Posts filed under 'Petroleum & Energy'
Brazilian oil major — Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) — will now get participating interest in exploration blocks of ONGC in India and ONGC, in turn will get to participate in oil blocks being explored by Petrobras in Brazil.
This reciprocating of interests in offshore oil and gas blocks of the two companies will come about in view of an agreement reached here on Monday over swapping of interests in offshore blocks in India and Brazil.
ONGC’s deepwater blocks, where Petrobras could hold stake include those in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, off Andhra Pradesh coast, and the Mahanadi Basin off Orissa coast. Petrobras has offered 25-30 per cent stake to ONGC in three exploration blocks and, in return, ONGC has offered 15-40 per cent stake in its three deep-water blocks. Preliminary agreement on these deals will be signed shortly.
`Strategic country’
According to a statement issued by ONGC, the agreement was signed today by Mr R.S. Sharma, Chairman, ONGC group of companies; Mr R.S. Butola, Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and Mr Jose Sergio Gabrielli De Azevedo, President of Board of Directors of Petrobras, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and the visiting Brazilian President, Mr Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Speaking on the development, the President and CEO of Petrobras said, “India has always been a strategic country for us.”
Source : Moneycontrol.com
June 5th, 2007
New Delhi (AFP) - India’s trade deficit nearly doubled in April, the first month of the financial year, from a year ago as costs for imported oil jumped, the government said in a statement Sunday.
The trade deficit widened to 7.06 billion dollars in April 2007 from 3.94 billion dollars in April 2006 led by a jump in the cost of oil imports of 11.4 percent in the same period to 4.42 billion dollars, the statement said.
India imports nearly two thirds of its petroleum needs.
Exports in April rose 23.1 percent to 10.58 billion dollars, but the gain was offset by imports of 17.64 billion dollars, a jump of nearly 41 percent, the statement said.
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said in April that the government had set a goal of exports worth 160 billion dollars for the year started April.
But analysts say the target may be missed because of a sharp gain of nine percent in the rupee against the dollar since the start of 2007 — to a near decade high of 40.50.
A stronger rupee dampens exporter earnings in dollars and makes their products more expensive abroad.
Source : News.yahoo.com
June 4th, 2007
New Delhi (AFP) - India and the United States held talks for a second day to resolve differences over a nuclear energy agreement that will give India access to long-denied Western nuclear technology.
Chief US negotiator Nicholas Burns met India’s junior foreign minister Anand Sharma and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon on the second day of his visit to New Delhi.
“I think we are working hard. We are working well and let’s hope it will be as soon as possible,” Burns, US undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters after meeting Sharma.
The deal will reverse three decades of US sanctions on nuclear trade with India, even though New Delhi has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
The pact requires India to separate nuclear facilities for civilian and military use and set up a regime of international inspections for the former in return for technology and nuclear fuel supplies.
But differences persist over New Delhi’s demand to be allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
India also wants assurances that Washington would continue to supply fuel for its nuclear plants in the event of New Delhi conducting further nuclear weapons tests.
Before going in to talks Thursday, Burns said “some hard work” had to be done.
Source : News.yahoo.com
June 1st, 2007
New Delhi (AFP) : The lead US negotiator in a landmark deal to allow civilian nuclear technology sales to India arrives in New Delhi this week to try and resolve nagging differences over the pact, officials said Monday.
“Nicholas Burns is scheduled to arrive in India on May 31″ for talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, a source from the US embassy in New Delhi said, adding the talks would continue until June 1.
US Undersecretary of State Burns will meet Indian officials to hammer out language to implement the deal which was agreed on during a visit by President George W. Bush to India last year.
The deal aims to reverse three decades of US sanctions on nuclear trade with India, even though New Delhi has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
Efforts to agree on the fine print of implementing the pact have yet to be ironed out.
Source : News.yahoo.com
May 29th, 2007
New Delhi : In an effort to reduce power consumption in industrial and urban hubs, the government has introduced energy conservation codes that will soon be made mandatory for commercial buildings with load of over 500 kw.
The codes set minimum efficiency standards for external walls, roofs, glass structures, lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning of commercial buildings in all the five “climatic zones” and would initially be voluntary.
