BP oil spill did $17.2 billion of damage to natural resources, claims study
The 2010 BP oil spill caused damages worth $17.2 billion to the natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new study released on the seventh anniversary of the largest oil spill in US history. This is the first comprehensive appraisal of the financial value of the natural resources damaged by the 134- million-gallon Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster on April 20, 2010 that killed 11 people. “This is proof that our natural resources have an immense monetary value to citizens of the US who visit the Gulf and to those who simply care that this valuable resource is not damaged,” said Kevin Boyle, professor in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Science in the US. The scientists developed a survey to put a dollar value on the natural resources damaged by the BP Deepwater spill by determining household willingness to pay for measures that would prevent similar damages should a spill of the same magnitude happen in the future. Survey information included descriptions of damaged beaches, marshes, animals, fish, and coral. On top of estimating the impact of the spill, the $17.2 billion represents the benefits to the public to protect against damages that could result from a future oil spill in the Gulf of a similar magnitude. In May 2010, one month after the spill, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration commissioned a group of 18 researchers to put a dollar value on the natural resources damaged by the BP Deepwater spill. To estimate Gulf Coast resource values, researchers created a scenario in which people were told that they could have a role in mitigating future damages by effectively paying for a prevention programme. Final analysis showed that the average household was willing to pay $153 for a prevention programme. This rate was then multiplied by the number of households sampled to get the final valuation of $17.2 billion. Last year, the oil and gas firm BP agreed to pay over $20 billion to the American government as damages over the oil spill. “The results were eye-opening in that we could tell how much people really value marine resources and ecosystems,” said Boyle. “And even more meaningful because we did additional analysis that proved the legitimacy of oft-criticised values for environmental resources,” he said. The project team administered surveys to a large random sample of American adults nation-wide after three years of survey development. The first round of surveys was administered face-to-face with trained interviewers while the remaining surveys were completed via mail. Survey participants were informed of pre- and post-spill conditions in the Gulf of Mexico and what caused the oil spill. They were then told about a prevention programme, which can be viewed as 100 per cent effective insurance against future spill damages, and that another spill would occur in the next 15 years. With this information, participants were asked to vote for or against the programme, which would impose a one-time tax on their household. “Our estimate can guide policy makers and the oil industry in determining not only how much should be spent on restoration efforts for the Deepwater spill, but also how much should be invested to protect against damages that could result from future oil spills,” said Boyle. Kendall Langford Authentic Jersey
Reliance commissions world’s largest and most complex Ethane Project in record time
India’s largest private company, Reliance Industries Ltd on Wednesday announced the completion of its Ethane Project. This includes commissioning of Reliance ethane receipt & handling facilities and ethane cracking, at its Dahej Manufacturing Facility in Gujarat in a world record time of less than three years. Reliance is the first company to globally conceptualize large-scale imports of ethane from North America as feedstock for its cracker portfolio in India. The project involved seamless integration of several elements across a complex infrastructure value chain. This includes securing ethane refrigeration capacity in the US Gulf coast; delivery of dedicated Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) to carry ethane from the US Gulf Coast to the West Coast of India; construction of ethane receipt and handling facilities; laying pipelines and upgrading crackers (to receive ethane) at Dahej, Hazira and Nagothane Manufacturing Facilities. “This successful start-up underlines ours ability to build world-scale capacities and infrastructure using complex technologies, such as marine transportation of cryogenic ethane, handling of ethane at (-) 90 deg.C, supply of ethane to the crackers in an energy efficient way and pump ethane from Dahej to other locations. The execution of this project at this scale and magnitude is a first in the world,” the company said It added that the Shale Gas industry in North America has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. Consequently ethane has become one of the most competitively priced feedstock for US crackers. The supply of Ethane to our crackers at Dahej, Hazira and Nagothane will provide feedstock security and flexibility, enabling us to select the most optimal feed mix based on market conditions. This will improve the cost competitiveness of our existing crackers and enable us to optimize the portfolio in a volatile market environment. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated turnover of INR 2,96,091 crore ($44.7 billion), cash profit of INR 40,737 crore ($6.1 billion), and net profit of INR 27,630 crore ($4.2 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2016. RIL is the first private sector company from India to feature in Fortune’s Global 500 list of ‘World’s Largest Corporations’ – currently ranking 215th in terms of revenues, and 126th in terms of profits. RIL ranks 238th in the Financial Times’ FT Global 500 list (2015) of world’s largest companies. RIL ranks 121st on the Forbes Global 2000 list (2016), continuing to be the top-ranked Indian company. RIL’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and 4G digital services. Edinson Volquez Jersey
