Gujarat Gas gets nod for Ahmedabad
Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) has been granted permission to develop city gas distribution network (CGD) in Ahmedabad district. The authorization by The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), however, is for providing natural gas, to urban regions in the district excluding Ahmedabad city areas, where Adani Gas Limited (AGL) already holds the licence to supply PNG and CNG. GGL will supply natural gas, both piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), to residential, commercial and industrial consumers in urban centres like Sanand, Viramgam, Bavla, Dholka, Dhandhuka, Mandal and Detroj-Rampura. Luke Opilka Womens Jersey
Narendra Modi’s $27 billion oil quest gives services firms a lifeline
India is offering global oilfield service providers starved of new contracts a $27 billion lifeline as the government’s ambition to cut fuel imports drives fresh investment. Spending plans are ratcheting up and stalled projects restarting after the government in March announced pricing freedom for natural gas from deepsea fields that begin production this year. Coming at a time when the cost of rigs and services has halved, that’s prompted India’s largest explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. to launch its biggest development campaign yet. Reliance Industries Ltd. is preparing to restart work at four offshore oil and gas blocks. The flurry of activity is providing some respite to services companies including Schlumberger Ltd., Technip SA and Halliburton Co. that were stung last year by more than $100 billion in slashed spending by explorers as oil collapsed. Investments in India are growing to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of cutting import dependence by 10 per cent over six years as increased consumption puts the nation on track to become the world’s third-largest oil consumer. “In India, there are two to three major identified projects and they are probably bigger than anything else going on in rest of the world,” Technip India’s Managing Director Bhaskar Patel said in an interview. “India is a place where there is work available.” India’s hydrocarbon resources still remain highly undeveloped and the government’s new liberal approach is nudging companies to invest in tapping them. The measures are expected to boost gas output by 35 million standard cubic meters a day and unshackle projects worth 1.8 trillion rupees ($27 billion), Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said when the policy changes were announced. About 90 per cent of the new spending would go to companies that provide services from drilling to testing and the laying of infrastructure. Halliburton is positioned to participate in “the country’s ambitious plans to increase its domestic production,” the company said in an e-mailed response to questions. “India plays a crucial role for sustained development in the region for Halliburton.” The Indian government’s initiatives will increase the pace of exploration, ONGC Chairman Dinesh Kumar Sarraf said. ONGC will contract deepwater drill ships and dozens of jack-up rigs for a $5-billion development program in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, he said. The company intends to spend 11 trillion rupees by 2030 to raise output. Reliance has held meetings with oilfield-services companies to restart work at four offshore oil and gas blocks, including one of India’s biggest natural gas discoveries, people with knowledge of the plan said in May. It plans to drill 21 wells in four offshore areas, including the deepwater KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal, the people said. ONGC shares were up 0.2 per cent to 210.50 rupees as of 12:25 p.m. in Mumbai on Tuesday, while Reliance gained 0.2 per cent to 957.15 rupees. India’s exploration binge still won’t be enough to compensate for canceled projects around the world as oil prices settle below 50-a-barrel of crude from more than $100 two years ago. Worldwide, the oil and gas industry will cut $1 trillion from planned spending on exploration and development because of the price slump, consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said this month. Investing during the current down-cycle ensures lower costs for explorers as well as future returns over four or five years once oil recovers, Technip India’s Patel said. Read more on planned spending in the oil and gas industry here. ONGC has reduced the cost of its Krishna-Godavari basin block by almost a third from earlier estimates of about $7 billion as prices slide for the contract rate for rigs and oilfield equipment and services. Offshore jack-up rigs, which used to cost $80,000 to $90,000 a day, are now available for less than $50,000, ONGC’s Sarraf said. “We could say there is 20 per cent to 50 per cent reduction in the cost of goods and services.” Despite the price competition, service providers are finding that an India strategy is critical given the scarcity of spending elsewhere. Finnish company Wartsila OYJ’s Indian unit sees opportunity here given the tough global environment. “In the exploration segments, if projects are coming up of course it’s an opportunity for us,” Kimmo Kohtamaki, president and managing director of Wartsila India, said. “We have matching products and no one else is investing. Everyone is laying off, it’s a tough market.” Vince Dunn Authentic Jersey
