Assam Gas submits EoI for Barauni-Guwahati pipeline
A 750-km proposed natural gas pipeline will link the Northeast with the national grid to meet increasing fuel needs of households and factories in the region, as part of the Modi government’s plan to expand gas availability and double the gas pipeline network in the next few years. Assam Gas, a state government enterprise, has submitted an expression of interest to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the downstream regulator, to lay, build and operate the pipeline from Barauni in Bihar to Guwahati via Bongaigaon. It has also proposed to build spur lines to link both the banks of the river Brahmaputra to connect with Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Another spur line is proposed to connect to Tripura through Meghalaya and Barak Valley. PNGRB has now begun a consultation process and sought views from all natural gason the proposed pipeline. The demand for natural gas in its operational area far exceeds the existing supply, Assam Gas said in its proposal, highlighting that it had identified an additional demand of at least 13 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) in Assam. The company currently handles about 5.5 mmscmd of natural gas. “If gas is made available, the demand will increase as new potential consumers are setting up units as part of the government of Assam’s efforts to stimulate industrial growth. As there has been no significant new gas finds in the northeastern region, it is necessary to bring in gas from outside the region,” the company said. It further said, “The company is fully capable of mobilising resources, has the necessary experience and expertise and has the support of the government of Assam at the highest levels to execute the project.” The proposed pipeline will have a capacity of 15 mmscmd and will source gas at Barauni from Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline being built by GAIL State-run GAIL is building a 2,620-km gas pipeline from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand and Dhamra in Odisha. The pipeline will have the capacity to transport 16 mmscmd of gas, which is expected to be received from multiple sources including liquefied natural gas or LNG from import terminals at Dahej, Dabhol and Dhamra, and coal bed methane field of Reliance Industries in Madhya Pradesh. The proposed pipelines of Assam Gas, GAIL and other companies are expected to significantly enhance the country’s gas pipeline network. The government aims to double the gas pipeline network to 30,000 km in the next few years. Ryan Kalil Womens Jersey
ONGC may buy out government’s entire holding in HPCL
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) will shortly seek cabinet approval for Oil and Natural Gas Corp to buy the government’s entire stake in refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd in line with the oil ministry’s proposal of creating a domestic oil giant, people with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. The move is based on the recommendations of consultancy Deloitte, which the oil ministry had hired to suggest ways of restructuring state firms. The ministry has left it to the department of investment to decide on how the divestment in HPCL should be achieved, although it’s suggested the refiner be retained as a separate unit of ONGC, and not merged with it. “The divestment of HPCL stake will help government generate resources that could be deployed for social welfare,” said one of the persons cited above. The government owns 51.11% of HPCL and 68.07% of ONGC. At current prices, a sale of the entire HPCL stake could fetch the government about Rs 28,000 crore. The combined market value of ONGC and HPCL is Rs 2.76 lakh crore, or $42 billion, which is comparable with Rosneft’s $52 billion. Sam Steel Jersey
HPCL to raise Rs. 270 billion for Rajasthan refinery
Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) will shortly approach the market to raise Rs. 270 billion in debt for its 9 million tons per annum (mtpa) Rajasthan refinery, two people aware of the development said. HPCL and the Rajasthan government which own 75% and 25%, respectively, in the joint venture—HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd—will bring in the balance equity component of the Rs. 431.29 billion project. “Preliminary work on the refinery has begun. HPCL will be hitting the market to raise funds for the venture in two-three months. The firm plans to raise Rs. 270 billion through debt and the rest would be funded through equity,” said a banker aware of the development. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to speak to media. On 18 April, HPCL and the state government had signed an agreement to build the refinery at Pachpadra in Barmer district. The refinery will be able to process local crude from Vedanta Ltd’s Barmer oil field, apart from imported crude oil. Of the 9 mtpa capacity, two mtpa will house the petrochemicals complex. The state has allotted 4,800 acres for the refinery, which was conceived in 2012-13. HPCL did not reply to an email sent on Thursday. “HPCL is in the process of seeking approvals from the government on the project. Once that is over, the fund-raising cycle will begin. The plan is to look at both domestic and international markets for funds,” said the second of the two persons quoted earlier. