Look who’s asking for currency: Petroleum ministry knocks at FinMin doors
Needs cash for retail outlets; if the finance ministry agrees, banks will have to give about Rs 2.65 billion of smaller denomination notes daily to fuel outlets. India’s ongoing currency crisis has taken a fresh turn, with the petroleum ministry now knocking at the doors of the finance ministry for Rs 50,000 worth of smaller denomination notes to each of the nearly 53,000 fuel retail outlets in the country on a daily basis. This is meant to tide over the currency shortage. If the finance ministry agrees to this, banks will have to give about Rs 2.65 billion of smaller denomination notes to fuel outlets of public sector oil marketing companies in the country every day. After the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes would be demonetised, sales at fuel retail outlets have increased by 15-40 per cent, as the government had allowed these outlets to accept the old currency notes. The move by the petroleum ministry comes after the railways ministry, too, approached the Reserve Bank of India to supply lower denomination notes to the national carrier with immediate effect. According to multiple sources close to the development, the Dharmendra Pradhan-led ministry has taken this proposal by retailers to the finance ministry. “We have forwarded the proposal by retailers to the finance ministry to provide them with smaller notes or else set up currency exchange centres at every petrol pumps in the country,” said a ministry official, who does not want to be named. The government today extended the date for accepting old denomination notes at petrol pumps and railway stations till November 24 considering the currency crunch faced by common people. Following a shortage of smaller notes, petrol pumps in the country are accepting refilling of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and not giving any change. “Our sales have increased by about 40 per cent on a daily basis since the government’s decision. We have asked the government to disburse Rs 50,000 to every petrol pump or set up currency exchange counters on outlets,” said Ajay Bansal, president of All India Petroleum Dealers’ Association. India has about 56,190 fuel retail outlets, out of which state-run Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd have about 52,604 outlets. On a monthly basis, each of these outlets sell 170 kilolitre of fuel. “While the customers are demanding changes for higher denomination notes, banks are not giving us small notes. At the same time, our sales have increased from 11 kilo litre to about 20 kl per day after the announcement,” said Rajiv Chadha, owner of a Hindustan Petroleum Corporation outlet at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi. According to All India Petroleum Dealers’ Association, in many places across the country petrol pump staff is being assaulted and man-handled for smaller denomination notes. In 2015-16, the overall fuel demand zoomed to 183.5 million metric tonne from 165.5 million tonne, compared to the previous financial year. While diesel consumption increased by 7.5 per cent to 74.6 million tonne, gasoline usage rose 14.5 per cent to 21.8 million tonne. Shaq Thompson Jersey
Petrol price cut by Rs 1.46 a litre, diesel by Rs 1.53
Petrol price was cut down by Rs 1.46 a litre and diesel price by Rs 1.53 per litre on Tuesday. The new prices will be effective from Tuesday midnight. On November 5, petrol price was raised by 89 paise per litre, the sixth increase in rates since September. Diesel price was raised by 86 paise a litre, the third increase in a month. This move is in response to global prices and currency fluctuations. “The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and INR-USD exchange rate warrant decrease in selling price of petrol and diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” IOC said in a statement. “The movement of prices in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes,” it said. The new prices of non-branded petrol in metros like New Delhi would come to Rs 65.93 per litre, Kolkata Rs 68.67, Mumbai Rs 72.29 and Chennai Rs 65.41. The revised prices of non-branded diesel in New Delhi would come to Rs 54.71 per litre, Kolkata Rs 56.95, Mumbai Rs 60.32 and Chennai Rs 56.24. Union Budget to be presented on February 1 The Union Budget 2017-18 will be presented on February 1. “We are on track to meet the date. The inter-ministerial discussions for finalising the Revised Budget Estimates have been completed,” said a government source, adding that it will not be impacted by the government decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and replace them with a new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. “These are two independent exercises being handled by separate teams of officers,” said the source. The government has decided to advance the Budget process by a month to ensure that it is completed before the start of the new financial year on April 1. Danny Etling Authentic Jersey
Flexible fuel pricing in arena
