No period in the recent history of Indian oil and gas sector will perhaps leave its long- lasting imprint than 2010 that saw the unfolding of two events that could shape the future of this fast growing sphere.
Oil Minister Murli Deora flew into the Vietnamese Capital this morning with heads of bluechip Indian oil firms to lay a claim with Hanoi on BP's stake in two offshore gas fields, a pipeline and power project -- together referred as Nam Con Son, Vietnam's largest gas project.
In the rapidly changing world structure, Iran and India must stay together and should not neglect the present opportunities to replace the 'dying' big powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told visiting External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday. Krishna, who was in Tehran representing India at the meeting of the G-15 developing nations, met Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president highlighted the need for the two nations to work together on regional issues.
The Group of Fifteen (G-15) developing countries, including India, have called for effective supervision of major financial centres and institutions to prevent repeat of recent global economic crisis which they said had adversely impacted the developing nations.
India on Monday sought comprehensive reform of international financial institutions to enable enhanced capital flows and infrastructure investment in developing markets, which it said will strengthen recovery from the worst global economic crisis since 1945.
With New Delhi boycotting formal talks for almost three years, Iran and Pakistan this month signed last of a series of agreements for implementing the project on bilateral basis.
Producers and consumers showed a rare harmony when they at the end of two-day International Energy Forum in Cancun made stability in oil prices their common goal.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Iran's Deputy Minister for International Affairs H Noghrehkar Shirazi on the sidelines of the 12th International Energy Forum here to propose bilateral talks in May.
The move apparently has been triggered by the drastic fall in international crude oil prices which have dived from $147 a barrel in August 2008 to below $40 now. In the old formula, taking crude price at $60 per barrel, the cost of gas at Iran-Pakistan border translated into $4.93 per mBtu. But according to the new formula, gas price will shoot up to $5.9 per mBtu although crude prices have crashed below $40 a barrel.
International crude prices, which rose to a historic high of over $147 a barrel in July last year, have slumped to four-year low of around $37 per barrel, prompting fears that companies may not invest in new fields. Several oil companies have put on hold investments in small and marginal fields and in difficult and frontier areas following the sharp dip in prices as current rates give a negative rate of return on the huge investments required.
India on Wednesday offered Qatar a 10 per cent stake in Petronet LNG Ltd to get the worlds largest liquefied natural gas exporter to sell 18 more LNG cargoes this year and agree on a long-term supply deal for meeting fuel needs of beleaguered Dabhol power plant.
An oil shock, reminiscent of 1979 crisis, nearly derailed Asia's third fastest growing economy as policy-makers spent more time fire-fighting controversies resulting from the absence of a coherent energy plan than taking decisive steps.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said he expected India's economy to grow by a healthy 7 to 7.5 per cent in 2009, despite the global financial crisis eroding output across sectors."Due to the current financial crisis, growth rate may come down somewhat next year, but I am still confident that we will be able to achieve a rate of between 7-7.5 per cent," he said while addressing the Indian community in Oman.
Reliance Industries has created history by flowing oil from the nation's first deep-sea oilfield, but gas production from the eastern offshore KG basin will begin in January, four months behind the deadline. Reliance began oil production from its predominantly gas-rich KG-DWN-98/3 or D6 block on September 17 with initial oil flowing at the rate of 5,500 barrels per day, the company Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced on Sunday in Mumbai.
OVL in 2007-08 recorded highest ever oil and gas production from its overseas assets. Crude oil production was up 18 per cent to 6.811 million tons, while gas output was marginally lower at 1.962 billion cubic meters. It earned a net profit of Rs 2,397 crore (Rs 23.97 billion).
India will host the next meeting on the 1,680-km gas pipeline, planned from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India, in October even as it has asked Tehran to call a trilateral meeting to finalise the rival Iran-Pakistan-India gas line.
Government will review fuel pricing scenario in October, Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan said on Thursday. The petroleum secretary further said, "Situation will be revisited in October when we will take stock of the scenario emerging out of international oil prices." Global crude prices touched a record $145 a barrel, which is expected to push India's oil import bill this year higher by nearly 76 per cent to $110-120 billion.
This year, the import would be higher because Reliance Petroleum's export oriented 29 MT refinery is set for commissioning in August-September. The government had increased petrol and diesel prices on June 5, but oil marketing companies are still selling these fuels below cost price.
Reliance Industries, India's most alued company, and state-run GAIL India will next week mount pitch with Qatar for jointly setting up a $.3 billion mega petrochemical plant in the gas rich nation.
Iran on Tuesday indicated that it may be willing to change the delivery point of gas it wants to sell to India through a pipeline passing through Pakistan, but wanted New Delhi and Islamabad to decide quickly on the $7.4 billion project.
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