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Oil & Natural Gas: News & Discussion

Posted: 29 Oct 2007 11:19
by Rakesh

Posted: 31 Oct 2007 09:09
by Laks
http://in.reuters.com/article/businessN ... 29?sp=true
Reliance signs northern Iraq oil contract - source
Even as Turkish troops mass on the border of northern Iraq, India's Reliance signed a deal on Monday to explore for oil and gas in Iraq's Kurdish region, a senior company official said.

Reliance signed the production sharing contract for two exploration blocks with the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), the source said.

"To begin with we will be 100 percent stakeholders but later on Iraq can mandate a company to have a stake in the blocks after discovery in line with their new law," the company official, who declined to be named, said.

"They have been given to us on (a) negotiation basis."

A KRG government spokesman was not immediately available to respond to enquiries about the deal.

Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops along the Iraqi border in readiness for a possible large scale incursion to hunt 3,000 guerrillas who use Iraq's Kurdish region as a base.

But the KRG is moving ahead with plans to attract international energy companies to explore for oil and gas in the region. It aims to boost oil output to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in about five years from just a few thousand now.

Posted: 31 Oct 2007 17:27
by Vipul
ONGC to invest about Rs 10,000 cr in Mumbai High fields.

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plans to invest close to Rs 10,000 crore in its prime Mumbai High oil and gas fields to increase output to three lakh barrels per day by 2008 end.

"We have launched the second redevelopment of Mumbai High field," ONGC Director (Offshore) N K Mitra told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference here.

ONGC had previously invested Rs 3,239 crore in the redevelopment of Mumbai High North fields and Rs 6,579 crore in Mumbai High South that helped the company sustain oil production of over 2,40,000 barrels per day despite a natural decline in the output in the ageing field.

"We are already investing Rs 5,713 crore in Mumbai High South field redevelopment and we will take to the board soon a separate proposal to spend about Rs 4,000 crore on Mumbai High North fields," he said.

The additional investment would help arrest production decline from the ageing field. The new investment in Mumbai High South field would give an additional 22 million tons of oil between 2010 to 2030, while Mumbai High North spending would lead to production of additional 15 million tons oil over the period.

"Crude oil production from Mumbai High fields is likely to rise to 3,00,000 barrels per day by 2008-end from current rate of 2,54,000 barrels per day. It will remain at those levels for 2-3 years and then output would decline to about present day levels," he said.

Posted: 31 Oct 2007 18:59
by Vipul

Posted: 09 Nov 2007 15:52
by shyamd
Reliance inks oil-sharing contract with Kurdistan
[quote]Commodity Online
MUMBAI: India's largest private oil refiner Reliance Industries Ltd has inked two production sharing contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government for exploring petroleum in the Rovi and Sarta Blocks in the Kardistan Region of Iraq.

As per the contract, the RIL’s fully owned subsidiary Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC would be served as an operator.

RIL’s president of international operations Atul Chandra said: “We are pleased to reach an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government on production sharing contracts. We expect that will provide long term benefits to all the stake holders.â€

Posted: 11 Nov 2007 02:44
by Katare

Posted: 13 Nov 2007 10:54
by Laks

Posted: 14 Nov 2007 22:20
by gopal.suri
60 blocks likely to be offered under NELP VII

The Government is likely to offer 60 exploration blocks under VIIth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-VII). The NELP-VII is proposed to be launched shortly by December 07 - Jan. 08. The blocks would comprise 30 onshore, 15 shallow water and 15 deep water & ultra deep water in both east and west coast offshore area. He also added that work relating to launch of CBM IV has started in consultation with the Ministry of Coal. Out of 26 CBM exploration blocks under operation, 6 thousand cubic feet(TCF) reserves have been established in 4 CBM blocks. First commercial production of CBM has commenced from July 2007.