The fuel retail market is heading towards dynamic pricing- where companies will charge different rates and even frequently change them according to demand and supply. India is set to implement the regime following the entry of global players such as Rosneft and BP Plc in petrol and diesel retailing, which is expected to give state-owned firms tough competition. “With international entities such as Rosneft OAO and BP Plc coming in the retail scenario, we might see dynamic pricing for petrol and diesel as competition is sure to increase,” a senior petroleum ministry official said. BP has recently got a licence to set up 3,500 fuel stations, while Rosneft has inherited 2,700 retail outlets, following a deal to acquire Essar Oil Ltd. Though the prices of domestic cooking gas and kerosene are fixed by the government, those of petrol and diesel have been deregulated. Dynamic, or real-time pricing, means the cost of a product can be flexible. It can be a market changing phenomena where other retailers may have to follow suit. Analysts said a price war might soon ensue at the petrol pumps, benefiting consumers of petrol and diesel. Globally, fuel retailing companies such as Shell, Caltex and Total sell petrol and diesel at varying prices in different locations to attract consumers. The same practice may soon come into force in the country with increasing competition in the sector. “As new players enter retail marketing, the pricing methodology is expected to change and global practices will be followed. Customer offerings and product differentiation will change. With crude oil prices going up, dynamic pricing will be seen, too. Retailers will track customer behaviour more closely to tailor offerings,” said Deepak Mahurkar, director (oil and gas) of PwC India. State-owned HPCL has already launched dynamic pricing at a few of its retail outlets on a pilot basis. It could be extended to other outlets at a later stage. “(The company) expects it to become a significant tool to sustain profitability/market share in the next 2-3 years as private competition strengthens,” Ambit Research said in a report. After registering the fastest pace of growth in 15 years, the country’s fuel demand is likely to rise 7.3 per cent in 2016-17, led by robust expansion in the consumption of petrol and diesel. Fuel consumption, which rose 10.9 per cent to 183.5 million tonnes (mt) in 2015-16, is projected to rise to 190.03mt, according to oil ministry estimates. Diesel demand, which soared 7.5 per cent to 74.6mt last fiscal, is projected to go up 7.7 per cent to 78.11mt. Petrol consumption is estimated to rise 12.4 per cent to 24.14mt. Richard Rodgers Jersey
India to reduce gestation period for hydrocarbon exploration
In what may help India’s energy security efforts, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas plans to minimise the gestation period for hydrocarbon exploration. Gestation period is the time taken from the discovery of hydrocarbons in a block to its commercial production. “On average, a discovery has a gestation period of at least a year if not more,” said a top Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) executive requesting anonymity. According to the website of the Directorate General of Hyrdocarbons, 225 hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in the last five years till January 2016. “In order to fasten the process between discovery and production, we are trying to bring in new technologies. This will not only reduce manpower needed but will also bring down the gestation period significantly as well,” said a petroleum ministry official requesting anonymity. India is grappling with falling domestic production of hydrocarbons. The government has made energy security one of its primary focus areas in order to achieve fast and sustainable long-term development. The government has also set up an ambitious target to halve the country’s energy imports by 2030. Another official from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, requesting anonymity, said, “A lot of projects get delayed due to long gestation periods. We hope to minimise it in the future.” India has 26 sedimentary basins covering an area of 3.14 million sq. km. out of which 7 basins have established commercial productions in progress. India has total reserves of 763.476 million tonne of crude oil and 1,488.73 billion cu. metres of natural gas. According to experts, once a discovery is made it involves long procedures before the field actually gets operationalised adding cost for explorers. “Gestation periods are taken into consideration while going for exploration. However, the lesser the time taken, the better,” said Dilip Khanna, partner at EY, a consultancy. Queries emailed to the spokespersons of the petroleum ministry and ONGC on 11 November remained unanswered. According to BP Global data, India has emerged as the third largest consumer of crude oil with a consumption of 4.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) for calendar year 2015, after the US (19.39 mbpd) and China (11.96 mbpd). Jermey Parnell Womens Jersey
Revisiting India’s gas pipeline diplomacy
