India’s fuel demand growth hits 23 month high in November
India’s fuel demand grew by 10.5 per cent in November from a year earlier, its fastest pace since January 2018, driven by higher consumption of transport fuels gasoil and gasoline, and cooking gas. Consumption of refined fuels, a proxy for oil demand in Asia’s third largest economy, totalled 18.77 million tonnes in the month, preliminary data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed on Wednesday. Diesel consumption, which accounts for about two-fifths of India’s overall refined fuel demand, reversed the declining trend of the previous three months and rose by 8.8 per cent to 7.55 million tonnes in November from a year earlier, also its highest rate since January 2018, the data showed. Although fuel consumption normally reflects industrial activity in India, industry officials linked the annual increase in November to a low base last year, when sales of the fuel plunged during the month due to the late falling of festivals. “During festival season road and other infrastructure related construction work temporarily comes to a halt, and also movement of transportation vehicles – mainly trucks – get restricted,” an official at one of the state refiners told Reuters. “Last year festival season was in November when diesel sales growth was negative while this year festivals were in October, so we are seeing high growth in November,” he added. For most of this fiscal year beginning April, India’s diesel sales have remained subdued due to various factors including a prolonged monsoon season and softening industrial activity. Analysts expect the trend to continue until the second half of 2020. Between April and November, diesel consumption grew by about 1 per cent from the same period a year ago, the data showed. For an explainer on India’s slowing diesel demand double click Sales of gasoline, or petrol, rose 9 per cent from a year earlier to 2.53 million tonnes. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 23.4 per cent to 2.27 million tonnes and sales of naphtha rose 2.5 per cent to 1.25 million tonnes in November. Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were 12 per cent higher, while fuel oil use dipped 2 per cent in November, the data showed.
Goa: Natural gas pipeline station on the anvil at Marcaim
The government will acquire 2,228 sqm of land at Marcaim village in Ponda for Rs 47 lakh for the construction of the city gate station number 2 as part of the gas pipeline project. A cabinet decision in this regard was taken on Wednesday and was announced by chief minister Pramod Sawant after the meeting. As decided by the cabinet, the compensation will be paid in accordance with the policy on procurement of land under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Act, 2013. An official said a feasibility study showed that the proposed land was fallow and there was no plantation within the area. The land will be handed over to Goa Natural Gas Pvt Ltd, and the landowners from whom it has been procured, will be compensated.
Public Sector Enterprises under Petroleum Ministry command lions share of dividend income to exchequer: CAG
Over 40 per cent of the dividend proceeds to the exchequer from Public Sector Enterprises has been accrued from 14 government companies under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The General Purpose Financial Report of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) noted that these 14 companies contributed ₹ 288.59 billion representing 40.90 per cent of the total dividend declared by all Government Companies and Corporations. In toto there were 644 Central Government Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the audit jurisdiction of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as on March 31, 2018. These included 450 government companies, 188 government controlled other companies and 6 statutory corporations. The CAG report dealt with 420 government companies and corporations (including 6 statutory corporations) and 165 government controlled other companies. In all, 101 government companies and corporations declared dividend of ₹705.62 billion during 2017-2018. Out of this, dividend received/receivable by the centre stood at ₹422.29 billion. This represents an 11.83 per cent return on the total investment of ₹3570.64 billion in all government companies and corporations. The non-compliance to the government directive on declaration of dividend by 53 CPSEs has resulted in a shortfall of ₹94.1775 billion in the payment of dividend to the exchequer for 2017-2018. The report also said that 231 government companies and corporations earned profit of ₹ 1661.97 billion during 2017-2018 of which, 71.83 per cent (or ₹1193.79 billion) was contributed by 52 government companies and corporations in three sectors namely, petroleum, coal and lignite, and power. Raising concerns over the calculation of disinvestment proceeds, the CAG said, the government divested its share in 36 cases through different routes which includes income from Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) investment as part of disinvestment process which should not be part of disinvestment resulting in overstating the amount of disinvestment proceeds by ₹14 billion during 2017-2018. The CAG also said that the proposed disinvestment of centre’s 15 per cent stake in MMTC Limited and The State Trading Corporation of India Limited (STC) could not be implemented by August 21, 2017. This led to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management missing out the opportunity to offload the shares at the best price.