Posted: 29 Nov 2007 03:13
by Prem
ONGC Videsh bags two oil, gas blocks off Brazil

NEW DELHI: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has bagged two oil and gas exploration blocks off Brazil.

OVL won deepwater Block 470 in the highly prospective Espirito Santo basin and shallow water Block 1413 in another highly prospective Santos basin, the company said in a statement here on Wednesday

Posted: 29 Nov 2007 03:23
by Prem
Crude imports dip 1.4% in October

The refiners imported nearly 9.79 million tonnes (mt) crude oil in October, down from 9.92 mt during the same month last year, according to a Petroleum Ministry data.

Crude imports by private refiners during the month were down 22.8 per cent at 2.63 mt.

October saw a marginal dip of 0.1 per cent in exports of petroleum products to 3.36 mt, as PSU refiners’ shipped out 25 per cent less products during the month.

( Does this mean India will export 40-50 million tons of petroleum prodcuts this year)

http://tinyurl.com/2ztjlc

Posted: 30 Nov 2007 02:24
by Vipul

Posted: 13 Dec 2007 22:34
by Vipul

Posted: 14 Dec 2007 03:02
by rsingh
Told this before..........there is gas and oil anywhere you dig. I will not be surprised if we find oil in Haryana............in my farm lands :) .

Posted: 14 Dec 2007 19:34
by Vipul
rsingh wrote:
Told this before..........there is gas and oil anywhere you dig. I will not be surprised if we find oil in Haryana............in my farm lands :) .
You never know, hold on to your farm lands. :)

Posted: 15 Dec 2007 12:22
by ajay_ijn
Reliance to invest in the Gulf
"Dubai will be the gateway for our future investment in this part of the world and beyond." "We will increase our headcount in Dubai, which will be the nerve centre of our international operations." Ambani said. "We plan to set up a number of petrochemical plants in the next decade, with each costing $4 billion to $6 billion.". "We have major commitments to the region, which is the hub of the oil and gas sector. We import $30 billion to $40 billion worth of oil including the bulk from the Gulf, refine it and export gasoline worth $80 billion to Europe and the US," Ambani said.

Posted: 16 Dec 2007 00:14
by Sanjay M

Posted: 19 Dec 2007 00:40
by Suraj
Essar to Raise $4 Billion to Triple Refining Output
Essar Oil Ltd., operator of India's newest refinery, plans to raise $4 billion, half of it overseas, to more than triple capacity at the facility.

Essar, whose shares have risen five-fold this year, needs money to narrow the gap with Reliance Industries Ltd., which is using record profits to build the world's biggest refinery complex. The Indian refiners are reliant on exports because state-set retail prices make it impossible to profit from selling gasoline, diesel and heating oil at home.

``It will be hugely ambitious to grow as big as that by 2010,'' said Tony Regan, energy consultant at Nexant Inc. in Singapore. ``From 2009 we'll see significant volumes coming up, mostly from Reliance. So we're expecting refining margins to come off quite sharply.''

Essar Oil's Jamnagar refinery started last year almost a decade after it was first planned, as the group's steel unit faced losses because of falling prices of the commodity. In the interim, Reliance has built a plant in the same city that's three times larger than Essar's and will next year almost double capacity again with a new facility.
Indian Oil Plans $3 Billion Oil Fields Acquisition
Indian Oil Corp., the nation's biggest refiner, may spend as much as $3 billion to buy an overseas oil producer to meet rising demand in the world's second-fastest-growing major economy.

The target will be a company that owns fields in Africa or countries that were part of the former Soviet Union, B.M. Bansal, director for business development, said in an interview in New Delhi yesterday. The acquisition may be made jointly with Oil India Ltd., a state-run explorer, he said.

Indian Oil and Oil & Natural Gas Corp., the nation's biggest explorer, are scouting projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran and Africa to meet fuel demand in a race with China, which is securing energy supplies to feed the world's fastest-growing economy. India imports three-fourths of its oil as production from aging domestic fields is slumping.