In recent years energy has become an increasingly-important driving factor in relations between nations. However, these energy politics are also influenced by the relative power changes between countries, fluctuations in oil and gas prices, and the condition of respective nation’s energy infrastructure. These factors play an important role in allowing energy to flow from resource-rich nations to energy-hungry countries. India’s pipeline diplomacy, conceptualised during the 1990s, to import natural gas from countries like Iran, Turkmenistan and Myanmar, is an example of these limiting factors in practice, with none of the pipelines emanating from these three countries – Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI), Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and Myanmar-Bangladesh-India (MBI) – yet activated. Nevertheless, the lack of success to date has not affected India’s sanguinity towards pipelines. And two out of the three pipelines are now either moving forward or in the process of being revived, as is the Oman-India Natural Gas Pipeline (OIP), initiated by former Indian Prime Minister, the late PV Narasimha Rao, during his visit to Muscat in 1993. The only exception is the IPI gas pipeline, which should be abandoned according to Iran’s Ambassador to India Gholamreza Ansari. In the case of the TAPI pipeline, the project’s steering committee unanimously endorsed Turkmengaz as consortium leader of TAPI Pipeline, the entity officially in charge of building, financing, owning, and operating the pipeline. This development, together with the signing of TAPI’s shareholding agreement and the conclusion of an investment agreement by parties from the respective countries, have helped TAPI move forward. However, the issue of security, amid deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan and increased terror attacks in Afghanistan, has once again discouraged the efforts being made towards accomplishing this project. The government is also exploring ways to revive the MBI pipeline project. An Rs. 1300 billion plan, involving the north-eastern part of the country, has been proposed as part of the broader Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 initiative. This initiative aims to create an energy corridor connecting neighbouring states such as Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. But the MBI project still faces hurdles. Earlier in the process, India and Myanmar concluded an MoU, which selected the Gas Authority of India Limited as a preferential buyer of gas from the A1 and A3 blocks in Andaman Sea offshore Myanmar. Despite this, China ended up clinching the deal by signing a 30-year agreement to import natural gas in 2008. Indecision from Bangladesh at the time further delayed the project. As regards the OIP project, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the ‘Iran deal’), together with recent technological advances made in laying deep-sea gas pipeline, which can now go to a depth of 4000 metres, are the two biggest factors allowing natural gas to flow from the Chabahar port in Iran to the Gujarat coast via Oman. This pipeline, as revived by South Asian Gas Enterprises (SAGE India), has been named the Middle East to India Deepwater Pipeline (MEIDP). To date, therefore, out of several proposed transnational gas pipelines only the MBI and MEIDP hold promise, with the latter regarded as the best bet despite India’s efforts to look for cheaper LNG imports, until the gas glut scenario fades away, most likely after 2020. While current landed LNG prices of below $5 per one million British Thermal Units (MMbtu) has prompted strong demand from large energy users such as fertiliser producers, power plants and in glass manufacturing, increases in spot prices would prompt India to look for cheaper and longer-term solutions through pipelines to be constructed by the SAGE India. According to SAGE India, this pipeline will save up to $3.5-4.5 per MMbtu on liquefaction and regasification, as well as around $1.0 per MMbtu on transportation of LNG. This pipeline can also provide access to the additional export markets being sought by other Middle East countries and, in doing so, mitigate the geopolitical tensions created by onshore cross-country pipelines, such as the TAPI and IPI. In addition, SAGE India will enable the flow of 30 billion cubic metres of gas from Moscow to New Delhi through Iran by means of natural gas swap. Moreover, Iran has already started to build a pipeline from Turkmenistan to its Chabahar port and has plans for a gas swap with Turkmenistan to be transported to India through the MEIDP. Iran, which has the largest natural gas reserves in the region and has signed several agreements with India regarding the Chabahar port, would be best placed to support India’s gas-based economy plans, which could contribute to securing India’s energy needs at a rate that outstrips its population growth. Fred Lynn Jersey
Amid $1.5-billion penalty claim, RIL partner Niko puts KG-D6 stake on sale
