Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

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Nikhil T
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Nikhil T »

^^ I don't think arguing something as important would get enough attention in the Nukkad thread. Lets continue here.
Negiji , please find some arguments inline. Like many in the media your mindset has hyphenated the PSU's with the Chai-Biskoot babus of the Secretariat.
negi wrote:From Oil and NG thread.

In case of private sector there are no protectionist policies in place and no over staffing ,operating margins are under strict scrutiny.
Protectionism was needed for the nation. Burma Shell/Mobil could've brought the nation to its *knees* in 1971 during the famous American tilt. Don't say that the Oil Companies are the ones who only benefitted. It was as important as the decision of Independent India to have a formidable military. Even to date, Pukis dont have a single Pak Air Force required lubricant in their dumps, let alone lubricants/heavy oils for their Naval assets.
Regarding over staffing, even a rudimentary google search would tell you about the lack of chemical engineers and mechanical engineers in these Oil Companies. Hope you know this was an Officer's strike not a workmen strike.

I'm sure you dont even have an idea how important operating margins are for these Oil Companies. For every financial year, the Deptt of Public Sector Enterprises and the Min of P&NG signs a MoU with the Oil Company stating specific financial goals to be achieved and at the year end these are evaluated to give a score out of 10. The Navratna's cant get a lower grading than "excellent" to maintain their so called "*autonomy*".
More importantly while private sector folks do enjoy high pay brackets they are at risk and mercy of market dynamics ; hundreds of thousands are fired at a blink of an eye when required to maintain profitability.
Lol, this is skewed thinking. How many RIL officials / Essar officers were fired when oil touched $150 or when the Panna-Mukti fields or the Dhirubhai-I/II fields were not brought online in the timeframe promised both to the stock exchanges and in the Production Sharing Agreements with the MoPNG??
Secondly, when oil touched 150, why didnt people who blame PSU's of ignoring *Market Dynamics* come out ?? Could we have survived if Gasoline sold for Rs. 75/ litre or LPG costed Rs. 400 per cylinder. Don't insult the alligator after you've crossed the river for heaven's sake !
The folks in Govt sector might not draw high salaries but they do enjoy the perks and more importantly are protected from adverse market conditions ,so much so that even loss making PSU's continue to recruit more and more people instead of laying off.
Lastly and not the least in private sector if one is unhappy with the pay stub then one is free to leave and join another company of his/her liking people do not indulge into this commie practice of calling BANDS and holding public at ransom; nothing stops these striking employees from leaving their present jobs and apply in RIL or even Schlum. But then it seems they want best of both the worlds. :mrgreen:
I can see your middle school economic theory lessons in direct application here. Low Price - Hire more , High Price -fire more !! Dont you get it that the volume of refined Oil products that the refineries have to produce remains the same even if Oil touches $150 because the *Govt* sells it at $65 prices and consequently the demand doesnt suffer . Talking about recession, the Oil demand hasn't tanked even a single percentage point to enable these companies from shutting a single LPG plant , leave alone a refinery.
Plus what recruitments are you talking about ?? Try talking to any IOC/EIL manager about the so called "overstaffing". Try going up to any floor in the EIL Headquarters at Bhikaji Cama Place, you'll be surprised to see entry-level engineers reporting to Deputy General Managers because the middle management has left for greener pastures in RIL/ONGC. Oil companies are not IndianRailways/Coal India behemoths that hire people and then look for suitable jobs. The situation is similar to what AM Naik is facing in L&T where you have 1000 applicants a week but not 10 satisfy the requirements. If the Pay Package isn't increased, the existing talent would migrate and then your dry petrol pumps wouldn't have oil for eternity.


First thing. Petroleum is by nature a profit making entity; there is no chance of loss in this business heck look at the figures for likes of Shell,Chevron and Mobil they are in top 10/20 profit making conglomerates this year despite recession.

And going by your logic what stops folks in ISRO, AIIMS (and folks in Govt Medical Hospitals) from on strike after all they are also not paid on par with their civilian counterparts .
ONGC was rated Asia's best Oil Company , rated 24 in top-50 Global Energy conglomerates including Shell and likes. IOC is the 18th largest petroleum company as ranked by Forbes! You think these officers are asking pay hikes for the State Electricity Boards??

In 1947, both India and Pakistan did not have refineries. Today India has IOC/BPCL/HPCL and Pakistan has PRL (Pakistan Refineries Ltd.) and Pakistan State Oil Company to do the job. Just take a rudimentary glance at the financials and you would get to know how much profit they make even on their free Saudi oil and Chinese refinery designs.

Oil is a fast moving, cash rich commodity but it takes billions of dollars and more importantly skilled manpower to make money out of it. Coal is equally in demand and India has lots of coal but why has Coal India Ltd. only recently started making profits ?? The only supply chain link in which Oil officers are not present is the end-customer Distribution i.e the petrol pumps and see for yourself how much corruption has creeped in there with low-grade, kerosene laced fuels that you get. The base line is that excellence should be rewarded rather than linking it with low performing cousins.