IOC, BPRL & OIL to pay $3.3 billion to Rosneft in September
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil India (OIL) and Bharat PetroResources (BPRL), among themselves, will pay Russia’s Rosneft $3.3 billion for buying equity stakes in the latter’s two oil and gas projects in September, two officials privy to the deals told Siddhartha P Saikia in New Delhi. In one of the deals, IOC, OIL and BPRL are picking up 29.9% in the Rosneft-operated Taas-Yuryakh oil and gas fields in East Siberia for $1.28 billion. Besides this, the consortium would fork out another $2.02 billion for 23.9% stake in Rosneft arm Vankorneft that runs the Vankor oil field in East Siberia, the sources added. “The deal size includes acquisition cost and share of 10-year capital expenditure programme. The Taas-Yuryakh fields are under development, while Vankor is a developed asset,” said the first official. Talking about risk in investing in oil and gas assets, the official said that due diligence for the “economic viability” of the projects have been carried out in different price scenarios in the range of $40 to $60/barrel. Of the total cost, IOC would shell out $1.2 billion; its board has given the go-ahead for the same. The oil refining and marketing company is likely to borrow funds to pay for the acquisition. On the other hand, OIL could out fork out from its cash reserves, which is in excess of Rs.100 billion as on March 30. Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, along with top executives of these firms, visited St Petersburg in early June to ink final agreements. New Delhi’s interest in increasing economic cooperation with the Kremlin was reflected in several rounds of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The diplomatic relations with Russia has reached such heights that it will ensure India’s energy security for a long term,” Pradhan said. “Indian companies are investing in various oil projects in Russia and the investments are expected to reach $5 billion to $6 billion.” Rosneft’s chief executive Igor Sechin visited New Delhi in March to sign the preliminary heads of agreement for these acquisitions with Indian companies. Rosneft, impeded by US and European financing bans over the conflict in Ukraine, is eyeing investments from Asia to fund expansion. India, the third biggest oil importer, is seeking to enhance energy security amid low oil prices by tying up new sources of crude oil. State-controlled Rosneft is the world’s top listed oil producer by output. Currently, the Taas-Yuryakh asset is producing 20,000 barrels of oil per day with expected peak production of 100,000 bopd by 2021. The Vankor oil field in East Siberia produces more than 4,42,000 barrels of oil per day, double the output of Barmer, India’s largest onshore field, which is operated by Cairn India. Khris Davis Womens Jersey
Reliance oil imports for May down 13.2% year-on-year
Reliance Industries Ltd, owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, imported 13.2 percent less oil in May compared with a year earlier, as it shut a crude unit at its 580,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery for three weeks, according to tanker arrival data from trade sources and ship-tracking services on the Thomson Reuters terminal. Reliance, which has a diversified crude slate and shifts purchases to maximise revenue, bought 1.15 million bpd last month, a decline of 4.5 percent from April. Last month, Reliance received about 98,700 bpd oil and condensate from Iran after skipping purchases from Tehran in the previous month. The Indian conglomerate in March resumed purchases from Tehran after a six-year gap. Reliance is looking for long-term supplies from Iran. The share of Latin American and African oil in Reliance’s overall imports declined in the first five months of 2016, as the company shifted away from dated-Brent linked oil to Middle Eastern grades, the data showed. The share of Middle Eastern crude in Reliance’s overall imports rose to 59 percent in January-May 2016 from about 43 percent a year ago, the data showed. During the same period, African grades accounted for about 5 percent of the crude purchased, compared with about 13 percent a year earlier, while the share of Latin American oil slipped to about 33 percent from 43 percent. Mike Smith Womens Jersey
Sri Lanka may approve two blocks for exploration and drilling: PRDS
Sri Lanka could shortly approve petroleum exploration and drilling for two blocks in the Cauvery basin, as bidders in the 2013 licensing round have recommitted to their bids, a government official said. “The government has already gone through the approval process for these bids, and bidders have recommitted to their bids,” Saliya Wickramasuriya, director general of the Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat, told Lanka Business Online. Although the award of exploration blocks will require fresh cabinet approval, both the Petroleum Development Resources Committee and Minister of Petroleum Resources Development have given their approval to this step, he said. He added that while the current industry slump and lack of new data does not support a full-blown Licensing Round just yet, the Government had decided to make these