State-owned oil firms such as ONGC and IOC will invest over Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the next fiscal year starting April as they supplement the government's massive spending programme to spur economic growth. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will together make a 7.4 per cent higher capital expenditure in the 2022-23 fiscal (FY23). The capex spending of Rs 1.11 lakh crore in 2022-23 compares with a revised estimate of Rs 1.04 lakh crore for the current fiscal year that ends in March, according to Union budget documents.
ONGC will submit a proposal to the Union government for acquiring Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's entire 16.97% stake in Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd at Rs 37.75 per share even though HPCL is not keen to divest its holding.
Alka Mittal has been appointed interim chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) - the first woman to head the country's largest oil and gas producer. Mittal replaces Subhash Kumar, another interim head who retired after reaching superannuation age on December 31. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for entrustment of additional charge of the post of chairman and managing director (CMD), ONGC to Alka Mittal, director (HR), ONGC for a period of six months with effect from January 1, 2022, or till the appointment of a regular incumbent to the post, or until further order, whichever is the earliest," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order dated January 3, 2022.
Senior bureaucrats Avinash Joshi and Niraj Verma are among the 10 candidates who are in the race to become chairman and managing director of India's largest oil and gas producer, ONGC. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) director-finance Pomila Jaspal and ONGC director for technology and field services Om Prakash Singh are the other prominent names in fray for the top job, according to a candidate shortlist by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB). PESB - the government headhunter - will hold interviews to select the new head of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) this week. Both the bureaucrats are from the 1994 batch of IAS officers belonging to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will seek concession from Andhra Pradesh government for setting up a 15 million tonne refinery at a cost of Rs 19,000 to Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 190 to Rs 200 billion) at Kakinada.
Government headhunter PESB on Friday did not find anyone suitable from nine candidates, including two serving IAS officers, to head India's largest oil and gas producer, ONGC. The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) interviewed 9 out of the 10 candidates who had applied for the post of chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). "Keeping in view the strategic importance and vision for the company and its future, the Board did not recommend any candidate and decided to constitute a Search Committee," PESB said in a notice after interviews. Those interviewed included senior bureaucrats Avinash Joshi and Niraj Verma.
The company also said it has reduced supplies of direct sale of diesel to the railways, state road corporations and other large consumers from April 2008 to restrict heavy under recoveries on these sales. In the annual report sent to the shareholders , the company said it has approval to set up 500 retail outlets across the country. The company had opened its first retail outlet in Karnataka early this year.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
India's imports from Iran rose to 250,200 barrels per day
Around 15 years ago, when Reliance Industries (RIL) struck natural gas in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin off the east coast, the government made plans to supply that fuel cheaply to scores of generators that sprang up in India triggered by the discovery. Most of the plants, which account for 6 per cent of India's total generation capacity, operate sparsely after the KG-D6 area first failed to meet production targets, and then finally shut shop. Affordable domestic gas was why those thermal plants came up and the rate of the fuel today is why those generators hardly operate. Record liquefied natural gas (LNG) rates may yet again unravel India's ambitions to expand use of gas in industries, households and vehicles. Rates, while volatile, may stay strong this decade as developed nations with higher purchasing power embrace gas as the transition fuel.
After getting Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest oil firm, to drop four independent directors and Engineers India Ltd to boot out two, it is now seeking to sack former Power Secretary P Uma Shankar, chartered accountant S Ravi and former BPCL Chairman R K Singh from the board of ONGC.
The last week of March saw a series of new refining capacity going on stream. HPCL-Mittal Energy, Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL) were able to announce completion of capacity additions a couple of days before the seven-year tax holiday in this regard came to an end, on March 31.
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd said it has not yet been granted clearance by government for acquiring equity stake in MRPL.
This is the first payment Indian refiners have made to Iran since February.
The Reserve Bank of India's rather sudden and unilateral decision to discontinue the Asian Clearing Union, a move that effectively stops settlements in dollars and the Euro, will most impact Mangalore Refinery, which sources 60 per cent of its crude needs from Iran.
In a temporary reprieve, India will pay for Iranian crude oil in euros through a German bank based in Hamburg, while a permanent solution to the payment issue will be explored at a meeting in Teheran next week.
While seven companies bagged orders worth Rs 42,000 crore, industry experts said most of this new order activity was a spillover, and fresh project finalisation remains weak.
US sanctions against Iran kick in from November 4, which will block payment routes. Sources said India and Iran are discussing reverting to rupee trade after November 4.
Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Jitin Prasada in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha said that IOC and MRPL have been allocated 0.20 million tonnes each in 2009-10, while HPCL would offtake 0.30 million tonnes of Rajasthan crude. In 2010-11, IOC would buy 1.5 million tonnes of the crude oil from the nation's most prolific oil discovery in more than two decades, while MRPL would double its offtake to 0.40 million tonnes.
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Three PSUs, three private firms join bid to acquire 40% stake in Haldia Petrochem.
A shortfall in LPG supply from Aramco has led to huge booking backlog across states. To meet the backlog, India has asked Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for two additional cargos of LPG, but that may take another 10 days to reach.
In a sudden volte-face, the government is veering around the idea of setting up a Rs 8,000 crore refinery in Rajasthan to process crude oil found in the state.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is likely to abandon the proposed Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan if Cairn Energy declines discounts on the low grade crude oil the UK company will produce in the state.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation on Wednesday awarded six of its small oil fields in Assam and Gujarat to private firms for development and production.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation said on Monday that it would set up 1,100 retail outlets for marketing motor spirit and high speed diesel.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will set up a specialised trading desk in India to market crude oil received from investments in oil fields abroad and surplus petroleum products from subsidiary Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Ltd.
Ahead of its public offer to dilute 10 per cent government stake, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp said on Wednesday that its net worth has risen to Rs 42,250 crore (Rs 422.5 billion) as on December 31
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Diesel makes up nearly half of fuel demand in Asia's No 3 economy.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
One of the major advantages of buying Iran crude is the additional credit period of 90 days that the country gives to India, compared to 30 days by other countries.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' stock market queries. Ajit will offer his unbiased views on a weekly basis
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
"We will be guided by our national interest," he said.
The BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices outperformed to gain 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively
India will pay Iran $900 million in two tranches beginning next week to clear part of the past dues for crude oil it buys from the Persian Gulf nation.
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