. Both cities have seen a sharp rise in traffic levels. “As I was hurrying to head to the office today, I encountered a lot of traffic,” HPCL Chairman Mukesh Kumar Surana said in Mumbai on Monday. “That, for me, is a clear sign that demand will pick up as restrictions are relaxed further.”
ONGC’s Director Om Prakash Singh joins Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals as Director
Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals has informed that Om Prakash Singh, Director (Technology & Field Services), ONGC has been appointed as a Director on the Board of the Company. Om Prakash Singh a Mechanical Engineer with more than 32 years of experience, Singh has built a deep industry understanding and proven management experience across the technical and commercial roles he undertook during his career. Singh has a distinguished track record as a drilling engineer and has demonstrated dynamic leadership and vision, as he progressed through various roles within the company. He is well-versed with national and international Exploration & Production business and carries an extensive experience of offshore and onshore operations. He has a vast, industry knowledge and global business experience. He has played major roles in handling the challenging deepwater drilling project in India and overseas projects in Vietnam, Iran, Qatar and Brazil. Singh’s tenure as Head Nhava Supply Base has been very impressive. In challenging conditions, he exhibited a leading role with enthusiasm, clarity and discipline; thereby transforming the performance of the Nhava Supply Base. With a focus on perfonnance metrics and a continual drive for excellence, Singh spearheaded Tripura Asset as the Asset Manager. During his tenure, the Asset made significant improvements – as he was instrumental in a number of initiatives and enhanced the overall performance of the Asset by fast-tracking projects and synergizing resource mobilization and its utilization. O P Singh is also on the Board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, ONGC Tripura Power Company Limited and North East Transmission Company Limited.
Iran offers India port of Jask as base for strategic oil reserves, new gas pipeline
The expected revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and the western powers is set to yield unexpected opportunities for India, including access to the Iranian port of Jask as base for strategic oil reserves and a new “land-and-sea” gas pipeline. Speaking at a webinar on Monday, Iran’s ambassador to India, Ali Chegeni anticipated that it was only a matter of time before sanctions against Iran were lifted, following an early revival of an updated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In fact, negotiations in Vienna on the JCPOA in its new avatar could wrap up within three weeks, former Iranian Ambassador Seyed H. Mousavian, former Iranian ambassador to Germany, added during a brainstorming exercise on the future of India-Iran relation hosted by the Kolkata based Tillotama Foundation. Once the JCPOA is revived India will and no longer constrained by western sanctions in its dealings with Tehran. With oil and gas as a major spur of the India-Iran relations, Chegeni proposed that Iran had earmarked and opened Bandar-e-Jask—a port on the mouth of the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz –for major Indian and Chinese energy investments. He pointed out that India could build its strategic oil reserves at this port. Without going into details that India had a narrow window on investing in the construction of land- and- sea pipeline that originated from Bandar-e-Jask. “Having huge oil storage capacity available, with just a short direct sea journey away from India, means that it is time to realize construction of the Iran-India oil and gas pipeline. India also can use Jask port facilities to store its strategic crude oil reserve to meet emergency needs in case of disruptions in supply,” he observed. So far, India has rejected the construction of the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, citing economic and security considerations. Another idea that has been in play is the construction of a gas pipeline that originates in Iran and via Oman, enters India’s west coast through an undersea gas pipeline. Analysts point out that a strategic energy pipeline can truly anchor the India-Iran relationship, whose cultural roots can be traced to antiquity. Without naming them, Chegeni said that several countries were in the queue to join a budding quadrilateral arrangement among India, Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to use the Iranian port of Chabahar in the Indian Ocean to route their trade. The Chabahar port and a corridor that extends towards Afghanistan and Uzbekistan is expected to emerge as key gateway to channel trade between Eurasia, including landlocked Central Asia and the rest of the world. The Iranian ambassador also said that India can invest up to a mammoth $ 20 billion in a sprawling free trade zone that was coming up next to the Chabahar port. flows for India. He pointed out that “there is possibility to revive the India’s plan to invest $20 billion in Chabahar Economic Free Zone (EFZ) for setting up petrochemical and fertilizer plants either independently or through joint ventures with Iranian public-private companies”. He added that Iran has already allocated land in the EFZ, and willing to offer a favourable treatment in pricing of gas for India and also supply of rich gas at a competitive price and on a long-term basis for the entire life cycle of the joint venture projects. The Iranian ambassador’s assertions on Chabahar dove tailed with another proposal—of linking the Chabahar route with the older International North South Transport Corridor initiative. The Chabahar route begins at Mumbai, though Gujarat’s Mundra port is now acquiring greater resonance. From India’s west coast, the corridor heads to Chabahar, from where the route heads towards Afghanistan via Iran’s Sistan Baluchistan province along a recent India-built road. Over time, a railway is also envisaged, which will link Chabahar with the Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan, where India has made major investments. Essentially, the new INSTC is a combination of two corridors. It then heads to Bandar Abbas, a famous Iranian port in the Gulf. From there it takes the overland route to Bandar Anzali, which is located on the Caspian Sea coast in the north. Containers are off-loaded here and shipped along the Caspian to its Russian shore at Astrakhan, which becomes the base of further transportation into Eurasia. Over time, other countries are being networked in this rapidly mutating corridor including Azerbaijan and Armenia, in tune with the rise of Eurasia in the 21 st century. Earlier this year, India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar proposed the integration of the Chabahar Port with the INSTC. “I am hopeful that during the INSTC Coordination Council meeting, member-states would agree to the expansion of the INSTC route to include the Chabahar Port and also agree on expanding the membership of this project.”
