Fertiliser, power plants plan expansion in anticipation
To raise funds for Imperial buy, create 'acquisition currency'.
Lower crude oil prices are expected to bring down jet fuel rates by 10 per cent in September, but passengers are unlikely to get the benefit as airlines are reluctant to reduce their fares.
In an effort to stem a possible counter-bid by China's Sinopec and others, ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas exploration subsidiary of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has through its advisor Deutsche Bank approached the large institutional investors of Imperial Energy to acquire their holdings.
An increase in project cost will lead to corresponding increase in borrowing needs of these companies, particularly the oil marketing firms that have already borrowed nearly 50 per cent more this year compared to last year because of rising crude oil prices. Companies now fear this would make borrowing tougher in terms of higher interest rate and per client exposure norms of commercial banks.
Oil ministry officials say it is unlikely that the government will accept the BK Chaturvedi Committee's recommendation for raising the retail prices of petrol and diesel as it faces general elections in less than a year. The move also risks putting pressure on inflation, which has already crossed a 13-year high.
Private and public sector oil producers, who will face a "super profits" tax on output when their selling price for crude oil touches $75 per barrel if the B K Chatruvedi committee's recommendations are accepted, say there is lack of clarity on whether they will continue to pay the current royalty of 20 per cent along with the proposed tax.
Reliance Industries (RIL), India's largest company by market capitalisation, will begin producing gas from its Krishna- Godavari (KG) field, which is off the country's east coast, "by December" this year, a senior executive said.
The government allows the oil companies to sell only a quarter of the total quantum of bonds they hold at any time during a quarter, so as to ensure that the market is not flooded with oil bonds. It has not yet decided on how the subsidy burden will be shared across stakeholders, how much of the subsidy from the government account will be given in cash and how much in the form of bonds, says an official.
With state-owned oil marketing companies strapped for cash on account of selling products at subsidised rates, the Oil Ministry last week approached the Finance Ministry seeking oil bonds in advance for the second and third quarters of the current fiscal 2008-09.
Even as state-owned refineries recorded all-time high margins during the first quarter, gaining from inventories they hold, Reliance Industries, which operates the world's third largest refinery, posted a modest gain in margins, resulting in the company recording lower-than-expected profits during the quarter.
The government's decision to raise fuel prices in June has scuttled the oil companies' plans to reduce their losses from retail fuel sales as consumers are buying less of premium fuels, which is more expensive than normal fuels.
The top five decision makers in the oil ministry collectively have around 20 months of experience in the sector even as India, the third largest consumer of oil in Asia, struggles to keep pace with oil prices, which have doubled in the last one year.
Projects worth over $20 billion, ranging from the decade-long Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to various oil and gas exploration and production projects, are being re-considered, said officials in the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Though crude oil prices in the market are at a record high and analysts say they could breach the $200-per-barrel mark soon, consumption has grown rapidly in India as prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas are heavily subsidised by the government and its oil production and marketing companies. Higher demand, coupled with higher prices, is also likely to drive up the country's oil import bill to over $100 billion in this financial year.
The demand for diesel is rising at 25 per cent annually, while the crude oil refiners are capable of catering to only 12-15 per cent growth.
Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market capitalisation, and GAIL India, the largest transporter and marketer of gas, have sought licences to sell natural gas to households and vehicles across 60 cities in India.
The dealers claim that the oil marketing companies -- Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation -- are rationing normal petrol and diesel to their retail outlets. As a result, premium fuels make up almost 50 per cent of the sales of the 410 outlets in Delhi. Oil companies add certain additives to normal petrol and diesel that offer better performance of vehicle engines.
India faces a new energy crisis - unavailability of gas in the international market - that could worsen power supplies and impact a wide range of industries.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is one of 41 global oil corporations shortlisted by the Iraq government to develop its oil fields. Iraq has the world's largest proven oil reserves.
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