ISRO/AIIMS/NTPC would follow this line of action and FYI, AIIMS has done it several times and NTPC is going on a indefinite strike on Feb 21.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by negi »

Thanks for the reply Nikhil ( you needn't address me as ji :mrgreen: ) .

To clarify my stand I read PSU == GOI ; for the PSU's function and work as per GOI directives hence my argument regarding the pay structure .

No one is questioning the competence and intellect of the said PSU, what I am trying to highlight here is a simple fact that In current setup No PSU employee can draw or ever dream to draw a salary equivalent to an employee of its private sector equivalent entity how difficult it is for any layman to understand ?

Be it professors in IIT, Doctors in Govt institutes, Enggs in DRDO,ISRO,HAL or even Scientists in TIFR folks working there do not and in the current system cannot hope to draw salaries at par with the private sector.That is why the folks opt for greener pastures instead of resorting to BANDHS and CHAKKA JAAM.

Reason being simple onlee, when IOC makes a profit of 'X' million $ we have Air India and IR making huge losses, GOI obviously has to 'Rob Peter to Pay Paul' .Iow IOC does not enjoy autonomy as a private oil company would have over its operations.This holds true for all PSU's,
that is why the emphasis on the privatization of the PSU's.

There are better ways to convey grievances ; calling a nation wide bandh is not gonna make the GOI pay the said PSU its due.
Nikhil T
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Nikhil T »

Well Negi saar, PSU x= GOI!!!

The argument that GOI has to "Rob Peter to pay Paul" is *FALSE* and only a fraction of the public knows the truth (courtesy our media, like some one on TV recently said that entry level engineers get 1 lakh/month in oil companies ---> lol, even reliance does not pay that much to freshers).
Let me make it clear for our BR junta: The Govt. does NOT pay the salaries of the PSU's. Oil companies pay the salaries from their own balance sheets. So the question arises, why do you ask the Govt to raise the salaries??
Well, the Govt has set a Pay Package that the PSUs need to adhere to. Every entry level engineering position regardless of the PSU gets the same salary (save a few thousands or lesser). The Boards of the Oil Sector PSUs know that the salaries are due for revision and the companies can pay the revised wage bills *easily*. The Govt. is acting as a spoilsport when it has nothing to lose in the matter. Now I ask, dont the private sector company Boards set the wages for their own employees??
Why do we need to link State Electricity Board emoluments with the Oil Sector / Power sector emoluments ?? Lets reward excellence and ensure that talent gets attracted for our posterity.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by negi »

Well Nikhil my reference to 'Rob peter to Pay Paul' was to the public exchequer ; i.e. from where does the government pay the salaries and operational costs of the loss making PSU's say Air India,SAI or even IR until recent past ?

I am sure it is drained from the public exchequer to which every citizen and entity contributes to including the Oil PSU's.
What difference does it make if Oil companies pay from their own balance sheets or if GOI allocates that fund , of course assuming the PSU is making profit. Point being as long as the control is with the GOI no PSU can think/carry out its own operations autonomously including the changes to the pay bracket. WHY ? While you make a case for the Oil PSU's because they have been making profits since all this long. do you think other PSU's would think like wise ? .Heck who doesn't want a pay raise ? they too will resort to bandh's and chakka jaam and demand similar treatment whether they made profits or not.

For an arguments sake tomorrow for two comparable PSU's PSU 'A' will ask for a higher pay stub as compared to say equivalent post in PSU 'B' just because 'A' made more profits in the given fiscal year .

With GOI having to handle so many PSU's do you still think talking about the Oil PSU's in isolation is practical; that is why my friend I said not to draw a comparasion between likes of RIL and Oil PSU's.

I personally am not against the pay hike for any PSU ; I am merely trying to highlight a simple fact that as long as an entity remains under the GOI umbrella it cannot think of itself in isolation.

Privatize the said PSU's and you shall have your pay raise or any other reforms which you wish to make in TIME.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Prem »

Sanjay M
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Sanjay M »

I've posted about this before:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world ... thium.html

Bolivia wants to leverage its lithium reserves
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Vipul »

India to offer 100 Blocks in NELP-VIII.

Unperturbed by the global economic crisis, India will launch next month its biggest ever auction of oil exploration blocks with about 100 areas likely to be offered for bidding.

"Next month, we will come out with the next round of bidding (of NELP) with about 100 blocks," Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said at the function organised to inaugurate Mundra-Delhi pipeline.

Pandey said the round seven of New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) saw a maximum number of blocks being awarded and NELP VIII will be even larger. "In NELP VII we signed contracts for 44 oil and gas blocks."

Later talking to reporters, he said the government was keen to keep economic activities alive during the global downturn so that the investments take place.

"It is more important in slowdown that we generate maximum economic activity," he said.