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan had on 18 April said the plan was to begin construction work in this fiscal and complete the refinery in the next four-five years. HPCL, India’s third largest state-run refiner, plans to operate more than 60 mtpa of refining capacity by 2030, the company had said at its September annual general meeting in Mumbai. The company’s total refining capacity at present is 24.8 mtpa. Currently, HPCL is expanding capacity at its Mumbai refinery from 6.5 mtpa to 9.5 mtpa at a cost of Rs. 42 billion, and its Visakhapatnam refinery from 8.3 mtpa to 15 mtpa at a cost of Rs. 208 billion. HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture between HPCL and Mittal Energy Investments Pvt. Ltd, Singapore, also operates the 9 mtpa Guru Gobind Singh refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab. The company plans to raise its capacity to 18 mtpa and set up a petrochemical complex there in a few years. HPCL and Mittal Energy Investments hold a 49% stake each in the venture, with financial investors owning the rest. HPCL will also hold a 25% equity in a mega refinery planned in Maharashtra, a joint venture (JV) between Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. and HPCL. “Given the capital costs involved in stand-alone refineries, getting sponsors for such projects is very important. However, with HPCL being a state-run entity, they would get incentives. Also, new refining capacities make India surplus in petroleum products and we will have to export the products for some time till domestic demand catches up,” said K. Ravichandran, senior vice president and group head, corporate ratings, ICRA Ltd. India’s annual refining capacity today stands at 235 mtpa. Of this, 194 mtpa of products are consumed domestically. The country is in the process of increasing its refining capacity to around 310 mt by 2023 to become a refinery hub. Jason Garrison Womens Jersey
Saudi-Qatar’s true battleground is 5,500 kilometers east in India, China and Southeast Asia
That’s because the petroleum market’s center of gravity, along with that of the global economy, is in Asia these days. As recently as the 2003 Iraq War, the U.S. and Europe accounted for more than half of the world’s oil imports. The share has now fallen to barely more than a third, as imports by the north Atlantic countries have stood still while those by China, India, South Korea and the Philippines have surged. That makes the stance of Qatar’s major Asian trading partners — Japan, South Korea, India and Taiwan — a crucial factor in how the embargo will play out. More than half of the Emirate’s liquefied natural gas exports go to those four countries, or about two-thirds if you add China and Thailand. To see how this might play out, it’s worth considering the dynamics of Asia’s gas market, and the differing degrees to which the countries are dependent on Qatar and its Arab rivals. Take Japan. It’s Qatar’s largest export destination and the buyer of almost a fifth of its traded gas — but Australia and Malaysia are its more important LNG suppliers, with the Emirate accounting for just 17 percent of imports in 2015 and as little as 12 percent in recent months. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, supplies close to 40 percent of Japan’s crude. The disparity is heightened by the fact that Japan is short of oil, and awash in natural gas. Its regasification plants are running at about 44 percent of capacity compared to 88 percent at its oil refineries. Should Jera Co. choose this moment to press its long-standing case for renegotiation of gas contract terms with Qatar Petroleum, it could find itself with a great deal of short-term leverage. Chidobe Awuzie Jersey
Gulf-Qatar rift: What it means for India and the global oil market
To get a sense of some of the developments about Qatar look at this piece of statistic plus a bit of news. According to the US Energy Information Administration, production of shale oil in USA is expected to reach 5.4 million barrels a day in June, its highest level in more than a year. The recovery outpaces estimates for every most month since August last year. The piece of news is the fast expanding relationship of Qatar with India. Shale has put American capital and labour to work, a huge domestic political dividend, after price of crude oil from Opec nations soared past $49 a barrel since the 14-member countries agreed since November 2016 on a production cut. In this environment, the US juice can begin to sell at about $47 a barrel, given its lower quality but enough to bring more and more of its onshore fields into production. It is vital for the Trump administration to ensure that Opec keeps its production capped. Opec can keep it capped if Iran does not open the tap of its vast reservoir too much and that means both USA and Saudi Arabia should be on the same side of the field. The Saudis can ensure their diktat runs with two of the large oil producers—UAE and Kuwait, both of whose royal families are blood relations of Riyadh. But Qatar isn’t, even though its royal family too hails from the same desert. And Qatar’s rise is linked to its suddenly deepening relationship with India. There are reasons for it. The first of those is natural gas which Qatar like Iran has plenty of but Saudi Arabia doesn’t have much of. And countries like India wanting to use their growing economic clout want the gas to flow. There are no Opec-like restrictions on gas prices and it is cheaper. So, if Qatar plays around with its gas reserves and along with Iran dominating its market, there are