Possibility of setting up LNG plant being explored in Rajasthan
Rajasthan State Gas Limited (RSGL) has started exploring the possibilities of setting up a LNG plant in the state, Mines Secretary Anandhi said during a meeting of the board of directors of RSGL held at the Secretariat here on Monday. With the setting up of the liquified natural gas (LNG) plant, the future fuel demand of LNG vehicles in the state can be met there itself. The fuel requirement of long distance goods vehicles and mining sector vehicles can also be met with this LNG fuel, Anandhi added. The secretary said that Rajasthan Gas will have to chalk out an action plan to diversify its operations. Along with compressed natural gas (CNG) and Domestic Piped Natural Gas (DPNG) distribution networks, we will have to enter new areas like production and distribution of biogas and LNG. Praising the work of RSGL, she said that a campaign should be launched to connect new families with the gas distribution system through a domestic pipeline in Kota. New units in the industrial and commercial sector should be encouraged to make new connections by giving them information about the benefits and low cost of CNG-PNG, she added. Managing Director of RSGL, Ranveer Singh said that there is a plan to set up two new CNG stations in the state. Till February, RSGL has provided an average of 47390 standard cubic meters of gas per day in the state, which is a new record. On an average, 45440 SCMD gas was provided daily by RSGL in the last financial year.
BPCL, HPCL, Oil India bag license for building gas infra in J&K, Northeast
State-run oil Oil India Ltd (OIL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), among others bagged the licenses for building gas infrastructure in the Northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir under the 12th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round. The 12th CGD bidding round constituted 8 Geographical Areas (GAs) across 6 Northeast states – Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram – and two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. This round in totality covered 103 districts. The winners for the GAs were as follows: 1. Arunachal Pradesh – BPCL and OIL consortium 2. Meghalaya – Haryana City Gas 3. Manipur – Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd 4. Mizoram – Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd 5. Sikkim- HPCL 6. Nagaland – HPCL and Oil India 7. Jammu and Kashmir – BPCL 8. Ladakh – BPCL
India to pump Rs 410 billion into natural gas network for Kashmir, Northeast
According to Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, India will invest a sizable amount—Rs 410 billion —into the expansion of its natural gas network in the Kashmir and northeastern regions. This significant investment will fuel the rollout of city gas networks, providing retail CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households over the coming years. The 12th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round, encompassing eight geographical areas (GAs), witnessed participation from esteemed entities such as Oil India Ltd (OIL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL). Minister Puri emphasised the government’s dedication to promoting natural gas as a fuel for transportation, domestic use, and industrial purposes, aligning with the vision to transform India into a gas-based economy. Developing a robust gas infrastructure ecosystem has paved the way for significant investments, fostering cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions. Moreover, reforms in gas pricing and regulatory measures by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) aim to ensure equitable access to natural gas across the nation. The 12th CGD bidding round, spanning six northeastern states and two Union Territories, marks a significant step towards expanding India’s natural gas footprint and achieving greater energy security and sustainability.
India turns cautious on contracted Russian oil as US sanctions bite
India’s state-run oil refiners are shying away from contracted Russian crude supply as the once-booming trade becomes much harder under tighter enforcement of US sanctions. The biggest state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp. will likely reduce the amount of crude received under so-called term supply, while Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have decided against making firm commitments to take contracted oil next financial year, six people familiar with the matter said, asking not to identified because the information is private. The three refiners had been in talks with Russia’s Rosneft PJSC to secure about 500,000 barrels a day — equivalent to a third of India’s daily imports — to try and reduce reliance on one-off purchases that can often be more expensive. The lukewarm response to a suggested contract clause that would address supply disruptions added to the caution from Indian refiners, the people said. Indian Oil has an existing long-term deal with Rosneft, but contracted supply would have been a first for HPCL and BPCL. Russia is still the biggest supplier to India, but there are signs refiners are buying more from other producers, including Saudi Arabia. The state-owned companies are also seeking contracted crude from the Middle East and West Africa, but the deals are likely to be more expensive than Russian oil, the people said. State refiners are expected to meet 40% of their crude needs in the financial year starting April 1 through one-off purchases, or spot deals, meaning big volumes of oil from Russia could still flow to India, four of the people said. Last year, Indian Oil entered into a series of deals with Rosneft, Sakhalin-1 LLC and Gazprom Neft PJSC to take 24.5 million tons, or 492,000 barrels a day, for the year ending March 31, two of the people said. That compares with a pre-war contract with Rosneft in 2021 to take 2 million tons over a year.