Reliance Industries’ partner Niko Resources of Canada has put on sale its 10% stake in the flagging KG-D6 gas block off the east coast. Financially strained Niko had in February last year announced plans to sell its 10% stake in the KG-DWN- 98/3 or KG-D6 block to pay off $340 million debt. It had planned to sell off the interest by April 30, 2015 but later extended it to May 31 and then to September 15, 2015. It allegedly called the sale off because it could not find a buyer. The firm’s interim Chief Executive Robert Ellsworth said the company had “re-launched the sales process for our interest in the D6 Block” due to “favourable developments with respect to natural gas pricing applicable to the company’s undeveloped deep water fields”. While gas from existing producing fields are priced at rate equivalent to price prevailing in gas surplus economies like Russia, US and Canada, the government has given a pricing freedom subject to a cap for undeveloped gas finds in deep-sea blocks. KG-D6 has several undeveloped gas discoveries. “As previously communicated to shareholders, the company is in the midst of a strategic plan to enhance the value of our core assets with the objective of ultimately monetising these assets for the benefit of the company’s stakeholders,” he said in the earnings statement for the quarter ended September 30. RIL is the operator of KG-D6 block with a 60% interest, while BP plc of UK owns 30% stake. Ellsworth said Niko believes the KG-D6 block offers “a number of compelling attributes to potential bidders” but the sale “will inevitably be complicated” by the $1.55 billion claim made by the government against the three firms in respect of gas reckoned to have migrated from neighbouring blocks of ONGC into D6. “While we believe the D6 Block offers a number of compelling attributes to potential bidders, the sales process will inevitably be complicated by the recent claim made by the Government of India against the contractor group of the D6 production sharing contract in respect of gas said to have migrated from neighbouring blocks to the D6 Block,” he said. Niko, he said, believes the contractor group is not liable for the amount claimed and “is working with the contractor group to defend against the claim by invoking the dispute resolution mechanism in the D6 Block production sharing contract.” RIL says the government’s claim was based on misreading and misinterpretation of key elements of the production sharing contract and is without precedent in the oil and gas industry, anywhere in the world. “The liability of the contractor has not been established by any process known to law and the quantification of the purported claim is without any basis and arbitrary,” it had stated after the government slapped a $1.55 billion demand notice for “unfairly enriching” by producing ONGC’s share of gas. Bennie Logan Womens Jersey
India’s fuel demand surges 6.7 per cent in October
India’s fuel demand surged 6.7% in October after declining in September, aided by a sharp rise in petrol and diesel consumption. The fuel consumption rose 7.8% in the seven months through October this year, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), an oil ministry’s arm. A fast expanding Indian economy and a relatively lower fuel prices have boosted demand for oil in India. In October, the demand for all oil products rose to 16.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) from 15.5 MMT a year ago. September was the only month demand for petroleum products fell this year, about 2%. The consumption of petrol fell about 3.5% while that of diesel shrank about 11.5% in September mainly due to the rise in prices and higher base in the same month previous year, PPAC said in its monthly commentary. Petrol consumption rose 13.8% to 2.1 million tonnes in October. The demand for diesel, which accounts for 40% of all fuels consumed in the country, climbed 5.1% to 6.7 million tonnes. New car purchases, fuelled by the festive season, helped boost demand for petrol and diesel in October. The consumption of kerosene, mostly used by rural poor for lighting and cooking, fell by a third in a year to 380,000 metric tonnes in October. The consumption dramatically shrank in just a month from September this year when it was 501,000 tonnes or 31% higher. This is mainly a result of the Centre’s decision to cut 5% allocation of subsidized kerosene to states every quarter and some voluntary cuts taken by some states as supply of electricity and cooking gas rise across the country. The demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), mostly used as cooking gas in millions of Indian homes, expanded 10% in October, as the government drive to take cleaner fuel to more homes intensified. State firms have just completed giving away 1 crore fresh connections to poor households this fiscal year. This addition over an effective base of about 17 crore domestic cooking consumers is expected to give a big boost to LPG consumption. The demand for Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) also climbed 9% as a festive season drove up air traffic. Ben Roethlisberger Womens Jersey
U.S. shale firms go back to work buoyed by OPEC deal, Trump victory