These would, however, be made mandatory soon under the Energy Conservation Act 2001 for the buildings with loads of 500 kw or more.
Launching the codes here on Sunday, the Union Power Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, said an “appropriate institutional structure” would be put in place to oversee implementation of the codes throughout the country with involvement of states and other stakeholders.
He said the state governments would be asked to integrate the codes in city bylaws through municipalities although they could amend them to suit local or regional needs.
Its implementation would reduce energy consumption from 25 per cent to 40 per cent and yield annual savings of about 1.7 billion units, Shinde said.
Turning to power production, Shinde said plans had been made for capacity addition of about 70,000 mw during the 11th Plan and by 2012 the country would be self-sufficient to the great extent in the power sector.
He said efficient use of energy and checking leakages was a must given that conserving even 20 per cent would save around Rs 20,000 crore.
Source : Hindu.com
May 28th, 2007
New Delhi : The US-supported government in Baghdad has just delivered what might be termed a ‘crude’ blow to India. The Iraqi government has refused to honour an earlier deal relating to the Tuba oil block in Southern Iraq, awarded to the unlikely combine of ONGC and RIL by the deposed Saddam Hussein regime. The Tuba block will be bid again, according to Baghdad.
Although the consortium had bagged the exploration project during the Saddam reign, the block’s formal handover was still to happen. Visiting Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani held that the block, which was secured by the Indian companies during the previous regime, was not formally awarded.
On the Tuba oilfield, Mr al-Shahristani said: “Contract (for the field) was not signed and so it will be put up in international competitive bidding round and Indian companies will have to bid for it.” A consortium of OVL (ONGC’s overseas arm), RIL and Algeria’s Sonatrach had been shortlisted in 2000 for the block.
ONGC Videsh (OVL) may, however, be allowed to retain its other oil block (Block-8), which was also awarded during the previous regime. “The decision of awarding Block-8 to ONGC may have to reviewed to restructure it in conformity with the new law,” Mr al-Shahristani said.
The contract for Block 8 (bordering Kuwait) will have to be amended in accordance with the new oil and gas law likely to be enacted in the next two months. The legislation has been cleared by the Cabinet and it is awaiting Parliament’s nod, he said after a meeting of the Indo-Iraq Joint Working Group in New Delhi.
“All contracts signed by the previous regime or Kurdish regional government will have to be revisited and amended to make them compliant with our new law,” the minister said .
It is learnt that OVL, which has been the contractor for Block-8, an oil producing block, had already done some field development work before war broke out in Iraq in 2003. “Discovery of oil in the block was made, but it was not appraised,” an OVL official said.
Mr al-Shahristani said Iraq would announce new rounds of bidding for hydrocarbon assets. “The first round of bidding is expected by the end of 2007,” he said. Iraq will invite bids for oil and gas blocks in every six months.
While Iraq categorically said it would not favour India in any way in getting oil blocks, it sought the help of Indian companies to rebuild its refineries. It is understood that India expressed reservation in helping Iraq as these refineries would eventually compete with its own in export markets.
“They should give us oilfields on a nomination basis if they want us to build refineries. There should be reciprocity,” an official said. The three-day joint commission meeting was led by petroleum minister Murli Deora.
Mr al-Shahristani said Iraq was willing to supply long-term crude oil at discounted price to companies building refineries. He, however, ruled out giving fields on a nomination basis, citing Iraqi law.
Source : Economictimes.indiatimes.com
May 26th, 2007
Singapore : Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Friday in a market watching tight US gasoline (petrol) prices and fresh tensions over Iran, dealers said. At 11:41 am (0341 GMT) New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, rose 20 cents to 64.38 dollars a barrel after plunging 1.59 dollars to end at 64.18 dollars a barrel in late US trades Thursday.
Brent North Sea crude for July delivery was down five cents at 70.67 dollars a barrel, after hitting a peak of 71.80, the highest level since August 28, 2006. “There are still concerns over the gasoline supplies. Refineries are still having issues,” said CFC Seymour analyst Steve Rowles in Hong Kong. The US Department of Energy (DoE) said in its weekly report Wednesday that gasoline stocks rose 1.5 million barrels in the week to May 18 but remained “well below the lower end of the average range.”