INOX India Commissions Country’s First LNG Dispensing Station at Dahej, Gujarat
One of the global leaders in cryogenic liquid storage, distribution and re-gas solutions, INOX India commissioned the country’s first LNG Dispensing Station at Dahej in the Bharuch district, Gujarat. The LNG station has been commissioned at the Petronet LNG Terminal. Deepak Acharya, CEO, INOX India, comments, “Setting up of India’s first LNG dispensing station is a momentous occasion in the history of INOX India. More than a business milestone, the commissioning of India’s first LNG dispensing station for us is like fulfilling our responsibility towards the environment, and society at large. We have a vision of commissioning 25 more LNG/LCNG dispensing stations in the coming 2 years across the country. I also take this opportunity to thank Petronet LNG, TATA Motors and Petroleum & Explosive Safety Organization for being a part of this milestone”. Being cost-efficient, the use of LNG as a clean fuel would reduce air pollution and noise pollution. The stations would dispense fuel to the buses which are expected to ferry staff of Petronet LNG from Bharuch town to Dahej, which is 50 km. It also brings down the vehicle maintenance cost as compared to diesel buses. The initiative also supports the Government of India’s vision to rise the use of natural gas in the country’s energy mix that allows the use of safe and environment-friendly fuel across different parts of the country. Established in 1992, INOX India is now a market leader in the highly challenging field of vacuum insulated cryogenic equipment in India and across the world. It has created a wide-ranging portfolio of materials and engineering intellectual properties such as cryogenic standard products, cryogenic engineered tanks, and systems, large ASU SVD projects, LNG turnkey solutions and more.
Indonesia eyes biodiesel with 40 per cent bio-content during 2021-2022
Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, plans to implement a biodiesel programme with 40 per cent bio-content (B40) between 2021 and 2022, a government official said on Tuesday. From January, Southeast Asia’s largest economy is set to bring in biodiesel with 30 per cent bio-content through the B30 programme, which sent palm prices higher on concern that it will export less palm oil – a feedstock for the fuel. The government aims to start road tests using B40 next year, Luhut Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, which oversees the energy ministry, told reporters. President Joko Widodo sees the biodiesel programme as a way of offsetting a current account deficit caused by large energy imports, while also supporting demand for palm oil, one of Indonesia’s main commodity exports. Widodo has asked for further expansion of the biodiesel programme and ordered studies on mixing palm-based fuel with jet fuel. Pandjaitan, however, said the country may not have enough supply of palm oil to go beyond the 50 per cent bio-content. “We may stop at B50 if (palm) yield is not improved, if the replanting is stalling,” he said. In 2017, Indonesia launched a palm replanting scheme to double the productivity from small farmers, and had planned to replace old trees on more than 2.4 million hectares (6 million acres) of palm under cultivation by 2025. However, a government official said in September that the country can only replant 180,000 hectares of plantation area per year, due to difficulties smallholders faced in proving they were eligible for the scheme. This meant it could take at least 12 years to complete the programme of replanting palm-growing areas. Since the launch in 2017, the replanting has only reached around 120,000 hectares.
Gazprom undersea pipeline to provide gas to Pak, India
Russian energy major Gazprom is set to initiate feasibility study in the first quarter of 2020 for laying an undersea pipeline, beginning from the Persian Gulf and extending to Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and ultimately ending in China, after touching Myanmar and Thailand. The pipeline will pass through the shallow waters of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and each of the countries will get gas from the pipeline, The News quoted a senior Petroleum Ministry official as saying. The total cost of the undersea pipeline will be around $20-25 billion when it is extended to China. The most important aspect of the project is that every country will provide transit fee to Pakistan, which will run into billions of dollars. Pakistan will be getting transit fee from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and China. Pakistan’s Navy will provide security for the pipeline. Pakistan and India have already signed MoUs and agreements with Russia separately for the project under which both countries would get gas from the undersea pipeline through the spur pipelines. According to the official, Pakistan will get up to 1 billion cubic feet per day gas from the undersea pipeline. More importantly, a Russia-Pakistan economic corridor will also be set up and Russia will invest in fiber optic link, roads and power projects as ancillary facilities. Russia is already engaged with Pakistan on the North South Gas Pipeline, which will cost $2-2.5 billion. However, Gazprom has also shown interest in building gas storages in Pakistan with investment of $400-500 million, the report said. Russia is also interested in investing in exploration and production activities in Pakistan, and to this effect Gazprom is currently engaged with the top management of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), a Pakistani multinational oil and gas company. The official said Pakistan and India will share data with the Russian company about the demand for gas with future projections of the next decade. Based on data from the two countries, Gazprom will start the feasibility in the first three months of 2020, and the whole process from sharing the data to completion of feasibility report will be finished in one year’s time. If the project is found feasible, the pipeline will be laid undersea in 3-4 years.