awards based on work programmes committed during the international licensing round of 2013 with the intention of expediently re-commencing petroleum activity in Sri Lanka. Last year, Cairn India announced its withdrawal from Mannar Basin natural gas exploration following the global petroleum price slump. Cairn made this decision even though the economics within Sri Lanka could justify the investment in exploration. Sri Lanka is now preparing a national energy policy that brings together both petroleum resources development and power generation, Wickramasuriya added. “The planned award is for two blocks out of twenty. The parties have committed to maintain or accelerate their work programme, partly assisted by the prevailing lower prices of goods and services in the industry. This means it’s possible that we might see drilling commence within this year.” Extensive data has been collected from seismic surveys and previously drilled wells in the Cauvery basin, he said. This data explains the reasons for why those earlier wells missed their targets. This means that today drillers can be more confident about their prospects. “We have a good potential mix of oil, gas and condensate. The discoveries made recently in the Mannar basin were not of crude oil, but of gas and condensate, however large potentially crude-filled structures indicated on seismic are amongst our priority targets for the future.” Torry Holt Jersey
NOC plans to import additional 10,000 tons of LPG in July
The country will import an additional 10,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in July as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has pledged to conclude all the procedural stipulations within this week to provide the additional quantity from Paradeep refinery of Odisha state. IOC has promised additional supply to Nepal to make up for the shortfall caused during the disruptions in supply lines from India that has caused a prolonged crisis. The country is entirely reliant on the southern neighbour for fuel import. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has said that additional quantity will be imported through regular process by LPG bottlers. Mukunda Prasad Ghimire, spokesman of NOC, informed that product delivery order (PDO) to gas bottlers will be issued from this week after it receives a letter to that effect from IOC. “Most probably we will able to send gas bullets to receive load from Paradeep from next week,” said Ghimire. The additional quantity from India is expected to end the erratic distribution of the cooking fuel because consumers are still compelled to keep their cylinders in queue to get LPG. Demand for cooking gas always increases during the festive season and peaks during winter season, as per Ghimire. “That is why NOC needs to increase the supply in the domestic market before the onset of the festive season.” However, LPG bottlers have been reluctant to import cooking gas from Paradeep, which is 1,039 km from Birgunj. They have sought compensation from NOC because transport fare would rise while importing LPG from Paradeep. They claim that the existing price of cooking gas will not cover the cost incurred while importing the commodity from Paradeep. “NOC should either compensate gas bottlers or increase the market price of cooking gas slightly for a certain period,” said Shiva Prasad Ghimire, president of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLPGIA). “Without any concrete decision from NOC, we will refuse to accept the PDO.” Currently, bottlers have been importing cooking gas from Barauni, Haldia and Mathura. Ghimire, who heads the NLPGIA, said a bullet can transport LPG only two times in a month from Paradeep. “We will need to lease more bullets to transport cooking fuel from Paradeep,” he said. NOC Spokesman Ghimire has said that NLPGIA’s claim is false because the price of LPG is slightly lower in Paradeep than the price of LPG that bottlers have been receiving from Haldia. “The difference in the price of cooking gas in Paradeep and Haldia will cover the transportation cost,” according to him. The distance to Paradeep from Birgunj is 200 km more than to Haldia. NOC has said that it has not yet spoken to bottlers regarding importing cooking gas from Paradeep because IOC has yet to clear some procedures including route permit, among others. “Once we receive a letter from IOC to dispatch our gas bullets, we will invite bottlers and hold discussions on it,” said Ghimire. Currently, the country consumes around 27,000 tons of cooking gas every month but it goes up to 30,000 tons during the festive season and in winter. As per NOC, IOC’s refineries, which are allowed to dispatch load to Nepal are not able to increase supply of above 30,000 tons in a month. “We have to talk to IOC for regular supply from other refineries as well because demand of cooking gas has been surging by 13 per cent every year,” according to NOC. Rashaad Penny Womens Jersey
AP Govt inks deal for Rs 10k-cr gas-based fertilizer project