Mahanagar Gas reduces price of CNG in Mumbai
Mumbai-based Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) has reduced the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) to Rs 73.50/Kg effective from midnight of 5th March 2024/ morning of 6th March 2024, the company said on Tuesday. “Due to reduction in gas input cost MGL is pleased to announce reduction in CNG price by Rs 2.5/Kg in and around Mumbai,” the company said, adding that MGL’s CNG price now offers attractive savings of 53% compared to petrol and 22% compared to diesel at current price levels in Mumbai. This reduction in CNG price would help to increase the consumption of natural gas in transportation segment, which is a step towards making India cleaner and greener, the company added.
Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurates 201 CNG stations and India’s first small-scale LNG unit
Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs & Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas inaugurated 201 CNG stations of GAIL India across the country. The minister also inaugurated what it said to be India’s first small-scale LNG unit at Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. The CNG stations have been set up with an investment of Rs 5 billion and are spread across 52 geographical areas in 17 states The development of the National Gas Grid & a wide spread CGD network for connecting consumption centres with supply points will play a crucial role in India’s journey towards being a gas-based economy in which the share of natural gas in the country’s energy mix will increase from 6% to 15% by 2030. “This transformation will open up investment avenues of about $67 billion. India is committed to continuously improve the policy and regulatory environment to support development, & ensure availability & accessibility of cleaner and sustainable fuel. Around 24,623 kms of pipeline out of the over 33,753 kms of natural gas trunk pipelines authorised are currently operational in the country,” said Puri.
Nayara Energy exports decline by 10% in 2023 as domestic demand surges
Nayara Energy, India’s largest private fuel retailer, saw petroleum product exports drop by 10 per cent in 2023 as it supplied more products domestically to meet the fuel demands of a growing economy, sources said. Nayara, which operates a 20 million tonne a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat and a network of over 6,500 petrol pumps, exported 6.21 million tonne of petroleum products, including jet fuel, gasoil (diesel) and gasoline (petrol) between January 2023 and December 2023, down 10 per cent year-on-year. This was primarily because of larger consumption at home. The company is catering to the domestic market through institutional business, sales to other oil companies and its own retail chain. Of all the petroleum products Nayara produced, 68 per cent were sold within the country and the remaining 32 per cent of products, including, ATF, gasoil and gasoline were exported, sources said. According to the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), consumption of petroleum products rose 5.1 per cent to 192.7 million tonnes during the first 10 months of the current fiscal. This growth was led by a 6 per cent expansion in petrol, 4 per cent in diesel and 12 per cent in ATF consumption. Natural export markets for Nayara are in the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia – the markets, which have a consistent appetite for the company’s products throughout the year, they said, adding the firm did not supply any gasoline or gasoil to Europe during 2023. Commercially, it is unviable to cater to the seasonal requirements of EU markets (winter grade diesel). “Nayara’s diesel does not meet the winter specification requirements of the EU market,” a source said. Africa, South-East Asia and the Middle East got 81 per cent of all products Nayara exported in 2023. Out of the total 6.21 million tonnes exported, gasoil exports stood at about 3.45 million tonnes, roughly 56 per cent of all exports for the same period. Some of the export markets include Africa, the Middle East, South east Asia and Australia. While Nayara supplied no gasoil to Europe during 2023, the percentage of the fuel exports to the EU has been less than 3 per cent of the total gasoil exports during the last five years, sources said.