India Committed To Achieve 15% Share Of Natural Gas In Primary Energy Mix By 2030
Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan stated today that India has committed to achieve 15% share of natural gas in the primary energy mix by 2030 for a more sustainable energy use which will help reduce environmental pollution, fulfil India’s commitment to COP-21. Greater use of natural gas will reduce dependence on fossil fuel and consequently reduce import bill and import dependence, he added. Pradhan said that the Ministry is pushing for greater adoption and utilisation of cleaner and greener fuel including Hydrogen, CBG, Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) and LNG. India has launched the E-100 pilot project for production and distribution of ethanol across the country and is committed to meeting its target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025.
Oil rises for second day on signs of strong fuel demand recovery
Oil prices rose for a second day on Wednesday on signs of strong fuel demand in Europe, while the prospect of a near-term return of Iranian oil supply faded as the U.S. secretary of state said sanctions against Tehran were unlikely to be lifted. Brent crude futures were up 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $72.37 a barrel at 0131 GMT and earlier rose to $72.58, the highest since May 20, 2019. Brent rose 1 per cent on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped 20 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $70.25 a barrel after rising to as high as $70.42, the most since Oct. 17, 2018. Prices climbed 1.2 per cent on Tuesday. The market is being boosted by a solid outlook for fuel demand growth as travel curbs are lifted in Europe with more people getting vaccinated. “Recent traffic data suggests travellers are hitting the roads as restrictions ease,” ANZ Research analysts said in a note, pointing to TomTom data which showed traffic congestion in 15 European cities had hit its highest since the coronavirus pandemic began. “The boost to demand is expected to be strong,” ANZ analysts said. On Tuesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast fuel consumption growth this year in the United States, the world’s biggest oil user, would be 1.49 million barrels per day (bpd), up from a previous forecast of 1.39 million bpd. In another positive sign, industry data showed U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week, in line with analysts’ expectations, according to a Reuters poll. The American Petroleum Institute reported crude stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week ended June 4, two market sources said, citing the data. Stockpile data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Wednesday at 1430 GMT. Price gains had been capped in recent weeks as oil investors had been assuming that sanctions against Iranian exports would be lifted and oil supply would increase this year as Iran’s talks with western powers on a nuclear deal progressed. However U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that even if Iran and the United States returned to compliance with a nuclear deal, hundreds of U.S. sanctions on Tehran would remain in place.
After diesel, CNG refuelling through mobile units
After mobile diesel dispensers, CNG too is now available through mobile units in India. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday inaugurated India’s first CNG Mobile Refuelling Units (MRUs). The first of its kind MRU has been deployed by Indraprastha Gas Ltd – the firm that retails CNG to automobiles in the national capital and adjoining towns, in South Delhi, a company statement said. Another MRU has been put up by Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) – the retailer in Mumbai – at Raigad. MRUs hold the promise of delivering environment-friendly Compressed Natural Gas at the doorstep of the customers. It can store up to 1,500 kg CNG and can fill 150 to 200 vehicles per day. MRUs are particularly useful in areas where there are no CNG stations. Prior to this, fuel retailers such as the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) had launched mobile dispensers for doorstep delivery of diesel. Besides inaugurating the MRUs, Pradhan also dedicated to the nation 201 CNG stations across the country as well as started piped natural gas supply in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. Of the CNG stations inaugurated, 54 have been set up by Indraprastha Gas – 21 in Delhi, 16 in Haryana, 15 in Uttar Pradesh and 2 in Rajasthan. According to a statement issued by his ministry, Pradhan on the occasion said that till now, CNG stations and piped natural gas (PNG) were metro city phenomenon and now they have started reaching smaller towns and cities. This push to take the cleaner fuel to every town and city in the country is part of the government’s target to raise the share of natural gas in its energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current 6.2 per cent. Pradhan said his ministry is also pushing for greater adoption and utilisation of cleaner and greener fuel including hydrogen, biogas, ethanol-blended petrol (EBP) and LNG. IOC, he said, is soon going to launch a hydrogen dispensing station at its refinery in Vadodara, Gujarat. Pradhan said the city gas distribution (CGD) sector has emerged as a major sector for natural gas consumption. The demand is only going to increase as more areas become operational. Stating that there is a need for conversion of diesel/petrol vehicles to CNG/LNG for ensuring lesser emissions and a cleaner environment, he exhorted the CGD entities to keep working hard to reach 10,000 CNG stations and 5 crore PNG connections in coming 7-8 years. In that direction, MRU will help achieve supply of CNG in areas not yet connected through pipelines or at places where there is a scarcity of land parcels to set up conventional CNG stations. Pradhan stressed the need to expedite the commissioning of more MRUs in the country to increase the mobility of fuel availability through their deployment at various. IGL said 21 of the newly commissioned CNG stations are located in Delhi, 6 in Ghaziabad, 6 in Gurugram, 4 in Karnal, 3 in Kaithal, 3 in Rewari, 4 in Kanpur, 2 in Meerut, 2 in Gautam Buddha Nagar, 1 in Hapur and 2 in Ajmer. Amit Garg, Director (Commercial), IGL said the MRU developed by the company is fitted with 55 lightweight Type IV cylinders, which can store up to 1,500 kg CNG and fill 150 to 200 vehicles in a day.