Pandey, however, said there could be resource crunch for international oil companies due to global credit squeeze. "The major investments in NELP blocks come only after 4-5 years of exploration. And we think things will improve by then," Pandey added.

Under the first six rounds of NELP, a total investment of USD 8.3 billion in exploration of oil and gas was committed, out of which abut USD 4.5 billion has already been incurred on exploration and USD 1.4 billion on development of discoveries.

A further USD 1.5 billion exploration spend is budgeted for NELP VII.

So far, 68 oil and gas discoveries in 19 blocks with inplace reserves of 500 million tonnes of oil and oil-equivalent gas had been established.

With exploration development efforts made under NELP, natural gas production in the country is likely to be doubled from its present level of about 80 million standard cubic metres per day by the end of 11th Five-Year Plan.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Vipul »

National gas grid to be ready by 2015.

The pan-Indian network to distribute piped gas will be up and running by 2015, with 8,000 km of the grid under development and the government approving nine additional pipelines, a top official of the regulator said here Friday.

"The entire network can be in place earliest by 2015," L. Mansingh, chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on city-based natural gas distribution.

The statutory board, which regulates the distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum products and natural gas, is now developing 8,000 km of the national gas grid. The board came into existence Oct 1, 2007.

Mansingh said nine more pipelines, apart form the eight being developed now, have received the government's approval.

The board has prepared the draft notification on tariff for the city gas distribution network, he added.

On expanding the city networks, board member B.S. Negi said the board has set a target of increasing the number of geographical areas from 25 now to 85 in three years. "In the next 10 years, 200 geographical areas will be covered," he added.

The body has received 71 expressions of interest from across the country.

Mansingh said besides new players, companies operating gas distribution networks before the board came into existence also have to be authorised by it.

On the price front, he said in areas that already have such networks, consumers are getting gas at "one-third" the rate of subsidised cooking gas.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Vipul »

India to save $9 bn in oil import with RIL gas.

India will save USD nine billion in oil import bill with the beginning of production from Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG D-6 fields, said Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey.
"Yesterday evening, as RIL has informed us, production has begun," he said.

Initial output was at 2.5 million standard cubic metre and will gradually increase. "Tomorrow it will become five million standard cubic metre per day," Pandey said.

The first, of the 15 fertiliser plants, that will get all of the initial output, is expected to get the gas in 3-4 days time, he said, adding, "The most distant plant will get the gas in about 15 days."

"In four months time, the production will be 40 mmscmd and in about a year's time it will be 80 mmscmd," he said.

"It will reduce oil import bill by about USD nine billion annually during peak production at current prices," Pandey said adding, gas sales over the 11 year-life of the field will generate USD 42 billion in revenues.

The government's share in the production would amount to a minimum USD 14 billion, he said.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

To add to the above, from Reliance Begins Gas Production from KG Basin

Excerpts:
Production will reach peak level of 80 million metric standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas by 2010 from initial production of 10 mmscmd. A major portion of it will be sold to those fertilizer and power generation companies and at the price prescribed by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

RIL said it had succeeded in producing gas in six and a half years from the date of discovery against the global benchmark of 9-10 years for similar deep-water production facilities.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Deepwater and Ultradeepwater new builds for 2009
An emerging industry trend, many exploration and development projects have been put on the backburner as companies wait out the current economic downturn. Whether oil and gas companies can't get financing due to the credit crisis or the projects are no longer commercially viable because of the lower price per barrel, the immediate result is the same: some projects are being postponed – or even worse – cancelled.

Fortunately, deepwater and ultra-deepwater drilling projects have not been as affected as onshore drilling and other E&P arenas. A key reason for this is deepwater and ultra-deepwater projects require such long lead times to both obtain a rig and develop the project.
Deepwater, Ultra-Deepwater Newbuild Rigs

According to data gathered from RigLogix, there are currently 88 deepwater floaters that are being constructed for delivery after January 2009. All rigs in this category are rated for more than 6,500 feet of water, and some are being built to work in waters that measure up to 12,000 feet deep.

Of the 43 drillships either being built or on the books to be built, 27 have been contracted before construction has been completed. Furthermore, of the 45 newbuild semisubs, 36 have received contracts prior to completion.

Delineating deepwaters as those measuring between 4,000 and 7,000 feet deep and ultra-deepwaters as those measuring more than 7,000 feet deep, of the 88 there are only two newbuild floaters that are rated for only deepwaters. The other 86 newbuild floaters are capable of drilling in ultra-deepwaters.

Both of the deepwater newbuilds, the Norbe VI semisub and the Schahin I semisub, are being built for waters measuring 6,561 feet deep. Ordered in August 2006, the Norbe VI is due to be delivered in March 2010, and the Schahin I is due in September 2009. Both rigs are contracted to work for Petrobras in Brazil.


Image
GRAPH WITH RIGS BROKEN UP BY TYPE AND CONTRACT YES/NO
SOURCE: RigLogix

Halted Construction, Financing Problems

Completion of two ultra-deepwater rigs, including one semisub and one drillship, has been stopped. Both of the rigs were contracted to Petrobras.