Posted: 30 Dec 2007 21:42
by Calvin
Inside commentary on Essar is that they are a bunch of incompetents, with slow decision making, inefficient operation and maintenance related issues. FWIW

Posted: 07 Jan 2008 08:03
by upendora
How is India preparing for the imminent peak oil crisis both at govt and community level. Last time I raised this issue here, I got muted out.
Any believers now?

Posted: 11 Jan 2008 08:58
by upendora
Watch this snippet from lastest movie about the impending oil crisis in 2-3 years.

Posted: 11 Jan 2008 19:30
by Vipul
Gurus, how much would a production of 40 million standard cubic meters per day translate in terms of revenue at the current gas price?

Posted: 13 Jan 2008 02:18
by Calvin
1 MMCM = 35 MMSCF

40 MMCMD = 1300 MMSCFD

1 MMSCF = $8,000

1200 MMSCFD = $10MM/day = $3.6B /year

Posted: 13 Jan 2008 17:31
by Vipul
Thanks Calvin.

Posted: 15 Jan 2008 01:23
by bala
India to build strategic crude oil storages
India will begin construction on strategic crude oil storages this year as insurance against disruptions during wars and other emergencies.

Of the three sites selected to hold 5 million tons a year of crude oil reserves, equivalent to country's 15 days requirement, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh would be the first site with Hindustan Construction Co emerging as the lowest bidder, official sources said.

Contract is likely to be awarded this week.

Two other sites identified for the construction of crude storage facilities are Mangalore (1.5 million tons) and Podur (2.5 million tons ), some 40-km from Mangalore.

India has said it eventually wants to double the overall strategic reserve capacity to 73.3 million barrels, twice the 15 days cover planned currently, but this is yet to be approved by the central cabinet.

Posted: 15 Jan 2008 03:08
by Vipul

Posted: 16 Jan 2008 12:35
by upendora

Posted: 16 Jan 2008 22:48
by Katare

Posted: 17 Jan 2008 05:32
by upendora
Yes its so scary, mainstream media refuses to accept the reality.
They are only bothered about their year-end stock prices.
Katare wrote:
Scary $hit!!

Posted: 17 Jan 2008 09:19
by Raj Malhotra
Putting oil stoarge near ports will make them vulnerable to SF strikes and other forms of military strikes
bala wrote:India to build strategic crude oil storages
India will begin construction on strategic crude oil storages this year as insurance against disruptions during wars and other emergencies.

Of the three sites selected to hold 5 million tons a year of crude oil reserves, equivalent to country's 15 days requirement, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh would be the first site with Hindustan Construction Co emerging as the lowest bidder, official sources said.

Contract is likely to be awarded this week.

Two other sites identified for the construction of crude storage facilities are Mangalore (1.5 million tons) and Podur (2.5 million tons ), some 40-km from Mangalore.

India has said it eventually wants to double the overall strategic reserve capacity to 73.3 million barrels, twice the 15 days cover planned currently, but this is yet to be approved by the central cabinet.

Posted: 26 Jan 2008 12:05
by Rudranathh
India optimistic about IPI gas pipeline: Deora
Friday, January 25, 2008

London, Jan 24: India is optimistic about the 2,775-km Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and is deeply committed to the multi-billion dollars project, Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Thursday

"Iranian Ambassador to India spoke to me yesterday and they are very keen that the project takes shape as it is in the interest of all (the) three countries," Deora said.


Asked whether he would be visiting Tehran, Deora said, "I have received an invitation" and indicated that he might make a trip at an appropriate time.

While admitting that India could not participate in a couple of meetings because of local situation, Deora said, "India is deeply committed to the pipeline project. We hope it will go through. Iran is very keen we should go ahead."

Deora replied in the negative when asked whether the US was pressurising India not to go ahead with the project.

"I have not seen any pressure and we have to take care of our energy needs," he said.