Chinese buyers offer to resell LNG cargoes as they struggle with weak demand
Chinese companies are offering to resell liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in the spot market as they grapple with high inventory amid weak demand due to a slowing economy and a milder than usual winter, several trade sources said on Monday. The world’s second-largest buyer of LNG is currently facing high inventory of the super-chilled fuel in some areas, several sources familiar with the Chinese market told Reuters. “It’s quite warm in China and the demand is very bad,” one of the sources with a state-owned company said, declining to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media. He added that about 5 to 7 LNG cargoes are being offered for resale in a month, though this could not be independently verified. Further details were also not immediately available but sources say the main company to offer cargoes for re-sale has been China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). CNOOC did not immediately reply to Reuters request for comment but the sources added that CNOOC has so far sold at least one cargo to a Japanese buyer. A second source added that buyers in northeast China may be facing ‘tank-tops’ which refers to storage tanks being full. China does not release any official information on its LNG storage volumes but shipping data by Refinitiv Eikon shows that the country imported the second highest monthly volumes of LNG for the year in November. The import volumes, however, likely comprise mainly term volumes, which had already been committed for purchase by buyers, or spot volumes purchased earlier in the year, the sources said. Temperature forecasts for Beijing and Shanghai are expected to be warmer than usual until mid-January, according to Refinitiv’s weather data. China’s natural gas demand is expected to expand at half the rate this winter compared to a year earlier, as Beijing slows its gasification push due to a weaker economy and competition from cheaper coal, state oil officials said last month. State-owned companies are also facing additional pressure as their typical customers such as Guangzhou Gas and Guangdong Energy Group are now importing spot cargoes directly from the international market, the sources added.
Prepared for CNG stir: Mahanagar Gas Limited
With some private CNG private pump owners planning a strike to demand higher commission among other issues, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) on Sunday issued a notice saying it was prepared with ‘alternatives’ . MGL has seven lakh consumers in Mumbai region. A private CNG pump owner told TOI that 36 pumps could shut down in protest if MGL reduced commission rates and insisted on taking private pumps on “long-term lease”. If there is a shutdown, it could inconvenience scores of vehicle owners. MGL said its board recently approved new business models which will govern conditions of dealing with dealers, while laying stress on optimised remunerations and improved customer service standards.
ONGC lists $300 million MTN issue on India INX
BSE-owned India International Exchange (India INX) on Friday said it has listed state-owned ONGC’s USD 300 million medium-term note issue on its debt listing platform. The maiden issue is part of ONGC’s medium term note (MTN) programme to raise up to USD 2 billion in overseas borrowings through debt-instrument. The notes under the programme have been issued at a coupon rate of 3.375 per cent due in 2029, the release said. India INX is the country’s first debt listing platform that allows raising funds in any currency of choice by both foreign and Indian issuers from investors across the globe. “We are happy to be part of India INX at IFSC, GIFT City to list ONGC’s maiden issue of USD 300 million … which offers opportunity to reach out to international investors to raise funds in a similar manner in other international markets in addition to providing single window facility for compliance reporting, ” ONGC Chairman and managing director Shashi Shanker said in a statement. Since the launch of global securities market, medium-term notes worth USD 47 billion and bonds worth USD 17.9 billion have been listed on the platform so far, India INX said. India INX is India’s first International Exchange set up at Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT City).
RUCO Express launched in Dehradun, to collect used cooking oil & convert it into biofuel
With an aim to collect used cooking oil and convert it into biofuel, a Repurposed Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) van was flagged off in the city on Friday. The RUCO Express is a joint initiative of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and GATI Foundation. The RUCO van will collect used cooking oil from residents, bakers, restaurants, and sweet shop owners of the city. The collected oil will be sent to IIP where scientists will convert the same into bio-fuel. IIP has announced to purchase the used cooking oil at Rs 20 per kilogram. Notably, IIP is the only organisation in the world that converts cooking oil into biofuel at room temperature. Dr Pankaj Pandey, FDA secretary and the chief guest of the event, said that re-using used cooking oil harms human health and hence there is a need for mass awareness. With greater public participation, we can ensure that more and more used cooking oil is converted into bio-fuels. Besides FDA official Ganesh Kandwal and GATI Foundation member Anoop Nautiyal, more than 12 hotel/restaurant owners, including Kumar Sweets, Anandam Sweets, Aerodine Restaurant, and Ellora’s Bakery, also attended the event. In his address, Kandwal pointed out that FSSAI has also framed guidelines regarding use of cooking oil in restaurants and the owners of eateries should adhere to them. “No cooking oil should be used more than three times. Also, if oil’s Total Polar Compound (TPC) level crosses 25%, then too it should be avoided. After each use, the cooks should filter the oil to segregate the food particles that are left in the oil,” he said. Anjan Ray, director of CSIR-IIP, stressed how important used cooking oil can be for making biofuel. He explained how the bio diesel prepared from used cooking oil can be a great alternative of conventional diesel. The bio-fuel will cause less pollution, increase the life span of the engine, and hence of the vehicle. Senior scientist from CSIR-IIP Neeraj Atray, who patented the idea of preparing bio-diesel from used cooking oil at room temperature, spoke about the process of conversion. “We simply place the used cooking oil in the set-up we have at our institute. Then the trans-esterification is carried out in presence of an alkaline catalyst,” he said.