Construction of the MPF 01 drillship was stopped because the rig builder, MPF Corp. Ltd., filed for bankruptcy. Currently, three rig brokers are attempting to sell the partially built rig. Scheduled for completion in January 2010, the drillship has a three-year contract with Petrobras, and the contract has not yet been terminated.

Also Scorpion has scrapped the construction of a yet unnamed semisub rated for water depths of 7,873 feet. Despite the fact that an LOI exists on the rig with Petrobras, Scorpion could not obtain financing to build the semisub. Although steel has not yet been cut on the rig, the completion date for construction was originally slated for December 2012.

Additionally, Sevan Drilling is having problems financing two of its contracted semisubs. Construction of the Sevan semisub contracted to ONGC to work in India by October 2010 and the Sevan Brasil semisub contracted to work for Petrobras in the Gulf of Mexico by October 2011 has been delayed. According to Sevan's fourth quarter 2008 report, the company is not going to spend money on the construction of the two rigs until certain criteria is met, including a longer contract with ONGC, a later delivery date and 80% finance backing.

Delivery Dates

Currently, there are 101 drillships and semis worldwide that are capable of working in waters deeper than 4,000 feet; so the additional 88 newbuilds will change the offshore exploration and production playing field substantially. When can the market expect to see these rigs?

Most of the floater newbuilds being delivered after the start of 2009 were contracted in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In both 2006 and 2007, 25 semisubs and drillships were ordered; and in 2008, 33 ultra-deepwater newbuilds were ordered. No deepwater or ultra-deepwater rigs have been ordered yet in 2009.

Of this category of drilling rigs, there are 14 newbuilds scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2009 and eight newbuild floaters expected to be completed in the second half of 2009. The most of any, the first half of 2010 should see 17 newly built rigs hitting the market, and an additional 11 rigs will be delivered in the second half of 2010. Fourteen newbuilds are being delivered in the first half of 2011, and 11 rigs are scheduled to finish construction in the second half of 2011. In 2012, there are 11 rigs scheduled to be delivered in the first half of the year and two rigs expected in the second half of the year.

More than half of the newbuild floaters are contracted. Sixty-three of the newbuild rigs are currently under contract, while 25 of the rigs being built have not yet been signed on for work.

Image
PIE GRAPH OF NUMBER OF RIGS HITTING MARKET BY HALF YEAR
SOURCE: RigLogix


Geographic Hot Spots

Looking at the newbuild market of deepwater and ultra-deepwater floaters, obvious geographical hotspots emerge, namely offshore Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico.

Coinciding with Petrobras contracting the most deepwater and ultra-deepwater newbuild drilling rigs, Brazil is expecting the most newbuilds once construction is complete, with 27 of these rigs scheduled to start offshore the South American country. (An upcoming rig analysis piece will focus specifically on Petrobras' dominance in the deepwater and ultra-deepwater rig market – for both newbuilds and already existing rigs.)

Coming in second, the Gulf of Mexico is expecting 18 newbuild rigs, which includes 15 in the US GOM and three within the Mexican borders of the gulf. Newbuilds are also slated to be delivered to Angola, India, Australia, China, Norway and Russia.

Three contracted newbuilds have not yet been assigned a geographical region for work. Hess has not announced where the Stena Forth drillship will be working upon receipt of the rig. ExxonMobil has not yet announced where the Deepwater Champion will be working, and Shell has not announced where the Bully 2 will be drilling.

Image
GRAPH OF GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Raj »

India ONGC wants to keep Mittal in Trinidad project
The LN Mittal group was looking to exit an oil and gas project it was jointly developing in Trinidad and Tobago, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday, but its partner, India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO), said it was trying to keep it involved.

"Under this current economic scenario, Mittals had expressed their intent to exit from the project," Sharma said.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Vipul »

RIL set to enter fuel retailing in US, Europe.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the largest private sector company in the country, is set to enter fuel retailing in the US and Europe, almost a year after it closed retail operations in India.

The company plans to sell petrol directly to retail outlets in the US. After evaluating the US response, it will start selling diesel to bulk consumers in Europe, sources familiar with the developments said.

RIL is looking at floating subsidiaries for its operations in the US and European countries such as France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland. The company, which has trading desks in Houston, London, Singapore and Dubai, will set up more desks in the US and Europe. It will also set up separate marketing divisions for each country.RIL is also believed to be in talks with fuel retailers such as Jiffy Lube and Hess Corporation for its US retail operations.

Selling petrol directly in the US market could save the company 5 to 10 per cent additional cost as traders’ commission, so the company has approached the US authorities for approvals to start direct fuel sales.

Asked about its overseas retail plans, an RIL spokesperson said, “We are looking at various options to enhance our operations across the globe. However, we cannot comment on specific initiatives.”