City gas volumes impacted in 2nd wave, drop less severe than first
City gas volumes have been impacted by the second wave of COVID-19 induced lockdowns, but the drop is less severe than the first wave, Icra said on Tuesday. While lockdowns reduced mobility and vehicular mobility impacting CNG sales volumes by 20-25 per cent, gas consumption in industries dropped due to reduced activities. But the drop in piped cooking gas consumption is relatively lower. The CGD sector domestic gas volumes declined by 12 per cent month-on-month to 15.2 million standard cubic meters per day in April 2021, as the transportation and passenger mobility segments were hit the hardest by lockdowns. However, this remains higher than the consumption of 4.2 mmscmd in April 2020, Icra said. In May 2021, CNG volumes declined further as the COVID-19 wave intensified and more states imposed lockdowns, it said without giving details. While the lockdowns have resulted in reduced industrial activity, the impact has not been as severe as in 2020. The drop in LNG consumption for CGD entities remained lower than that of domestic gas, with volumes remaining roughly stagnant since February 2021. About 49 per cent of the gas required by the CGD sector is sourced from LNG imports. “India’s City Gas Distribution (CGD) demand has slumped as a result of the second wave of COVID-19. The states with the highest penetration of city gas such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and the national capital region (NCR) have been severely hit by the second wave of COVID-19 and have imposed lockdowns to curb the spread of infections,” the agency said in a statement. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) volumes have declined as transportation and passenger mobility segments have been severely hit. Industrial consumption has also been adversely impacted owing to weaker demand, besides commercial demand has also been significantly reduced. However, demand from the domestic segment remains resilient due to more at-home dining. The weaker demand for natural gas has resulted in LNG cargoes being deferred and capacity utilisation of LNG terminals and pipelines has also dipped. Sabyasachi Majumdar, Group Head & Senior Vice President at Icra, said, “The impact of the second wave of COVID-19 is unlikely to be as severe as that witnessed in 2020. As expected, lockdowns in various cities and states have adversely impacted CNG demand, which has declined by 20-25 per cent. CNG volumes are expected to start recovering from the lows of May 2021 as several states have begun easing restrictions amid a decline in infections”. While industrial activities have reduced, they have not halted in a manner similar to that in 2020, resulting in a relatively lower drop in industrial PNG consumption. Additionally, commercial volumes have been severely impacted, however, domestic volumes have remained resilient, he said.
Here’s why fuel prices in India may not come down in a big way — at least not this year
Fuel prices hit another all-time high on June 7 with petrol in Delhi costing ₹94.46 per litre and in Mumbai costing ₹101 per litre. The retail price of how much it costs to fuel your car has jumped by 4% in the past one month. While many are hoping that this is just a temporary surge, petrol is unlikely to get cheaper, by any significant amount, this year. The net effect of the rise in fuel prices — or if they remain high for too long — is bad for the economy because the ripple effect can make other things expensive. Which is why, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Shaktikanta Das, reiterated his request for a reduction in taxes and duties on fuel to keep inflation under control during the bio-monthly monetary policy update on June 4. There are at least five factors that determine the final retail price of fuel, petrol or diesel. These include the price of the key raw material, crude oil, the exchange rate for the US dollar against the rupee, the cost of refining, government taxes and the level of consumer demand. Here’s why the spike in fuel prices — whether its diesel or petrol — may be here to stay: Global crude oil prices are likely to remain high this year BCCL Last week, the price of Brent crude was at its highest levels since May 2019 crossing the $71 per barrel mark. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects Brent crude oil prices to average at $62.26 per barrel this year. This is nearly one and a half times the average price for last year. The World Bank has pegged its estimate at $56 per barrel in 2021 while the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) prediction is $59.74. However, these are the average prices accounting for all the highs and lows. US’ leading investment bank Goldman Sachs expects Brent prices to hit $80 per barrel over the next six months before starting to come down. If the unrest in the Middle East escalates or if the new Iran nuclear deal further stalls supply, the price of crude oil could go up further.