Gehlot hits out at Pradhan, Raje over ‘half truths’ on refinery, says 4-yr-delay led to massive loss
By delaying the Barmer refinery project by four years, the state has suffered revenue loss, job loss and business loss, which together combined is much more than ?40,000 crore that the BJP government in Rajasthan claims to have saved by inking a fresh deal with HPCL, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said Wednesday. The Congress leader also accused Union Minister for Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan of speaking half truths and asked him to get the two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) – one signed during Gehlot’s tenure and the other by Vasundhara Raje government — probed. “The Union minister was here to announce the revised MoU, but he did not explain how ?40,000 crore was saved. He did not mention when the project will start making profits. The Union minister should have made the contents of the MoU public. What was stated Tuesday by Pradhan and CM Raje had no facts,” Gehlot said during a press conference at his residence. Rajasthan government and HPCL Tuesday inked a revised MoU of Rs 43,129 crore for setting up the refinery in Barmer district, which will produce BS-VI-compliant fuel. Under the new terms and conditions, the refinery cost has come down to Rs 16,845 crore, which was Rs 56,040 crore in the previous MoU done by the Congress government in 2013, Pradhan had said. “The project was delayed by four years resulting in revenue loss for state and delay in employment generation. It also delayed setting up of ancillary units and related businesses. Gujarat earned ?1,500 crore in VAT every year due to this delay. This loss combined together is much more than ?40,000 crore that state claims to have saved,” Gehlot said. He said the BJP government was “forced” to start the refinery project keeping in mind the state polls in 2018 and added “people will not forgive them for the crime”. He said Raje had questioned why state had only 26% equity share in the original MoU. Even the revised MoU has fixed state’s equity at 26%, he said. “The state share has not increased, rather refinery cost has escalated by ?6,000 crore. From the revised MoU it is unclear what the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) will be. When we inked the MoU, RRI was 15%. If the RRI is less in the revised MoU, then the state will earn less profit,” he said. He further said that “instead of misleading people by presenting partial facts, the union minister should direct the HPCL to get the both MoUs investigated to let the truth come out”. Gehlot said, the original MoU had put a condition that to avail ?3,736 crore interest free loan every year for 15 years, the joint venture company — HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited — would have to maintain the commercial production of at least 9 million metric tonne (MMT) per annum. In case of less production, the quantum of loan was to be reduced proportionately, he added. Hitting out Raje, the former chief minister said, “She was never interested in the refinery project. We had asked Cairn India in 2003 to set up the refinery and even initiated talks with the ONGC. However, Raje didn’t take it up after coming to power in 2004.” Magnus Paajarvi Womens Jersey
The 9 MMTPA Rajasthan Refinery Project Finally Takes Of The Ground
All decks have been cleared for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) 9 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum) capacity grass root Refinery cum Petrochemical Complex to be set up at a cost of Rs 43,129 crore at Barmer in Rajasthan. To be set up as a Joint venture between HPCL and the Government of Rajasthan (GOR), the complex will have State-of-the-art technologies and best combination of process units for maximizing the value. The refinery will produce Petrol and Diesel fuels meeting BS-VI specifications and Petrochemicals such as Polypropylene, Polyethylene and other petrochemical products. The Refinery will have flexibility to process a mix of locally available Rajasthan crude and other types of local and imported crudes The refinery will be set up by a joint venture company named “HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited” in which HPCL will hold 74% equity and GOR will hold 26% equity. Government of Rajasthan will provide viability gap funding of Rs. 1123 Crore per year for 15 years starting from year of commercial production in the form of Interest free loan which shall be refunded by the JV company to GOR in next 15 years. GOR has already allotted 4800 acres of land at Pachpadra in Barmer district for setting up the Refinery complex. The project is expected to be mechanically completed within 4 years from the last date of receipt of all statutory approvals. The project opens up huge potential for developing downstream industries and other service sectors in and around the region, opening up new opportunities for direct and indirect employment. Setting up of the Grass-root Refinery cum Petrochemical complex in Barmer will be an important trigger for fueling all round economic growth in the State of Rajasthan. Larry Johnson Womens Jersey