After closing its fuel retailing in India, RIL was supplying some products from its 33 million tonne a year Jamnagar refinery to the US and Europe. The second Jamnagar refinery, which has an annual capacity of 27 million tonne and is expected to go on full stream in a month, will increase supply in the overseas markets, sources said.

A company executive said unlike India, the price of petrol changed on a daily basis in the US. "In India, we don’t have a level playing field, since the government gives public sector oil marketing companies subsidies. Since the RIL refineries operate on better refining margins, we could earn more revenue from free markets,” he said, adding, “We have better understanding beyond a theoretical knowledge about the US and European markets after our long experience in these markets.”

For the past couple of months, RIL has been looking at acquiring a storage facility on the west coast of the US, the world's largest fuel consumer. The company is expected to conclude the acquisition in a month, sources said.

The company had recently started gasoline (petrol) trading operations in Houston for the US Gulf Coast and New York Harbor markets. Last month, RIL booked 1.3 million barrels of clean product storage in the New York Harbor area, the first time an Indian firm has taken storage in the US to store and trade petroleum products.

RIL recently commissioned its clean storage facility at the Ashkelon terminal in Israel to tap the Mediterranean and European markets. It has also leased clean oil products storages in Singapore and the Caribbean. The company owns a storage facility in Africa through its subsidiary, Gapco.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

GAIL to build pipeline from Vijayawada to Vijaipur

Excerpts. . .
At Vijaipur, the proposed pipeline would be connected to GAIL’s cross-country Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline. It is proposed to be laid in four years and will transport 25-40 million standard cubic metres of gas (mmscmd) per day.

Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) has also proposed a similar pipeline from the East Coast to Bhilwara in Rajasthan.

The line will originate at Mallavaram on the Andhra coast and carry 25 mmscmd of gas.

While GAIL has identified Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as potential sources of gas, GSPL has proposed to transport gas from a field owned by group firm GSPC in the same KG basin.

GAIL plans to nearly double its pipeline network to 12,000 km by 2012 and raise gas transportation to 300 mmscmd.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by AnimeshP »

X-Posting from "Indian Economy Thread"
Suraj wrote:This is fairly important news - not meant solely for the oil/gas thread, since stable, cost-effective energy supply is critical to economic growth. The fruits of NELP:
India prepares for shift to gas-based economy
Welcome to India’s new gas economy. As gas supply increases and distribution infrastructure (cross-country pipelines and piped gas in cities) falls in place, India will transit from an oil-based economy to a gas-based one, says former head of the Directorate of Hydrocarbons, Avinash Chandra. He estimates that India will find at least 200 trillion cubic feet of gas (tcf) from the country’s east coast alone.

Reliance Industries, which has started producing gas from its D6 block on the east coast, will produce 40 million cubic metres per day or 235,230 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) a day by July, and double this by end-2009. This will take care of the deficit, as there’s demand for 200 million cubic metres per day of gas (1.2 million BOE per day) against available supplies of 110 million cubic metres per day (647,432 BOE per day).

Two other companies, GSPC and ONGC, which also struck gas on the east coast, will bring in an additional 40 million cubic metres per day by 2012. In India, the fertiliser and power sectors account for 80 per cent of the demand for gas, which will continue. But as gas supplies increase, supply to other sectors like refining, petrochemicals, steel, industrial and city gas distribution (CGD) will increase substantially.

There is a large unmet demand for power in India which will promote the use of gas for distributed generation (like DG sets we see in office blocks). But gas engines can be costly: a micro turbine costs around Rs 8 crore per mega watt. “Everyone need not buy a turbine. An industrial estate or a business district can do so,’’ says an expert. 'Need not’ would read 'cannot’ or 'should not’ at these prices, even for business districts. Price, as we shall see, is key, and we’re still waiting for technology innovation.

New gas-based applications are being developed. “The development of fuel cells can meet the total energy requirement of a household through generation of power, hydrogen and hot water from gas,’’ says PMS Prasad, President & CEO (petroleum), Reliance Industries. Efforts are on to drive down the cost of fuel cells. Similarly, there’s huge potential to use gas as CNG, which is cheaper and cleaner than liquid fuels.

A network of pipelines is emerging in the country. Reliance has laid the East-West pipeline, which connects to the HBJ and other regional networks. GAIL is expanding the HBJ network to the north and east. Next, Reliance and GAIL will lay pipelines in the south and along the east coast. Thus, India will have a quadrilateral of pipelines, all interconnected; a pipeline grid will further spur investments upstream.

Similarly, piped gas would be available in many cities soon and the government plans to issue licences for 74 Indian cities in phases. Once the city gas networks come up, gas could be sold to any new industrial unit, malls, offices, vehicles or homes. Deepak Mahurkar, associate director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, though feels it would take two-and-half years for a new city to get gas but existing city gas networks can expand much earlier.