U.S. shale producers are redeploying cash, rigs and workers, cautiously confident the energy sector has turned a corner after Donald Trump’s election victory and OPEC’s recent signal that it plans to curb production. The downturn produced a leaner, more efficient U.S. shale industry that was forced to develop and quickly adapt new technology to compete with conventional oil supplies during a two-year period of depressed prices. “You’re starting to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel,” Ryan Lance, chief executive of ConocoPhillips , the largest independent U.S. oil producer, said in an interview last week. “We’re beginning to put capital back to work, but we’re being cautious.” Specifics of the deal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries – especially what it means for each member – need to be finalized at a meeting later this month in Austria. But the tentative agreement indicated OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia is keen to end a damaging two-year oil price war. That prodded U.S. producers to action. The U.S. oil drilling rig count has grown 6 percent since OPEC’s September accord, according to oilfield analytics firm NavPort, with additions across the country’s top shale fields including the Permian (7 percent) and the Bakken (17 percent). Also, Trump’s victory is expected to bring to the White House an advocate for oil and gas drilling, who will slash regulations and encourage new energy industry development. Occidental Petroleum Corp, Chevron Corp, Pioneer Natural Resources Co and ConocoPhillips are among those adding rigs or preparing to do so. Oasis Petroleum Inc, a major North Dakota producer, bought 55,000 acres last month from SM Energy Co for $785 million, a bullish bet on the future of oil prices. The company also plans to add rigs. “This all reflects more of a confidence around our business plan in a lower oil price environment,” Oasis Chief Executive Tommy Nusz said in an interview last week. “We feel like we can hold our own now in a $40 (per barrel oil) world and grow in a $45 to $50 world.” Citing its technology and other improvements, EOG Resources Inc raised its growth projections and now expects to boost output 15 to 25 percent each year through the end of the decade if oil prices stabilize near $50 per barrel. “After two years of this down cycle, we are more than ready to resume higher-return oil growth,” EOG CEO Bill Thomas told investors in early November. All that activity will have an effect once things ramp up. U.S. unconventional shale oil production is expected to dip 13 percent this year from 2015 levels and continue to slip into 2017 before rebounding 11 percent in 2018, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. INVESTORS EYE POTENTIAL Investors in the oil sector are also bullish, eager to see returns grow after lagging for several years. “We fundamentally feel that where energy prices are at now are below where they are going to be at some point, and below their long-term equilibrium level,” Tony James, president of private equity investor Blackstone Group LP, told reporters in late October. James’ outlook reflects a broader perception among shale oil producers and their financiers that the industry has turned a corner for the better, analysts said. U.S. oil producers have launched initial public offerings, with Extraction Oil & Gas Inc and WildHorse Resource Development Corp filing this fall alone. That is good news not only for the oil industry but also for its largest lenders, including Wells Fargo & Co and Bank of America Corp. Oil “companies are now entrepreneurial and they’ve cut costs to become viable at these prices,” a senior executive at one of the top private equity firms in New York said last month. The executive declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media. “Those people are going to start producing again.” To be sure, a resurgence in the U.S. oil industry must still contend with market fundamentals, including a large oversupply and sluggish demand that neither Saudi Arabia nor President-elect Trump can fully control. America’s oil inventories rose by more than 14 million barrels in late October, the largest one-week increase on record and one linked to large production of shale oil and natural gas. If American oil companies continue to increase production, they run the risk of abrogating any OPEC output cuts later this month and pushing down prices on their own accord. “Obviously if we pull back to $25 per barrel, that will have an impact upon our investing,” said Al Walker, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Yet demand for the light, sweet oil produced across American shale fields continues to rise globally. U.S. crude oil exports hit an all-time high in September, according to U.S. Census data. And many companies have hedged for 2017 at least, taking advantage of the oil price rise this year. That emboldens executives to boost budgets. Pioneer, considered by Wall Street analysts one of the best-run U.S. shale oil producers, has hedged 75 percent of its 2017 output at an average price around $50 per barrel. “The industry is looking forward to a tepid recovery in early 2017,” said John Chisholm, CEO of Flotek Industries Inc , which supplies chemicals used in fracking and other oilfield products. Demand for Flotek’s CnF, a nontoxic fracking fluid, during the first nine months of 2016 has already eclipsed 2015 sales volumes, with projections higher for 2017. “These oil producers have reconstructed their business so they can make money at these low oil price levels. They’re pressing forward.” Doug Baldwin Authentic Jersey