enough reasons to make the Saudis worried about their politico-economic hegemony getting cut and the USA worried about its domestic recovery. Qatar in the past three years has become almost a strategic ally for India. The Qatar government has offered to fill up India’s strategic reserves for free in exchange for buying its natural gas and easier access for Doha’s capital into the Indian economy. One of those is the one its kind permission given to Qatar Airways to fly as a domestic airline in India. In fact the Doha-New Delhi connection has been noticed across Middle East with alarm. The Indian market is one where all the oil producers would want to be involved, and especially Saudi Arabia. The latter’s share of the Indian imports had risen sharply in the post sanctions period. The pole position, Qatar has taken with India and which is like to intensify once the work on the gas pipeline begins in earnest could be a spoke. It is not without reason that UAE announced it will set up a Hindu temple to please the Indian government last year. If the coming together has been noticed, Doha’s increasing cultivation of Iran has therefore even more reason to get Riyadh worried about the fresh inroads of Iran into the Indian market. And consequently USA. The impact of Trump’s visit has just begun to unravel. Iran hobbling back to regain market share that it has lost since the sanctions on it were imposed would love the support from Qatar to regain some its role as a power broker, a position it had once enjoyed as one of the five founding members of Opec. Since the sanctions, Opec had become unipolar world with the entire hegemony having shifted to Saudi Arabia. USA has the same reasons to support the Saudis, just as India will for Qatar—the domestic economy. In this desert storm, India may not face a rising price for its crude but might have to figure out many other choices like how much presence it should for capital flows from other nations of the Gulf. So unlike the Gulf crises of the last century, India is in a new position vis-a-vis the Middle East. A lot of Monday’s developments have got to do with the road to New Delhi too. John Ross Authentic Jersey
Hindustan Oil Exploration Company updates on Dirok Gas Development Project
As updated earlier, Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited had completed Phase 1 of Dirok Gas Development and successfully tested the gas flow during last week of March 2017 and have been supporting Oil India Ltd., the Licensee of the block, to secure Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) as approved and recommended by the Government of India to the Government of Assam to commence commercial gas sales by May 2017. The Assam State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) headed by the Chief Minister had recommended the project in full including all the wells. However, the Standing Committee of National Board for Wild Life (NBWL), Ministry of Environment and Forests, during its meeting held on 15 May 2017 while approving the overall project, imposed restrictions on oil and gas wells located within one kilometer of Wild Life Sanctuaries. As the wells located within the 1 km area were drilled after submission of wild life management plan and duly approved by the appropriate authorities and this one kilometer restriction around Protected Areas were not part of any previous guidelines of Ministry of Environment and Forest, a representation is being submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, for removal of this restrictive new condition. The representation of the Company is supported by the nodal ministry, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. We expect that the matter will be placed before the Standing Committee of NBWL for reconsideration in the light of its wider adverse implications across all oil and gas producing wells located within 1 km of Protected Areas. All project activities of Phase 2 are on track. We have successfully drilled Dirok 5 well. After its ongoing testing and completion, the rig will commence drilling of Dirok 6 well. Due to this unforeseen development, we anticipate further delays in issue of PML to Oil India Ltd. and now expect to commence commercial gas sales only during July – September quarter, post review of our representation by NBWL. We remain confident of resolving this issue with the support of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and reiterate our earlier guidance of exiting Q2 FY 2018 with a production level of 25 million standard cubic feet per day and a plant capacity to process 36 million standard cubic feet per day (equivalent to 1 million standard cubic meters per day). Shares of HINDUSTAN OIL EXPLORATION CO.LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.71.85 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 72.8. The total number of shares traded during the day was 64454 in over 560 trades. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 73.3 and intraday low of 71.7. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 4663687. Willie Roaf Jersey
MGL’s piped natural gas supply to begin in Uran