Equipment makers are warming to the opportunity. Maruti Suzuki will launch CNG variants for three or four of its car models by 2010 or 2011. Many cars in Delhi and Mumbai already run on CNG. Tata Motors will soon launch CNG variants for trucks and Tata Magic, the passenger vehicle built on the Tata Ace platform. Its buses and small and light commercial vehicles are already available in CNG variants.

In Mumbai, geysers are available which run on gas. Thermax and Voltas make gas-fired vapour absorption chillers, used in malls, restaurants, theatres and offices. The smallest of these is of 15 tonnes of refrigeration (TR), which can cool an area of 1,900-2,000 sq ft. The initial costs of Rs 12-13 lakh for a 15 TR will be a deterrent, but it does cut operational energy costs by half.
Can any of the guru log here give some gyan on what are the advantages of a Gas-Based economy ... (apart from the most obvious ones such as reducing energy imports & increasing energy security)
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by sivabala »

g.kacha wrote:X-Posting from "Indian Economy Thread"
Can any of the guru log here give some gyan on what are the advantages of a Gas-Based economy ... (apart from the most obvious ones such as reducing energy imports & increasing energy security)
Though not an Xpert, being a student in the related field, some of the points I cu'd think of.
1) Pollution mitigation
2) Higher efficiency in energy conversion to useful work compared to liquid and solid fuels
3) Creation of new jobs to develop infrastructure for handling gas
4) With the gas infrastructure easy to switch to next generation fuel, which is predicted to be hydrogen
5) Cost per unit of energy.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Bade »

Flop Sudan oil venture results in $89m loss
ONGC had said, “This is an important acquisition for OVL as it consolidates our presence in an oil bearing region which continues to show high potential. Gravity and seismic interpretation show that the Muglad rift basin extends into Block 5B. The structure in the area is similar to the rest of the basin where more than 1 billion barrels of oil have been discovered to date.”

Block 5B is spread over an area of about 20,120 sq km. OVL also has a 25 per cent stake in the Greater Nile Oil Project and a 24.1 per cent interest in block 5A.

Other stakeholders in block 5B are Malaysia’s Petronas (39 per cent), Sudan’s national company Sudapet (13 per cent) and Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum AB (24.5 per cent). White Nile Petroleum Operating Company — a consortium of Petronas and Sudapet — operates the block.

OVL had picked up a stake in the block in 2004.

However, exploration work could not begin before 2006 as the African nation was caught in a civil war.

The first phase of drilling at the three wells cost OVL $89.50 million, well above the estimated investment.
AnimeshP
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by AnimeshP »

sivabala wrote:
g.kacha wrote:X-Posting from "Indian Economy Thread"
Can any of the guru log here give some gyan on what are the advantages of a Gas-Based economy ... (apart from the most obvious ones such as reducing energy imports & increasing energy security)
Though not an Xpert, being a student in the related field, some of the points I cu'd think of.
1) Pollution mitigation
2) Higher efficiency in energy conversion to useful work compared to liquid and solid fuels
3) Creation of new jobs to develop infrastructure for handling gas
4) With the gas infrastructure easy to switch to next generation fuel, which is predicted to be hydrogen
5) Cost per unit of energy.
Thanks sivabala saar ... am really impressed by this achievement by our country ... and the angrez are still shouting "Drill baby Drill !!!" :rotfl:
Ameet
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Ameet »

Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, may run out of space to store crude oil.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home

The harbor is Europe’s largest refinery center and a trading hub for refined products such as gasoline and diesel. Some ships have been diverted or are waiting outside the port until space is available, said Jeroen Kortsmit, manager for commercial affairs at Royal Dirkzwager.

Rotterdam can store 11.9 million cubic meters of crude, port data from 2007 show. That’s equal to about 75 million barrels or enough to supply the 27-nation European Union for about five days.
AnimeshP
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by AnimeshP »

Latha Jishnu: The big city-gas dream
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi May 2, 2009, 0:51 IST

Policy air bubbles and implementation snags could block plans to connect India's cities to a clean fuel grid.
Looks like converting India to a Gas-based economy will not be easy ....
I don't have much idea of what she is talking about but doesn't sound too encouraging ...

any Guru log / expert want to comment?
SSridhar
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Petronet ties up Oz gas for its Kochi terminal
Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) has tied up 1.5 million tonnes a year of LNG imports from the Gorgon project in Australia for Kochi terminal. The terminal will be ready by end of 2011.

PLL is building a 2.5 mtpa terminal in Kochi. The company doubled the capacity of its Dahej terminal to 10 mtpa in March.
Yogi_G
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Yogi_G »

What's with the all the rumours of 100 Rs a litre for petrol post elections? Any semblance of truth to it?
arun
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by arun »

Essar Oil Expands Capacity Of Its Gujarat Refinery To 14 Mtpa : EBR
mnag
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by mnag »

A question to gurulog here (i posted it on indian economy thread as well Sorry for repeated posting).

In uSA, gasoline costs about 2.5$ per gallon (120 Rs for 4.4 liter = approx 30 Rs per liter). While in india, it is around 50 Rs per liter. In USA diesel costs around 3$ per galon (Around 35 Rs per liter) which i think is comparable to the cost in india (i am not aware of exact cost of diesel in india).