Rajasthan State Gas Ltd & GAIL Gas Ltd Ink Pact To Provide 24×7 Clean Gas To Households
In what is seen as a significant step towards making Rajasthan a key base for setting retail gas infrastructure and opening CNG corridors connecting key cities, a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) was signed on Tuesday between Rajasthan State Gas Ltd (RSGL) and GAIL Gas Ltd. The MoU, signed between Ravi Agarwal, Managing Director, RSGL and P K Pal, CEO GAIL Gas, will facilitate creating infrastructure to meet aspirations of housewives for 24×7 affordable clean gas to the burner, making aspirations of the commercial centers including Hotels and coaching centers for Kota, aspirations of the smart city for dedicated gas utility corridor for fueling industrialization and for clean & affordable fuel vehicles owners. The availability of clean energy is the key issue identified for systematic development of identified industrial clusters. Govt. has authorized Rajasthan State Gas Limited (RSGL) (Joint Venture Company of GAIL Gas and RSPCL) as a nodal player for setting retail gas infrastructure in the State of Rajasthan through the collaborative efforts with Govt. and industries. The state was not able to attract investment in the absence of natural gas supply which is the major requirement for the industries. RSGL has taken initiatives for making gas available from Neemrana to attract the investments from major business entities. GAIL (India) Limited has a energy leader has facilitated retail gas infrastructure in the key states for fulfilling aspirations of all type of customers for affordable and clean gas. The Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) will pave the way for transforming Kota to a smart city by providing clean energy to boost up industrialization and setting up CNG corridor between Kota & Jaipur and Kota – Baran – Jhalawar besides providing green energy to the industrial clusters at Baran – Jhalawar adjoining areas of Kota. RSGL also carrying out necessary activities for providing clean energy solution for the proposed smart cities Kota, Ajmer, Udaipur and Jaipur. in order to fuel industlization and in meeting socio-economic expiration of the people. The strategic tie-up between RIICO and RSGL for gas based infrastructure development will create an industrial revolution, making the State a sought after business destination. Rajasthan State Gas Ltd has set up first green highway between Delhi-Jaipur after commissioning Mega CNG station at Neemrana & Daughter Booster Station at Kukas in June’2016 under the Chief Minister Budget mission. RSGL has adopted collaborative efforts with the stakeholders and industries for creating ease of business. Even the state is blessed with most of raw materials required for ceramic industries. Aaron Colvin Womens Jersey
Investment worth Rs 70K crore expected in Petroleum and Petrochemical Sector in Rajasthan, DharmendraPradhan
Investment worth Rs. 70,000 crore is expected to flow in Rajastha’a Petroleum and Petro Chemical projects in the next 4 years, union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday at a function in Jaipur. Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony between Rajasthan Government and HPCL for setting up Refinery at Pachpadra, Pradhan said about Rs 43000 crore will be in invested in the refinery to be set up in Pachpadra in Barmer district while Rs 27000 crore will be invested in the oil fields of Cairn Energy. Pradhan and Chief minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje presided over the MOU signing ceremony. The MoU was signed by the Director Refineries HPCL Vinod S. Shinoy and Principal Secretary, Department of Mines and Petroleum, Government of Rajasthan Ms. Aparna Arora. Another bilateral trade agreement was inked between Rajasthan State Gas Limited and GAIL Gas Limited was signed for creating a city gas network in Kota district of Rajasthan. Minister Pradhan said that re-negotiation between Rajasthan Government and HPCL has resulted in a saving of Rs. 40000 crore to the state exchequer. State owned HPCL will hold a74% stake in the refinery whileRajasthan Government will have an equity of 26%. This state of art refinery will be producing 9 million metric ton of petroleum conforming to BS VI standards. Pradhan assured that the construction work of refinery will begin in the current financial year and will be completed in four years. Referring to Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojna, Pradhan informed that during the last three year 43 lakh additional LPG connections have been released in Rajasthan taking the total number of gas connections to one crore 10 lakh. On her part, Ms Raje expressed the hope that in coming 5-10 years, the whole scenario in western Rajasthan will witness a drastic change following the setting up of refinery. ?Earlier, the Chairman & Managing Director of HPCL Mukesh Kumar Surana thanked, both the Central and State governments for showing faith in HPCL for the refinery in Rajasthan. The Minister of State for Mines & Petroleum, Government of Rajasthan, Surendra Pal Singh welcomed the guests. Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, Kapil Dev Tripathi, senior Ministers and Officials of Rajasthan government and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. Dan Feeney Authentic Jersey