Mahanagar Gas Limited, country’s major city gas distribution company inaugurated Piped Natural Gas (PNG) supply in Uran at the hands of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Honourable Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas. Targeted at the residents of Uran region MGL has already laid down an infrastructure of Steel and Polyethylene pipeline in the area and will be connecting various areas of Raigad in phases for piped gas supply. The work of pipeline laying commenced in Uran area and approximately 4Km MP network has been laid and 50 nos PNG connections have already been done. Initially gas supply to these 50 consumers in Uran is now commencing. Spreading its network in phases, MGL plans to provide the convenience of the safe, convenient, cost effective and environment friendly piped natural gas to almost all feasible households in Uran area benefiting about 3200 households and about 16000 people. The PNG benefits will be extended to other nearby areas by connecting more than 7000 households, covering about 35000 people in coming years. This will not only help people in Uran area but interior parts too by making available about 40,000 domestic LPG cylinders initially and about 90,000 LPG cylinders in the coming two years. In view of the vehicles opting for the eco-friendly fuel, the 1st DBS CNG station has been commissioned at Shiv Shankar Auto Care in Karjat. Further, MGL will be opening two new CNG stations at retail outlets (ROs) of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to provide convenience of cost effective and environment friendly CNG to about 1500 Auto rickshaw and about 2000 other vehicles in this area in Uran. Chris Beck Authentic Jersey
Gulf-Qatar rift: What it means for India and the global oil market
To get a sense of some of the developments about Qatar look at this piece of statistic plus a bit of news. According to the US Energy Information Administration, production of shale oil in USA is expected to reach 5.4 million barrels a day in June, its highest level in more than a year. The recovery outpaces estimates for every most month since August last year. The piece of news is the fast expanding relationship of Qatar with India. Shale has put American capital and labour to work, a huge domestic political dividend, after price of crude oil from Opec nations soared past $49 a barrel since the 14-member countries agreed since November 2016 on a production cut. In this environment, the US juice can begin to sell at about $47 a barrel, given its lower quality but enough to bring more and more of its onshore fields into production. It is vital for the Trump administration to ensure that Opec keeps its production capped. Opec can keep it capped if Iran does not open the tap of its vast reservoir too much and that means both USA and Saudi Arabia should be on the same side of the field. The Saudis can ensure their diktat runs with two of the large oil producers—UAE and Kuwait, both of whose royal families are blood relations of Riyadh. But Qatar isn’t, even though its royal family too hails from the same desert. And Qatar’s rise is linked to its suddenly deepening relationship with India. There are reasons for it. The first of those is natural gas which Qatar like Iran has plenty of but Saudi Arabia doesn’t have much of. And countries like India wanting to use their growing economic clout want the gas to flow. There are no Opec-like restrictions on gas prices and it is cheaper. So, if Qatar plays around with its gas reserves and along with Iran dominating its market, there are enough reasons to make the Saudis worried about their politico-economic hegemony getting cut and the USA worried about its domestic recovery. Qatar in the past three years has become almost a strategic ally for India. The Qatar government has offered to fill up India’s strategic reserves for free in exchange for buying its natural gas and easier access for Doha’s capital into the Indian economy. One of those is the one its kind permission given to Qatar Airways to fly as a domestic airline in India. In fact the Doha-New Delhi connection has been noticed across Middle East with alarm. The Indian market is one where all the oil producers would want to be involved, and especially Saudi Arabia. The latter’s share of the Indian imports had risen sharply in the post sanctions period. The pole position, Qatar has taken with India and which is like to intensify once the work on the gas pipeline begins in earnest could be a spoke. It is not without reason that UAE announced it will set up a Hindu temple to please the Indian government last year. If the coming together has been noticed, Doha’s increasing cultivation of Iran has therefore even more reason to get Riyadh worried about the fresh inroads of Iran into the Indian market. And consequently USA. The impact of Trump’s visit has just begun to unravel. Iran hobbling back to regain market share that it has lost since the sanctions on it were imposed would love the support from Qatar to regain some its role as a power broker, a position it had once enjoyed as one of the five founding members of Opec. Since the sanctions, Opec had become unipolar world with the entire hegemony having shifted to Saudi Arabia. USA has the same reasons to support the Saudis, just as India will for Qatar—the domestic economy. In this desert storm, India may not face a rising price for its crude but might have to figure out many other choices like how much presence it should for capital flows from other nations of the Gulf. So unlike the Gulf crises of the last century, India is in a new position vis-a-vis the Middle East. A lot of Monday’s developments have got to do with the road to New Delhi too. Terrell Edmunds Womens Jersey
Petronas’ stake sale of offshore gas asset advances to second round-sources