I keep hearing that govt subsidises petrol in india. If petrol costs twice compared to gasoline even after subsidy,
1. what is the petrol price without subsidy?
2. Why does petrol cost more in india compared to gasoline in us? Is it harder to produce petrol or is it due to inneficency in refinig (compared to usa)?
Vipul
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Vipul »

RIL's new gas find to put India in global league.

New gas finds by Reliance Industries (RIL) in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, if validated by Indian regulators, may place India among
the top 15 gas producers in the world.

RIL’s joint venture partner the UK-based Hardy Oil and Gas on Wednesday announced the discovery of 9.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in the D-3 block of the KG basin and another find of 10.8 tcf in D-9 block.

Neither of these finds has been certified yet by the Indian upstream regulator, but could potentially raise India’s proven reserves of natural gas to a significant extent. Blocks refer to areas, running into thousands of square kilometre, where companies have been allowed to search for oil and gas.

India had proven gas reserves of over 37 tcf at the end of 2007, according to British Petroleum’s 2008 Statistical review. If another 20 tcf of gas reserves is added, it will place India among the top 15 gas producers in the world. With 57 tcf of gas, India will overtake countries, such as Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and Libya. India’s gas reserves will, if these finds are endorsed by the regulator, figure just below Canada.

Based upon the gas find, brokerage CLSA has upgraded RIL to “outperform” in the near future.

A technical evaluation report commissioned by Hardy Oil on the potential of the company’s D3 and D9 exploration licences stated that the “best estimate resources for the D3 block was estimated at 9.5 tcf of natural gas and the gross risked best estimate prospective resources in D9 block is estimated at 10.8 tcf of natural gas and 143 million barrels of oil.” The technical evaluation of both the blocks were carried out by international consultants Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA). The report is on the company’s website.

Commenting on the report, Sastry Karra, chief executive of Hardy, in a statement said: “The report confirms the significant hydrocarbon potential of our exploration assets in the emerging world class petroleum system of the KG basin in India. The two discoveries on D3 in conjunction with the acquisition of risk mitigating technologies and geotechnical studies have resulted in the upward revision of the perceived geological chance of success on both of our KG basin blocks.”

Hardy Oil has 10% in a special purpose vehicle (SPV), which is exploring these blocks. RIL has the remaining 90%. When asked for comments, an RIL spokesperson declined to do so, as Indian upstream regulator the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has banned announcing any new find without its approval. VK Sibal, director general, DGH, could not be reached for his comments.

Besides RIL’s latest discovery of 20 tcf, GSPC, a company owned by the Gujarat state government and ONGC have also claimed discoveries of 20 tcf of gas each in the same basin. These were reported by the media in 2005 and 2006, but are also yet to be certified by the regulator. The DGH has asked both the firms to drill more wells before these claims are validated. Given this track record, it could be some time before Hardy Oil’s claims are confirmed, if indeed that happens.

The KG basin, off India’s eastern seaboard, was relatively unexplored territory till the past years of the 20th century. It is now proving to be, potentially, India’s equivalent of North Sea or Gulf of Mexico. In a development plan filed with the upstream regulator in November 2006, RIL had said, “the current estimates for the D-6 block as a whole (all drilled prospects and identified prospects yet to be drilled) could be around 50 tcf.”

If these latest finds are eventually confirmed, RIL will emerge as India’s biggest gas producer overtaking the state-owned ONGC. Both blocks, D9 and D3, are located on the east coast of India in the offshore KG basin and is in proximity to the famous D-6 block from which natural gas is also flowing. Last month, RIL started producing from the D-6 block of the KG basin.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Rishirishi »

mnag wrote:A question to gurulog here (i posted it on indian economy thread as well Sorry for repeated posting).

In uSA, gasoline costs about 2.5$ per gallon (120 Rs for 4.4 liter = approx 30 Rs per liter). While in india, it is around 50 Rs per liter. In USA diesel costs around 3$ per galon (Around 35 Rs per liter) which i think is comparable to the cost in india (i am not aware of exact cost of diesel in india).

I keep hearing that govt subsidises petrol in india. If petrol costs twice compared to gasoline even after subsidy,
1. what is the petrol price without subsidy?
2. Why does petrol cost more in india compared to gasoline in us? Is it harder to produce petrol or is it due to inneficency in refinig (compared to usa)?
When the oil was 150 dollars per brl, the government had to subsidise it. Now the overnment is makeing a profit on it.
Virupaksha
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Virupaksha »

Rishirishi wrote:
mnag wrote:A question to gurulog here (i posted it on indian economy thread as well Sorry for repeated posting).

In uSA, gasoline costs about 2.5$ per gallon (120 Rs for 4.4 liter = approx 30 Rs per liter). While in india, it is around 50 Rs per liter. In USA diesel costs around 3$ per galon (Around 35 Rs per liter) which i think is comparable to the cost in india (i am not aware of exact cost of diesel in india).