Indian Oil Corp sees more synergy in buying PSU rivals than oil producers
It would make more sense for Indian Oil (IOCL), the country’s biggest refiner, to acquire rival Bharat Petroleum or Hindustan Petroleum or natural gas marketing company GAIL (India) than a producer like Oil India as part of the government’s plan to create a major state-owned energy company , the finance chief of IOCL said. “Broadly , there are just two potential acquirers -Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Indian Oil -and there are four potential targets -BPCL, HPCL, GAIL and Oil India,“ AK Sharma, director (finance) of Indian Oil, told ET in an interview, while analysing combinations. “It’s all very hazy right now. The government will take a final call on who should merge with whom.“ The oil ministry has asked stateowned oil companies to indicate their preference for a partner in the proposed merger. The government indicated in the Budget its intention to restructure state-owned oil companies to form an integrated public sector `oil major’ that will match the performance of international and domestic private sector oil and gas companies. Each major state-run oil company must submit a separate plan to the oil ministry . If Indian Oil were to acquire HPCL or BPCL, it would bring a lot of synergy, Sharma said .“Infrastructure and logistics duplication can be avoided. We can have common user facilities,“ he said, adding that combining two oil marketing companies can have an adverse effect on competition. The merger must result in at least two state marketing companies, which along with private players, will ensure fair play for consumers, Sharma said. Of India’s oil refining capacity of 230 million tonnes per annum, Indian Oil has 80 million tonnes, BPCL 30 million tonnes and HPCL 24 million tonnes. Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, has a capacity of 60 million tonnes a year. Indian Oil has 45% of the 58,000 fuel retail outlets in the country, while BPCL and HPCL have a quarter each. Acquiring GAIL is an option because it ties in with Indian Oil’s gas business. Indian Oil is the secondlargest gas marketer in the country , and, at the current rate of investment, its gas business can exceed that of GAIL’s in the next few years, Sharma said. “Merging Oil India with Indian “Merging Oil India with Indian Oil may not bring much technical synergy but can add to balance sheet strength,“ said Sharma, adding that Indian Oil had a very small presence in exploration and production and bringing in another E&P company may not make sense. India’s oil demand growth slowed to 5% in 2016-17 from 11% in the previous year. “That’s a matter of concern,“ Sharma said, adding that he expected less than 4.5% sales growth in petrol and diesel in 2017-18. Indian Oil plans to spend Rs 20,000 crore in the current financial year, Sharma said. At March-end, its borrowings were Rs 55,000 crore and its debt-equity ratio stood at 0.54, he said. The company paid about Rs 10,000 crore as dividend in 2016-17. John Kuhn Jersey
Essar Projects clocks revenue of Rs 2,000 cr in 2016-17
Essar Projects India (EPIL), a part of the diversified Essar Group, today said it has posted revenues of Rs 2,000 crore in fiscal 2016-17. The EPC company has completed and commissioned 10 projects worth Rs 2,862 crore during the previous fiscal and clocked revenues of around Rs 2,000 crore, it said in a statement. “With an order book of almost Rs 8,000 crore, we are confident of even better performance in FY18,” its Chief Operating Officer AV Amarnath said. EPIL has executed critical activities in Indian Oil Corporation’s 15 MMTPA Paradip Refinery project, the Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) Pipeline Yojana project, as well as the Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project in Myanmar. The other projects are in sectors as diverse as steel, oil and gas and fertilisers, with a footprint spanning India and neighbouring countries. “Over the years, EPIL has gained experience by executing and delivering large turnkey projects for government and private sector organisations,” he said. Amarnath also said in FY 2016-17, the focus of the company was to finish projects at hand. “The Indian market is poised for bigger opportunities given the government’s thrust on core infrastructure. EPIL is well placed to seize those opportunities. Our cost competitiveness, timely delivery and technology knowhow give us a distinct edge,” he added. Wil Lutz Jersey
ConocoPhillips, partners weigh expansion of Darwin LNG
ConocoPhillips and its partners are considering expanding their Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia, with backing from other companies with undeveloped gas resources that could feed the plant. ConocoPhillips has previously talked only about developing a new gas field for around $10 billion to fill the plant’s single production unit, or train, when supply from its current gas source, the Bayu-Undan field, runs out around 2022. The U.S. oil major has also previously said an expansion in the current market would be challenging due to low oil and LNG prices, and costs that have risen steeply since Darwin LNG was built more than a decade ago. A $650,000 feasibility study on building a second train is due to be completed this year, the Northern Territory government said on Wednesday, announcing that it would contribute $250,000 towards the study. “The Territory Labor Government is supporting the feasibility study because this is a significant investment towards the business case for potential expansion at Darwin LNG, potentially creating thousands of jobs during construction and operation,” Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said in a statement. Five joint ventures with undeveloped gas resources off the coast of the Northern Territory are backing the study, with stakeholders including Royal Dutch Shell, Malaysia’s Petronas, Italy’s ENI SpA, and Australia’s Santos and Origin Energy. “With Darwin LNG, five upstream joint ventures and the Northern Territory Government involved, it is a pioneering example of all of industry and government collaborating on solutions to unlock major investments,” ConocoPhillips Australia West vice president Kayleen Ewin said in a statement. Darwin LNG is co-owned by ConocoPhillips, Santos, Japan’s Inpex, ENI, Tokyo Electric Power Co and Tokyo Gas Co. Jonathan Quick USA Womens Jersey