The Andhra Pradesh government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a three-nation consortium of China Huanqin Contracting and Engineering Corporation, LEPL Ventures Private Limited and Isomeric Holdingsto set-up a gas-based fertilizer project atKrishnapatanamwith an investment of Rs 101.83 billion. The MoU was signed during Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s ongoing visit to China, wherein he was participating in the World Economic Forum’s 10th annual meeting of New Champions in Tianjin. This proposed year of commencement for the project is 2017-18, a release from the CMO here said. This project will help generate 5,000 thousand jobs, the release said. China Huanqiu, headquartered in Beijing, is an affiliate of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Isomeric Holdingsis a Malaysian company with expertise in gas-based manufacturing projects while LEPL is a Vijayawada-based infrastructure company that also runs an airline. The Chief Minister, on the second day of his trip, also met the president of Japan External Trade Organisation Yasushi Akahoshi and discussed investment promotion in the state, the CMO release said. Later, the Chief Minister met Jan Willem Breen, president of Corporate Strategy, United Parcel Services. Jan Willem Breen noted that India is now an important destination and the company is willing to sign Business to Business and Business to Consumer agreements. Chandrababu presented him a brief on the emerging business opportunities in the state as the government intended to make it a logistics hub. Sean Rodriguez Womens Jersey
RIL knew about KG-D6 and ONGC block connectivity in 2003, suggests regulatory filings by Niko Resources
Reliance Industries knew way back in 2003 that its Dhirubhai gas fields in Bay of Bengal block KG-D6 will drain out natural gas from adjacent block of ONGC, regulatory filings by its partner Niko Resources indicate. Canada’s Niko had on April 6, 2004 filed with Toronto Stock Exchange an “Appraisal Report as of March 31, 2003 on Block KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6)” natural gas reserves it had commissioned from DeGolyer and MacNaughton (M&M). In the report, D&M stated: “Development of the KG-DWN- 98/3 block will be capable of depleting the OFIP (Original Gas In-Place) on the KG-OS-IG block.” KG-OS-IG block lies adjacent to KG-D6 and belongs to state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) which had taken RIL to Delhi High Court in May 2014 alleging its gas had been produced by the private firm. Under court directions, RIL and ONGC appointed D&M to study if the gas fields in their blocks are inter-connected. The US-based consultant in its final report submitted in December 2015 stated that as much as 11.122 billion cubic meters of ONGC gas has migrated to Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 & D3) field located in the KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) Block of RIL. The government thereafter appointed a one-man committee under A P Shah to decide on compensation to be paid to ONGC. The panel is to submit its report by next month end. Niko, which holds 10 per cent stake in KG-D6 block, had in 2003 commissioned D&M report to understand viability of the gas discoveries made in the KG-D6 block in 2002. “The OGIP and associated reserves that are located off the KG-DWN-98/3 block have been included as possible reserves attributable to development of the KG-DWN-98/3 block,” D&M had said in the 2003 report. “The reserves associated with that portion of the OGIP would require a separate stand-alone development by the owner of the block (KG-OS-IG) which could prove cost prohibitive.” When contacted, RIL said, “We have already made our detailed submission to the Shah Committee regarding the filing made by Niko. It would be inappropriate to comment on the submission itself in deference to Justice Shah’s instructions to the parties to maintain strict confidentiality.” Sources said while ONGC in its submissions to the Shah panel has pointed to the Niko filing to buttress its case, RIL told the panel that comments made in the Appraisal Report “suggest that there was a possibility of connectivity, but only that and is not firm evidence of it.” According to RIL, it was not until D&M undertook its detailed 14-month study and analysis (at a cost of over USD 2 million) and furnished the 2015 Report that reservoir connectivity was indicated. It further stated that the Appraisal Report was in public domain since 2003 and ONGC “could have raised with RIL or (upstream regulator) DGH any issues that it felt required attention or discussion, that than 10 years later, as it did.” To the AP Shah Committee, RIL cited the D&M’s comments that independent development of resources in ONGC’s block would be ‘cost prohibitive’ to state that they were “not commercially viable” on a standalone basis. This implied that to produce them, they had to be necessary produced with neighbouring fields. RIL in its submission stated that the 2003 appraisal report provided “very little from a technical perspective and nothing that is helpful in any joint development consideration” of the adjacent blocks. “The Appraisal Report comprised of a simplistic consideration of seismic data and very limited well data confined to discover wells in Block KG-DWN-98/3, with no modelling but rather with a reliance on D&M’s general experience in geology,” it said. It went on to state that seismic data may suggest continuity of channels across block boundaries, but is entirely insufficient in conclusively establishing presence of reservoir and reservoir connectivity. “Well