I keep hearing that govt subsidises petrol in india. If petrol costs twice compared to gasoline even after subsidy,
1. what is the petrol price without subsidy?
2. Why does petrol cost more in india compared to gasoline in us? Is it harder to produce petrol or is it due to inneficency in refinig (compared to usa)?
When the oil was 150 dollars per brl, the government had to subsidise it. Now the overnment is makeing a profit on it.
and apart from ongc oil, the "actual" price of oil is different for US and India. It is actually much much lower for US. What we here as oil price are the spot prices for western texas oil.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Prem »

Great News !! The whole area is not explored yet and its looking very promising .
Sanjay M
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Sanjay M »

Natural gas in the Arctic is mostly Russian

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID – 11 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly one-third of the natural gas yet to be discovered in the world is north of the Arctic Circle and most of it is in Russian territory, according to a new analysis led by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey.
Marcus
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Marcus »

I just came across this youtube video. Thought I will share it with you guys. Turning carbon based waste into black gold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWf9nYbm3ac
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWf9nYbm3ac[/youtube]
manish
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by manish »

Work has begun on the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve (ISPR) at Mangalore. Two more are proposed, one at Vishakhapatnam in AP and another at Udupi, Karnataka. They are together supposed hold enough reserves to supply the nation for 14 days.

Something like this is a must have for any nation with ambitions like ours.
Mangalore: Foundation Laid for ISPRL Crude Oil Storage Project
ArmenT
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by ArmenT »

India to mull fuel price degulation
ndia's Oil Minister said Friday the federal government will consider deregulating diesel and gasoline prices in the next six weeks, in a move that will likely help state-run refiners narrow their losses on sales of fuel products at government-mandated prices.
...
"We expect deregulation (if any) to be restricted to auto fuels only," Sanjeev Prasad, an analyst at Mumbai-based Kotak Institutional Equities Research said in a recent note. "We doubt the government can deregulate pricing of cooking fuels (LPG and kerosene)."

India's federal government is expected to continue regulating kerosene and cooking gas prices as a populist measure to avoid antagonizing voters.
"Nobody can say what is going to happen in future, but we will try our best to see that kerosene prices are not increased because it goes to the poor who uses it for food and lighting," Mr. Deora said.
Sanjay M
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Sanjay M »

Europe vs Russia - Pipeline Politics - New Great Game

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8090104.stm
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by atma »

Somewhat of a X- post from the Iran thread....

Reliance suspends exports to Iran
http://www.upi.com/Energy_Resources/200 ... 244125489/

Quote:
NEW DELHI, June 4 (UPI) -- Reliance Industries Ltd., the largest private-sector oil conglomerate in India, stopped petroleum exports to Iran under pressure from U.S.-backed sanctions.

U.S. lawmakers in April introduced a bill imposing harsh penalties on companies involved in the Iranian energy sector as punishment for a controversial nuclear program.


India gets a bulk of her crude oil from Iran.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/India/ ... 0to%20Iran


And R. Petroleum takes this stance of not shipping refined products. If Iran squeezes its crude exports to us, indeed then it forces us to rely on less friendly sunni/wahabi opec sources like KSA, UAE etc, which in turn is a transfer of wealth to those nations, increasing wahabi funding of anti-India Jihadist efforts in Porkistan.

It just worsens our security and energy security nightmare.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by Nalla Baalu »

Back in 2006 Chevron owned 5% stake in Reliance Petro with an option to increase it to close to 30%. I wonder if American ownership/stake obligates Reliance Petro to follow US-induced sanctions. :?:
atma wrote:Somewhat of a X- post from the Iran thread....

Reliance suspends exports to Iran
http://www.upi.com/Energy_Resources/200 ... 244125489/

Quote:
NEW DELHI, June 4 (UPI) -- Reliance Industries Ltd., the largest private-sector oil conglomerate in India, stopped petroleum exports to Iran under pressure from U.S.-backed sanctions. U.S. lawmakers in April introduced a bill imposing harsh penalties on companies involved in the Iranian energy sector as punishment for a controversial nuclear program.
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Re: Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Post by BijuShet »

pandyan wrote:if i remember correctly, chevron sold their stake
Chevron keeps options open on RPL stake
According to this report from Feb 3 2009:
...
If Chevron, the world’s fourth largest oil firm by market capitalization, decides to raise its stake in the company to 29% from the existing 5%, RPL would gain access to the oil company’s strong global distribution networks and ensure feedstock availability.
Chevron has till June to exercise its option of increasing its stake in RPL, but sector analysts were expecting its yearly statement of capital expenditure across projects globally to lend some clarity on whether it intends investing more in RPL. In its $23 billion (Rs1.1 trillion) “capital and exploratory spending programme for 2009”, released on 29 January, Chevron has eluded dishing out any such hope.
...
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