Though New Delhi and Islamabad have reached an understanding on the transportation tariff payable to Pakistan for wheeling gas through the 1,035-km pipeline segment in that country, the two nations have not yet arrived at any agreement on payment of a separate transit fee to Pakistan for using its territory.

The pipeline is slated to be laid in the three nations separately. Iran would lay a 1,100-km pipeline from the Persian Gulf to the Iran-Pakistan border, while Pakistan would lay 1,035 km from its border with Iran to the Indian border.

India would then pipe the gas to consumption centres.

The total cost of the project was estimated to be over seven billion dollars in 2006.

Posted: 27 Jan 2008 12:50
by upendora

Posted: 28 Jan 2008 09:30
by Neshant
Interesting how oil/gas supplying countries can annul agreements as and when they wish. It makes the whole idea of signing a contract worthless.

Posted: 31 Jan 2008 08:14
by upendora
The same thing happened when Russia threatened to stop gas supplies to Eurpoe, leaving NATO powerless.

Thats why
National security = Energy security

It got me thinking.. India was conquered by each new energy, first horses and then coal.

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 03:45
by Prem
India not to attend Tehran talks on pipeline deal
Updated at: 2355 PST, Tuesday, February 05, 2008
NEW DELHI: India is unlikely to attend a meet called by Iran next week to finalise the long-delayed IPI gas pipeline, Indian news agency reported.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora is unlikely to visit Tehran on February 12-13 for the tri-lateral meet on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, a source said.

Deora would instead make a visit to Islamabad to settle the transit fee issue.

Iranian Ambassador to India Seyed Mehdi Nabizadeh said an invitation for the next week's meeting has been sent. "If we get a positive response, a meeting can be held on February 12 or 13."

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/updates.asp?id=36763

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 03:48
by ramana
TSP is where the problem is. Past news reports stated that the TSP was charging too high a transit fees. for NG to India.

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 04:37
by bala
Not only the transit fee but the route through Terroristan Pakistan, means that El Presidente Mushy may call in the ISI LaserSQUAD to burn up the pipeline when there are problems with India or whenever there is "Free Kashmir" Rally by the faithful jihadis or when US wants to pressure India on something.

The Pipeline is a non-starter unless Pukes put in escrow a large fee for any sabotage or Sindh becomes free :D

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 05:17
by Prem
Deora is showing both of them their proper place and telling them India is not in rush . We can wait and there are other options. The both forgot we are the customer and they are the product and service provider.

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 02:54
by Kakkaji
This may not be the appropriate thread, but I am posting it here, because I want Calvin to see this: :P

From dailypioneer.com. Posting in full as the URL may not be archived:

Chhattisgarh village is the new eco-hero
Antara Bose | New Delhi

The next green revolution has already happened in the tiny, remote village of Ranidahra in Chhattisgarh. Pushed to the fringes of our consciousness and urban initiative, this hamlet in the Bodla block of Kabirdham district is shining bright. For it has been electrified with bio-fuel, using jatropha seeds.

This eco-project undertaken by the State Government has been sponsored by the British High Commission and an NGO, Winrock International India. "This project was assigned to us by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. We have experimented in some of the remotest villages of Chhattisgarh over three years to assess how bio-fuels can work for long-term sustainable models. The greatest challenge was convincing the people that a plant could generate electricity. They had the conventional idea of a thermal power grid system as the only model capable of supplying 24 hours of uninterrupted power. It was a challenge," says Prodyut Mukherjee, programme officer, energy and environment, Winrock International India (WII).

Ranidahra demonstrates the technical and financial viability of running conventional generators on Jatropha oil instead of diesel. While a litre of diesel costs around Rs 30, a litre of jatropha oil requires 4 kg seeds, priced at Rs 6.25 a kg. That works to Rs 25 as input cost. Imbued with a new idea that could transform their dark lives, the villagers volunteered their services under shramdaan and planted more than 25,000 Jatropha saplings.