data from the ONGC blocks was only available to RIL in late 2013 and post-production pressure values from ONGC blocks were obtained by ONGC in the early 2015 through MDT survey in three of their wells,” it said. The 2003 Appraisal Report, RIL said, “relates to wells A1, B1, B2, and C1 of D1-D3 reservoir; it does not give consideration to wells A5, A9, A13 or B8 i.e., the wells which ONGC (wrongfully) claim have caused the alleged drainage and which it made specific complaint of in its Writ Petition (in the Delhi High) that lead to the Terms of Reference (of the AP Shah Committee).” The company went on to add that it at all times confined its Petroleum Operations to its Contract Area and its exploration and development activities were approved by the Management Committee headed by DGH. Seth DeValve Authentic Jersey
Oilex Ltd planning new well at Cambay
Oilex Ltd plans to drill a vertical well at the Cambay Block in Gujarat state in India once it can get the finances. The well will target the Eocene siltstone (EP-IV or Y Zone) and is essential prior to drilling a horizontal extension for potential later fracking and exploitation of the Eocene siltstones. Detailed planning for this well is still being finalised and is subject to JV/Budget approvals. At end May, Oilex had cash A$6.3mln and was talking with joint venture partner Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation over money it is owed and the budget for the coming year. The junior is currently bearing all of the ongoing costs of the joint venture, though it recently settled its legal dispute with shareholder Zeta. Production from Cambay in May was 42 barrels per day and from Bhandut-3 the gas equivalent of 120 barrels per day. Jonathan Salomon, managing director, said: “Last week’s agreement with Zeta Resources Limited to end legal proceedings between the parties has provided Oilex with a clearer path forward and was a key priority for us. The revitalised management team can now gather momentum on the path to the potential development of Cambay that reflects what was learned from the previous wells. “We look forward now to resolving issues with GSPC and progressing work at Cambay”. Kole Calhoun Womens Jersey
Government strikes out 16 million bogus ration cards, to save Rs 100 billion
Government has eliminated 16 million duplicate and bogus ration cards that will help save about Rs 100 billion in subsidy bill annually, said Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa. In addition, the government has saved Rs 148.72 billion by offering subsidy on cooking gas (LPG) directly to consumers and direct benefit transfer (DBT) is planned to be extended to 150 schemes by the end of this year, he told PTI here. DBT makes use of Aadhaar or the unique identification number to identify beneficiaries, under which benefits are transferred directly to their bank accounts, thus preventing diversion and misuse. This has resulted in removal of duplicate beneficiaries, which has led to significant savings across welfare schemes. “That (the total savings made from using DBT) estimate differs from scheme to scheme. We are yet to compile that. There are some indications about weeding out of bogus ration cards. So, more than 16 million ration cards have been weeded out,” said Lavasa, who also holds the charge of the Department of Expenditure. “And on this account alone, the estimation is about Rs 100 billion savings.” As on March 31, 2015, there were 110 million households with public distribution system (PDS) ration cards. Similarly, DBT on LPG, code named PAHAL, has helped weed out Rs 35 million duplications and bogus users, helping save Rs 149.82 billion in annual fuel subsidy. “Same is the response in MNREGA, about 10 per cent savings have been reported in 2015-16 because of elimination of bogus job cards,” he said. Citing an example, the secretary said Haryana has informed the Centre that it has wiped out 6,00,000 fake beneficiaries for kerosene. The government intends to extend DBT to other schemes for better targeting and stamping out bogus users, thus checking diversion to non-intended beneficiaries, he said. “The intention of the government is that by the end of this year, we have about 150 schemes which we want to cover under DBT. Till April this year, we have extended it to about 65-odd schemes. So, more than doubling,” he said. Nearly 310 million beneficiaries, Lavasa said, have been covered by DBT and more than Rs 19 million disbursed to them directly under various schemes like MNREGA and PAHAL. DBT for kerosene was to be rolled out next with a pilot project to be soon launched in 33 districts, he said, adding that a similar test run for food and fertiliser is in the offing in select districts this year. A national scholarship portal is being created that will integrate all scholarship schemes handled by different departments to make it more transparent and easy to administer. “The intended beneficiaries will have access to all the data through our portal. It avoids duplication of work,” he said, adding that pension payment would be integrated too. According to Lavasa, DBT is a way of rationalisation, systematising and computerising schemes. “Once you start systematising things, these are the unintended benefits and these benefits are there for everybody,” he added. David Krejci Jersey