The market has been preoccupied with gasoline prices ahead of the peak demand season from the end of this month when Americans take to the roads on holiday.
Source : Economictimes.indiatimes.com
May 25th, 2007
New Delhi : Torrent Power Ltd today said it will set up a 1000 mw coal-based power project at Pipavav in Gujarat in collaboration with Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL).
The project would be developed through a special purpose vehicle and is expected to be implemented by March 2012, Torrent Power said in a release.
The joint venture has partially acquired land for the project, it added.
The agreement between the two companies was signed by Gujarat government’s Principal Secretary and GPCL’s CMD Vijayalaxmi Joshi and Torrent Power Chairman Sudhir Mehta.
GPCL is a nodal agency set up by the state government to promote power projects in the state.
Initially the project will have a capacity of 1000 mw which could be subsequently increased, the release stated.
Torrent currently generates 500 mw power through its coal and gas based power plants in Ahmedabad and is in the process of setting up a 1130 mw power project near Surat.
Source : Zeenews.com
May 23rd, 2007
Mumbai, May 18 (PTI): Wind power major Suzlon Energy will raise 300 million dollars through issue of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs), proposed to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
The fund raising comes in the midst of Suzlon’s plans to acquire German wind turbine manufacturer REpower Systems AG, in which it has a 30.9 per cent stake.
It has raised its bid gradually to 150 euro per share to acquire REpower to compete with French nuclear energy group Areva, which had offered 140 euro per share.
“The bid has cleared all regulatory requirements and processes and is currently open for REpower shareholders to tender their shares,” Suzlon Energy Chairman and Managing Director Tulsi Tanti had said while announcing the company’s results on May 15.
The cut-off date was fixed on May 24, but Tanti declined to give further details about the proposed takeover.
The FCCBs with a maturity period of five years and one day could be convertible at Rs 1,800, a premium of 59.59 per cent over the closing price of Suzlon’s shares at Rs 1,127.90 yesterday on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Deutsche Bank was the sole bookrunner of the transaction, the company informed the exchange.
Suzlon posted a Rs 437.82 crore net profit and total income of Rs 2,097.55 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31.
It plans to invest Rs 3,300 crore during the current fiscal to enhance its wind turbine and gear box manufacturing capacity.
Source : Hindu.com
May 18th, 2007
India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is to invest nearly 90bn rupees ($2bn) in oil and gas projects in the country’s north-east.
ONGC chairman RS Sharma made the announcement during a tour of the region on Tuesday.
He said the corporation would drill 140 oil wells in Assam and more than 80 in other states over the next five years.
Most oil wells in Assam are several decades old and ONGC wants to modernise as well as find new deposits, he said.
“We will involve top global companies like Halliburton to help us in the Assam renewal project. We want to reverse the trend of declining output from matured oil fields in Assam,” said Mr Sharma.
Tripura plant
The ONGC, which produces about 1.6m tonnes of crude oil annually in Assam, hopes to nearly double its production with the additional investments.
“We expect to produce about 3m tonnes of crude oil with the investments used in drilling wells and associated pipelines, besides revamping existing facilities,” Mr Sharma told journalists in Assam’s capital, Guwahati.
India produces about 30m tonnes of crude oil annually, with Assam accounting for about 5m tonnes of the total. Oil India Limited (OIL) produces about 3.5m tonnes of crude in Assam annually.
Assam has more than 1.3bn tonnes of proven crude oil and 156bn cubic metres of natural gas reserves, more than half of which are yet to be explored.
The state accounts for nearly 50% of the country’s on-shore crude oil production.
“Assam has the highest success ratio in the world with 70% of the exploration sites yielding oil,” said ONGC’s director of exploration DK Pande.
The ONGC will also start exploration in Nagaland state by October this year after more than a decade. It was forced to stop operations in the mid-1990s after separatist rebels threatened to attack its facilities. The rebels are now negotiating with the Indian government.
The ONGC will also start drilling several wells in Mizoram state on the border with Burma this year. These blocks are said to be rich in both oil and gas.
Source : news.bbc.co.uk
May 16th, 2007
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