Since project officials did not want to interfere with the food security system, the saplings were planted along roadsides and farm boundaries but not on farmlands. Even waste lands were not spared. The village comprises 110 households and has a population of 600. "We collected the seeds and put them into a standard oil expeller. Once the oil was extracted, it was directly poured into the generators. The power plant was commissioned on April 9, 2007 and it has been running successfully since. The Government has been working on many plans but this is the one that has worked out," says Mukherjee.

Concurs S K Shukla, executive director, Chhattisgarh Biofuel Development Authority. "I am glad that a breakthrough has happened in Chhattisgarh. This plant was started in 2006. We had submitted a detailed project report to the State Government which then invited the private sector to help out and accelerate the development process. We are now planning to cover 26 villages in Korba district under the National Thermal Power Corporation. This includes areas adjoining Ranidahra. Right now we ensure three-and-a-half hours of continuous power to households and five hours for streetlights. That will go up once we increase plantation sizes."

With the existing plantations at 10 hectares, the team has come up with three generators of 3.5 KVA with a back-up generation capacity of 7.5 KVA. "We have managed the distribution patterns so that they can benefit the villagers in terms of their productivity. The streetlights work from 7 pm to midnight and the households consume power from 6 pm to 9:30 pm. Once we have enough plantations, 24-hour power supply is an absolute possibility," assures Mukherjee.

Villagers are happy. Punia Bai, who was here as a test case of how bio-fuels can change lives, says, "My children can now study after sunset. You cannot imagine the boon time. It is now safe to move around in the village as there are streetlights."

The State Government has woken up to the advatages of bio-fuels and is leaving no stone unturned to extend help. Shukla says, "We have made a beginning. We welcome franchisees and private sector to operationalise similar projects."

The project has also trained villagers in basic safety rules while working around jatropha plantations. "These plants are not edible, so they should not be mixed with other vegetation," he adds.

The good part is that it works. You can also use jatropha oil in your vehicle. The project has in no small part been aided by the fact that these villages are nearer the forest, so earmarking land for jatropha plantations was easy. But the State Government is also working on jatropha oil substitues like Pongamia, another bio-diesel and sweet Sorghum, which yields ethanol.

Being a sub-tropical country, India can grow oil-bearing seeds for bio-fuels. Of 1,25,000 un-electrified villages in India, 25,000 are considered remote. The Central Government promises 100 per cent electrification of rural households by 2012
Now, anticipating some points that Calvin would make to diss the viability of such projects, here are my answers:

1. Price is subsidized. Cannot be commercialized: There is no market pricing for any fuel in India. At current international prices for petroleum, perhaps petrol and diesel are also subsidized by the GOI or its public sector oil companies.

2. Can never be enough to replace petroleum: I do not envision taxis in Mumbai running on jatropha oil. But in rural areas, for limited uses such as streetlights in the evening, household electricity for a few hours a day, agricultural pumpsets, local autorickshaws etc., it can certainly be viable. A lot of these uses will be new energy for areas where there is no electricity, irrigation pumpsets, or local vehicles right now. The changes in people's lives can be phenomenal, just like the nano. :)

3. Wasteland regeneration, and increased rural employment in growing, collecting and processing jatropha seeds are other benefits that will make a huge difference in backward areas.

JMT

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 03:25
by Rishirishi
The plant can be a 2 edge sword. What happnes if it becomes more econmical to produce fuel then food?

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 06:47
by Kakkaji
Rishirishi wrote:The plant can be a 2 edge sword. What happnes if it becomes more econmical to produce fuel then food?
They are taking care to plant it only on wastelands, or marginal lands. Besides, at Rs. 6.50 per Kg of seeds it is not going to be more lucrative for farmers than food crops.

Unlike in the US, where they are using edible corn to produce ethanol fuel, and in the process driving up prices of food, in India they are taking care to use inedible plants in wastelands.