Essar Energy Holdings, a part of the Essar group, has acquired an oil and gas exploration block in Nigeria in the latest round of bidding. The shallow offshore block is completely owned by Essar Energy.
However, with the country forecast to become the fifth largest consumer in the next 20 years, analysts are positive that the percentage of deals in the country will increase substantially.
Supply of the much-needed gas to Dabhol is set to be delayed again. The reason: shortage of pipes required to build the Dahej-Uran pipeline which will feed the gas to the plant.
The rising rupee over the last three months has brought cheer to the oil marketing companies, who have together added around Rs 250-300 crore (Rs 2.5-3 billion) to their operating profits already.
In a bid to attract "big oil" to India, the government is close to finalising an Open Acreage Licensing Policy, which gives companies a round-the-year window to pitch for oil and gas in blocks of their choice.
The petroleum ministry has projected a strong year for the oil marketing companies though the largest exploration company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is projected to post a moderate gain in its bottomline.
Maharashtra will get some respite from its power crises next week
The quantum of hike had not yet been worked out, but it was likely to be Rs 2 a litre for petrol and Re 1 a litre for diesel.
The proposal to hive off the LNG terminal at the revived Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra is likely to be scrapped, with promoters and financiers agreeing to pump in Rs 24 billion to restart construction work at the plant.
The shares of oil marketing companies have been firming up in the current financial year though the Indian crude oil basket is quoting above $65 a barrel, as investors took long-term.
In all, Reliance has a stake in 34 exploration blocks in the country.
With the price of gas from its fields in the Krishna-Godavari basin expected to be higher than rivals, Reliance Industries is targeting automobiles and domestic users because power and fertiliser plants may not be able to afford it.
The Ministry Of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ruled out a hike in the prices of petrol and diesel in the near future even as the price of the Indian basket of crude oil continues to remain above $65 a barrel.
Even as Minister of State for Petroleum Dinsha Patel has told the Rajya Sabha that new connections are easily available for genuine customers, householders all over India are facing an acute shortage of LPG cylinders.
India may be trying to become a crude oil refining hub but the country's apex planning body has raised doubts on the feasibility of adding more refining capacity.
There seem to be some more delays in the pipeline for the decade-old Bathinda refinery project of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation in which Mittal Investments recently announced its decision to pick up 49 per cent stake.
The competition between the two main players vying to lay cross-country natural gas pipelines has undergone a volte-face.
The big-ticket transnational gas pipelines that India was planning seem to be in trouble. Although the government maintains that the three pipelines
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation's upcoming Bathinda refinery in Punjab has forced Indian Oil Corporation to reconsider its plans to expand its refinery at Panipat to 21 mtpa.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas is likely to reimburse Oil and Natural Gas Corporation almost Rs 850 crore (Rs 8.5 billion) for the cost of exploration and development work in pre-NELP oil fields in the past.
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