Petroleum Products Crack Spreads And GRMs To Drop This Financial Year
The gross refining margins (GRMs) of petroleum products will weaken in the absence of inventory gains, while crack spreads will have a downward bias in the financial year 2017-18, says India Ratings and Research. The products crack spread, which is the difference between wholesale petroleum product prices and crude oil prices, is estimated to remain under pressure, on the back of the fragile global demand growth amid net capacity additions in FY18. The Chinese and the U.S. export volumes are likely to remain high so as to maintain utilisation levels. In 2016, China’s diesel exports increased by 115 percent to 15.4 million tonnes, while consumption declined by 5 percent to 164.7 MT. Indian refiners’ production has a larger mix of middle distillates and hence it has an important bearing on overall margins. The agency expects the rally in crude oil prices to fade and price to remain in a narrow range in FY18. India Ratings had highlighted in the report ‘India Ratings Maintains Stable Outlook on Oil and Gas Sector for FY18’ that Indian refiners’ GRMs will decline in FY18, from the highs seen in FY16 and FY17, driven by two factors: inventory gains remaining low in FY18, given the crude price assumption at $55 per barrel and the crack spreads between petrol and LPG moderating in FY18 from the highs seen in FY16 on the back of a higher demand. The products cracks have remained under pressure in FY17 with Gasoil, Gasoline and JetKero crack declining by 10 percent, 34 percent and 18 percent year-on-year. However, the reported margins were masked by inventory gains with recovery in crude prices. Indian refineries benefited from substantial inventory gains on the back of a rally in crude oil prices (Arab heavy) touching $51.7 per barrel in December 2016, up 26 percent year-to-date, before declining to $48.5 per barrel at the close of the year. Similarly, Brent prices inched up to an average of $58 per barrel in December 2016 up 16 percent year-to-date before declining to $53 per barrel by close of the year March 2017. In FY18, domestic GRMs are also expected to be impacted with higher cost of energy due to higher feedstock prices. Volatility in crude prices and currency may also have a moderately negative impact on the margins. However efficiency-led gains, strong dollar against most currencies and refinery shutdowns in the region may bump-up the margins temporarily during the course of the year. The agency expects the Indian petroleum refineries to continue reporting strong GRMs in the fourth quarter of FY17, on the back of stable product cracks and modest inventory gains. The Singapore Dubai-Fateh netback margins stood at $6.3 per barrel up 11 percent compared to $5.7 per barrel in the third quarter. Singapore Dubai Gasoline cracks improved by 29 percent quarter-on-quarter to $12.0 per barrel, while Gasoil and JetKero crack weakened by 6 percent and 13 percent respectively. The benchmark Singapore GRMs are excluding the inventory gains as such the strength in the GRM will also be underpinned by inventory gains. In the fourth quarter, the average Arab Heavy crude oil and Brent crude oil are up by 9 percent and 2 percent quarter-on-quarter respectively. Domestic petroleum product prices are linked to import parity or trade parity prices with reference to Singapore benchmarks. The agency rates Indian refiners namely, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL; ‘IND AAA’/Stable), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (‘IND AAA’/Stable) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (‘IND AAA’/Stable). The agency estimates RIL’s FY18 GRMs to remain stable at $10 per barrel-$10.5 per barrel, helped by efficiency gains, compared to $10.3 per barrel-$10.8 per barrel during the first nine months of FY17. For public sector units (PSU), GRMs are estimated in the range of $5.0 per barrel-$6.0 per barrel, lower compared to $5.5 per barrel-$7.0 per barrel achieved in the first nine months. The agency expects working capital requirements to also inch up with lower Iranian crude oil procurement mix, which refiners benefited from the higher credit period during the last few years, and higher average raw material and output prices. PSU refiners will continue to have strong capital expenditure in FY18 and FY19, incurred on all 3Cs that is capacity, configuration and complexity. Hence India Ratings expects PSU refiners’ credit metrics to moderate in FY18, from the levels of FY17. However, the deterioration is credit neutral as the PSUs credit benefits from linkages with the state and RIL benefits from its strong business profile, robust cash flows and financial flexibility. Riley Dixon Authentic Jersey