PETRONAS looks to expand its business in India
PETRONAS, Malaysia’s national oil company, is committed to explore business growth opportunities across all segments of the oil and gas value chain in India, said President and Group CEO, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin during a series of receptions held for partners and customers in Mumbai and New Delhi. “India has always been an important market for PETRONAS as we see great potential to grow further with our partners and customers,” said Wan Zulkiflee. As part of its business strategy, PETRONAS will continue to invest in expanding its capacity in commodity chemicals and refined products, and enhance its product offerings to include differentiated and specialty chemicals for its customers worldwide. This will be supported by the Sabah Ammonia Urea project in Sabah, Malaysia, which is on track for commercial operations in Quarter 4 this year. SAMUR will have an estimated annual output of 2.6 million metric tonnes, making PETRONAS the second largest granular urea producer in South East Asia. Further to that, PETRONAS is also embarking on the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) located in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor. It is a single largest integrated downstream investment in the country to date, scheduled to commence in 2019. India, one of the most competitive economies and the fourth largest LNG market in the world also presents vast potential for PETRONAS. Wan Zulkiflee said PETRONAS is keen to explore opportunities in the Indian LNG market and is working to establish a liaison office to help grow its business in the country. With decades of experience as an integrated end-to-end LNG player and currently the third-largest producer of LNG in the world, PETRONAS also boasts a sterling reputation of being a reliable supplier among its LNG customers. “Over the years, we have also expanded the scale of our production facilities in Bintulu, and invested in new projects. I’m also exceptionally proud that our world’s first floating LNG facility, PFLNG Satu, was completed earlier this year. PFLNG Satu is a true industry game changer that allows us to monetise stranded gas assets and is currently undergoing commissioning. The first cargo is expected in the first quarter of 2017,” he said. Jordan Reed Authentic Jersey
Law- Nagaland – PIL
The ongoing case regarding the PIL filed against the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas (NP&NG) Rules and Regulation witnessed a new development as the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, filed a counter affidavit as one of the respondents in the case. According to a report received today, as respondent number 8, the Government of India filed a counter affidavit at the Kohima Bench of Guwahati High Court and the affidavit provided the Centre’s interpretation of Article 371(A) and said the Nagaland Legislative Assembly has no jurisdiction to make laws over oil fields in the state. The Ministry, in its affidavit disagreed that the State of Nagaland has any power to make law for development of oil fields and mineral resources. It further submitted that the Parliament has “exclusive power” to make laws on the said subject. It claimed that Article 371(A) “does not even restrict the Parliament to apply any of its laws on oil fields and mineral resources in Nagaland and no resolution from the State of Nagaland is required to apply the Parliament’s law on oil fields and mineral resources in the state.” The Ministry hence stated that any existing law made by the State of Nagaland on oil fields and mineral oil resources is “liable to be struck down, the same being without jurisdiction and ultra vires to the Constitution of India.” It stated that “the exploration of oil and natural gas is a subject covered by entry 53 (regulation and development of oil and mineral oil resources; petroleum and petroleum products; other liquids and substances declared by Parliament by law to be dangerously inflammable) List 1 of the Union List and therefore, the Parliament alone has the powers to legislate laws on this subject.” The Ministry also questioned whether the subjects mentioned under Article 371 (A) as “existing customary and religious laws of Nagaland” and subject for which the state is empowered to make law under state or concurrent list includes development of oil fields and mineral resources, “considering the fact that the said subject does not fall under state or concurrent list.” It further stated that the “plain words of Article 371 (A) and the constitutional history of amendments would show that 371 (a) was meant to be a restriction of application of Laws of Parliament and not a source of Legislative Power of the State.” It may be noted that the PIL against the Nagaland Petroleum and Natural Gas (NP&NG) Rules and Regulation, was filed by the Lotha Hoho (LH) and 2 others against the State of Nagaland and 7 others against the state Government’s attempt for exploration of petroleum oil from various spots of Wokha district. UNI AS KK 1342 Christine Michael Sr Jersey