The sale by Malaysian energy firm Petronas of an estimated $1 billion stake in a local upstream gas project has moved to the second round and is set to attract interest from about half a dozen bidders including Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil Corp , four sources familiar with the matter said. State-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) had kicked off a process to sell a stake of up to 49 percent in the SK316 offshore gas block in Malaysia’s Sarawak state, Reuters reported in February. Prospective buyers are expected to submit second round financial bids this month, and a final decision on the successful bidder is expected later this year, said two sources. Sources said Total, PTT Exploration and Production PCL and some Japanese firms are also among those keen to bid for the asset. The transaction, if completed, would mark Petronas’ biggest upstream stake sale since oil prices started falling more than two years ago. All the sources declined to be identified as discussions between Petronas and the companies are private, adding that terms of the deal could change depending on how the talks proceed. Petronas, which last week maintained a cautious outlook for the rest of the year after reporting quarterly profit more than double a year ago, did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement to Reuters in April, it had said that through its unit, Petronas Carigali, it was seeking partners who could bring the technology and capabilities to explore, develop and efficiently operate the various fields and opportunities in the SK316 offshore gas block. Shell, ExxonMobil and Total declined to comment. PTT Exploration said it was keen to invest in Thailand and Southeast Asia due to its expertise in these markets and as costs and risks were low. “This area is consistent with the company’s expansion strategy, however, the company will consider details of each project before making an investment decision,” PTTEP said in response to a query on its interest in the Petronas asset. Gas from the NC3 field in the SK316 block feeds Malaysia’s LNG export project, known as LNG 9, a joint venture between Petronas and JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp that began commercial production in January. The sale of a stake in the offshore gas block has been clouded by political opposition to the process, but sources said this was unlikely to derail ongoing talks. Opposition party leaders in Sarawak, a key vote base for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak who is likely to call general elections this year, have expressed disapproval in Petronas’ plan to find a partner. One even called for the state to be given the option to acquire all or part of the stake that it proposes to sell. Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari, however, has said the state did not want to take on the risk of developing the gas field as “the project cost billions of ringgit and it is of high risk,” according to state news agency Bernama. He said the state government was in talks with Petronas about the partner-finding process for SK316. Duke Dawson Jersey
‘Petrol pumps, gas agencies to be governed by Centre’s law’
In a relief to petrol pump and LPG gas operators in the state, the Rajasthan High Court has done away with the system of obtaining licenses and renewing these under the state government’s Rajasthan Petroleum Products (Licensing & Control) order of 1990. The petrol pump and LPG gas operators would now be governed by the Centre’s government’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of supply and distribution) order of 2000, which provides for monitoring and operation of gas agencies as well as petrol pump. The district supply officer (DSO) will, therefore, have the power of search and seizure over these for any violation of law. The single bench of justice M N Bhandari ruled that since clause 14 of the order of 2000 has overriding effect to the 1990 order, the gas agencies/petrol pump can operate after complying with the order of 2000 and not that of 1990. The DSOs were governing the gas agencies/petrol pumps under the order of 1990, even though the state government issued a notification on February 22, 2001 to implement the order of 2000. As such, license were not been renewed on the ground that either the location of petrol pumps/gas agencies/godowns was not as per the master plan or conversion of land had not been done. The high court had earlier settled that such issues could be decided by municipal authorities, UIT or JDA but not by the DSO. The compliance of the urban development laws cannot be enforced by the DSO, the high court ruled in the case of Gulab Kothari versus state of Rajasthan and others in 2004. One Rakesh Dangi and 15 others approached the court requesting that DSOs be directed not to cause interference in the working of petrol pumps/gas agencies unless they flouted the order of 2000. Dangi’s license renewal had been denied, as he had gas agency and petrol pump at the same location that was in violation of the urban development law. The civil supplies department argued that there were many cases in the state where petrol pumps and gas agencies existed with common boundaries and that in case of any unfortunate incident, it may cause serious damage to public life. The high court ruled that petrol pumps/gas agencies/godowns would, however, have to operate in consonance to the judgement in Gulab Kothari case. Bobby Baun Womens Jersey