India will begin importing gas in the form of liquefied natural gas from early 2004 to augment deficit in domestic production, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said.
Govt approved a formula, not a price; PetroMin says a substantial rise was inevitable.
The Petroleum Ministry has proposed a 33 per cent hike in the price of natural gas produced by ONGC and Oil India and gradually increase it to $4.20 per mmBtu set for gas from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields.
Of the 17.99 mmcmd gas allocated to the power sector, gas supply pacts of only 2.67 mmcmd allocated to NTPC remained to be signed. NTPC's opposition has also delayed the GSPA for a separate 2.7 mmcmd allocated to the Dabhol power plant and the same is now slated to be signed next week.
The consortium of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Reliance Industries and BG Group of UK will continue selling gas from Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields to state-run gas firm GAIL
'Geopolitically and diplomatically it's a very difficult situation for India.'
ExxonMobil-owned RasGas will supply liquefied natural gas by December to restart the Dabhol power project in Maharashtra, a top official said on Friday.
On instructions from the Prime Minister's Office for a more uniform distribution of the natural resource, the petroleum ministry had in December 2007 scrapped all contracts for sale of gas produced from PMT fields and nominated GAIL for selling it to 'fuel-starved' fertiliser plants outside Gujarat. But after protests, the ministry agreed to partly restore 3.6 million standard cubic meters per day of gas out of 5.1 mmscmd consumed by RIL's petrochemical plants.
The countdown for BG's stake sale in Gujarat Gas Company (GGCL) begins tomorrow. Three months after BG made its intention of divesting its stake clear, over half a dozen potential bidders are likely to submit non-binding bids for BG's 65.12 per cent stake in the country's largest natural gas distributor by sales.
Arun Kumar Singh, former chairman of oil refining and marketing company BPCL, was on Wednesday appointed chairman and managing director of ONGC -- the first instance of a retired person being appointed the head of a Maharatna PSU. "The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of ministry of petroleum and natural gas for appointment of Arun Kumar Singh, ex-CMD, BPCL as chairman, ONGC for a three-year tenure with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post," an official order said. PTI first reported of Singh's appointment on November 17.
Reliance Industries Ltd's legal battle over the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to impose 21 per cent value-added tax on gas is holding up supply to NTPC's two power plants and Indian Oil Corporation's Mathura refinery, despite a group of ministers making allocation to them.
India is likely to sign a $145 billion deal by June to import natural gas from Iran through the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline after Tehran lowered the sale price by 30 per cent.
The trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, sources said. They said the country was the fourth-largest gainer when the US imposed higher duties on Chinese goods during US President Donald Trump's first tenure.
China has pipped India to sign a 30-year agreement to import natural gas from fields lying in Myanmar offshore where India's state-owned companies have 25 per cent stake.
Of the 10 coal bed methane blocks on offer, bids were received only for 8. RIL bid for one block. Of the 24 deep water blocks on offer, bids were received only for eight.
'India did not surrender. That was why he wanted to pressurise India by this 25% tariffs.'
The Oil Industry Safety Directorate, under the Petroleum Ministry, carries out safety audits of oil and gas installations, besides formulating and standardising procedures and guidelines for design, operation and maintenance.
Iran on Friday invited India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to Tehran for signing a tri-nation deal on natural gas, supply of which could start from 2011.
The Indian government, said a senior official, wishes to take talks forward on the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate the new building to house the Environment Ministry.
Days after the Cabinet approved doubling of natural gas price from April next year, the Finance Ministry has written to Oil Ministry suggesting setting of a ceiling or an upper limit for the rates.
'While the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship.'
The commission asks for notification to be deferred; RIL's KG-D6 pricing issue may return to Cabinet
Steel manufacturers on Wednesday hit out at 'unilateral' decision of the Oil Ministry to curb natural gas supplies from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields to non-core users, saying only a ministerial panel was empowered to take such decision.
The complaint states that journalists blocked his way at the guest house, the source said without elaborating.
Asian Development Bank and ExxonMobil-promoted RasGas of Qatar have taken 10 per cent equity each in Petronet LNG Ltd, the public sector joint venture firm which will begin importing liquefied natural gas from January next year.
The Petroleum Ministry has allocated additional natural gas from Reliance Industries' eastern offshore gas fields to three power plants to meet electricity deficit in northern states reeling under drought.
Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project has been found technically possible but its economic viability will depend on the price at which Tehran sells the fuel, said Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel.
The Iran-Israel conflict has further increased global economic uncertainties, impacting world trade, including India's exports, as it is expected to drive up both air and sea freight rates, exporters say. They said that India's exports to Europe and counters like Russia may get impacted due to this war.
A report, by DeGoyler and MacNaughton, has put a question mark on the future production from the five ONGC discoveries.
RIL had said at that time the allegations were baseless and devoid of any merit.
Reliance Natural Resources Ltd chairman Anil Ambani is understood to have sought a review of the government's decision, rejecting the sale of natural gas by RIL to it.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is seeking to regain operatorship of offshore gas block in Vietnam, which started gas production last month.
Lower crude oil costs and higher marketing margins are expected to raise the fortunes of oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023-24 (FY24), while city gas distribution (CGD) companies could also benefit from lower spot prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, in a break from the past, growth trends are expected to diverge for various segments within the broad energy sector. Analysts expect the earnings from gas production to go down for upstream national oil and gas companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL) due to the introduction of the new domestic gas pricing regime on April 1. After showing steep losses over the first half of 2022-23 (FY23), the marketing margins of OMCs have steadily recovered in four months.
Wholesale inflation in the country rose for the fourth consecutive month in June at 3.36 per cent on account of rise in prices of food articles, especially vegetables and manufactured items. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation was 2.61 per cent in May. It was (-) 4.18 per cent in June 2023.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will add about Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) to its profits annually from near doubling of natural gas prices from next fiscal.
Differences over the price of natural gas to be imported through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline persisted on Friday, but the three countries agreed to appoint an international consultant to look into the issue.