First crude oil offtake from new FPSO represents ‘historic achievement in India’s energy sector
India’s government-owned energy giant Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has held a flag-off ceremony for the first crude oil offtake from a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is working at what is said to be the first deepwater development located off India’s east coast. Following the FPSO Armada Sterling V’s first oil at the Block KG-DWN 98/2 development project on the east coast of Kakinada offshore India, Shri Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, flagged off the first crude oil tanker Swarna Sindhu from ONGC’s Krishna Godavarideepwater block. This project is anticipated to add 7% to India’s oil and gas production at its peak production level. The flag-off ceremony, organized in Begusarai in Bihar, was graced by Bihar Governor, Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar; Bihar Chief Minister, Shri Nitish Kumar and Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department and MP, Begusarai Loksabhaconstituency along with Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, along with senior dignitaries from Petroleum Ministry, Shri Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman and CEO of ONGC and the firm’s directors. Developed with an investment of over 410 billion rupees (around $4.95 million), ONGC claims that the KG-DWN 98/2 deepwater oil field M in Krishna Godavari Basin is one of the most technologically complex projects. The total anticipated daily peak gas and oil production from the project is about 10 million standard cubic meters per fuel or 45,000 bopd.
India talking to Guyana, Suriname, Namibia for oil import: Hardeep Singh Puri
India has been talking to Guyana, Suriname and Namibia regarding oil cooperation, informed Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday while asserting that there is no shortage of crude oil globally. His statement comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are extending their voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) into the second quarter. Responding to the development, Puri said: “Whatever decision Opec+ takes it is their sovereign decision… I speak with confidence as a representative of a country that we will navigate through this. If you sell, we will buy. If you don’t we will buy from someone other.” “There is no shortage of crude oil in the world. My view is that there is enough oil present with Opec+… we have been talking to Guayana, Suriname, Namibia. Venezuela has some difficulties $600 million were stuck… that is coming in. I am confident. We will navigate through this. In coming time I don’t see any difficulty in this,” he added. India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is looking to diversify its crude sources. India is considering a multi-year oil purchase agreement with Guyana. Last year, the Ministry of External Affairs also said India is keenly looking at oil and gas cooperation with Guyana and Suriname. Discussions in this regard were held during meetings of President of Cooperative Republic of Guyana Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Republic of Suriname president Chandrikapersad Santokhi with President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention last year in January. Meanwhile, India and Namibia are exploring possibilities regarding oil and gas cooperation. During his visit to Namibia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar last year said there is a much clearer picture of the possibilities before the two countries. “Closer cooperation in the field of energy, including in oil and gas, green hydrogen, and solar,” he has said. India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is dependent on crude oil from various sources in the global market to meet its domestic demand.
WTI Sheds Over 1.6% As Demand Trumps Everything Else
Oil prices shed over 1% on Monday despite rising tensions in the Red Sea and on the front lines of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with OPEC+ extending voluntary production cuts and demand sentiment taking a beating from an unusually mild winter. At 2:28 p.m. ET on Monday, Brent crude was trading up 1.05% at $82.67, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading up 1.66% at $78.64. On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to extend its 2.2-million-barrel/day voluntary production cuts for another quarter, with this outcome already having been priced in ahead of time. Russia also said it would deepen cuts by over 470,000 bpd in the second quarter of this year, while also easing curbs on exports. Russia already has a 500,000-bpd cut quote for production and exports. While this was a surprise move, it failed to move the oil price needle on Monday. “With OPEC loadings appearing steady and aggregate OPEC supply potentially showing little effect from incremental voluntary cuts implemented in Q1, we do not view the extensions from the broader group as particularly impactful,” Macquarie energy strategist Walt Chancellor told Reuters on Monday. Some analysts saw this morning’s brief increase in oil prices as a response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and the current stalemated ceasefire negotiations. “The OPEC+ rollover was baked in, it’s the Gaza crisis that prices are responding to,” Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, told Bloomberg. “As long as the cease-fire negotiations remain in a stalemate, crude is likely to either hover around current levels or come under further upward pressure.” Rystad Energy’s Jorge Leon told Reuters that OPEC+ cuts would result in 34.6 million bpd in output for Q2, down 1.4 million bpd from earlier forecasts.