India significantly increased piped natural gas (PNG) connections in March as the government accelerates the expansion of cleaner fuel networks amid global supply disruptions.
The United States has encouraged India to purchase Russian oil already at sea to mitigate supply shortages and price increases amid the West Asia conflict, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. This move is described as a short-term effort to stabilise the market without altering Washington's policy towards Russia.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Sources are in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and in Delhi.
A Turkish oil-chemical tanker with an all Indian crew of 24 has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of the West African nation Gabon.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Indian private sector and State-run refiners continued to receive crude oil from Russian suppliers even after November 21 -- the winding-down date for US sanctions on supplies from leading Russian oil producers imposed in October -- as new intermediaries sprung up in West Asia to sell the oil, according to senior refining sources and ship tracking data.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
It further said that the owners, master and crew of the vessel handled the ship in a negligent manner despite being aware of the dangerous cargo it was carrying.
India's merchandise exports experienced a slight decrease in February, while imports surged due to increased gold and silver purchases, leading to a widened trade deficit. The West Asia crisis is expected to further impact trade in the coming months.
Six sailors, including two Indians, died while 13 others were rescued after an UAE company owned cargo vessel sank off the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean due to bad weather.
Commercial ships with armed men on board, which navigate along India's territorial waters, pose a threat to the country's security, a senior Coast Guard official said on Thursday.
Qatar has halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after its facilities came under attack amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupting supplies to India and squeezing feedstock availability for key domestic sectors.
The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KPCB) is on high alert after a Liberian vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off the Kerala coast. While no calcium carbide containers have washed ashore yet, a thin layer of oil spill has been detected. The KPCB is working to contain the spill and prevent it from reaching the shore, but rough conditions at sea have hampered efforts to spray dispersants. The board is also taking steps to prevent the oil from reaching the Ashtamudi and Vembanad lakes.
The Indian Embassy, while sharing details of their release, thanked the Iranian authorities for their close coordination with the Embassy and Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas.
The Indian government has directed oil refineries to increase LPG production to ensure a stable supply of domestic cooking gas, amidst concerns over potential disruptions from the escalating Middle East conflict and its impact on imports.
Capex, infrastructure development, and prudent fiscal management are the key focus areas in the Budget, says Nilesh Shah.
Nathan Howard/Reuters captures glimpses of the MV Dali cargo ship which crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said it is the foremost priority of the government that the kitchens of over 33 crore families, especially the poor and the underprivileged, do not face any shortage of gas.
The US has sanctioned an Indian national based in the United Arab Emirates and two India-based entities for operating as part of Iran's shadow fleet and involved in shipping Iranian oil. The US Department of the Treasury said Jugwinder Singh Brar, who owns multiple shipping companies, operates as part of Iran's shadow fleet, which the US said is used to evade sanctions and transport Iranian oil. Brar also owns or controls India-based shipping company Global Tankers Private Limited and petrochemical sales company B and P Solutions Private Limited. The sanctions come as part of a US campaign of maximum pressure on Iran and target the country's petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
'Personnel onboard the ship were able to alert the Maryland department of transportation that they had lost control of their vessel. As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before the bridge was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives,' Biden said.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
An Indian crew member of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker that capsized off the Oman coast has died, officials said on Thursday.
The father said that he has not received any updates from the state or the Central governments regarding his daughter's current status.
'The state governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will be encouraged to consider measures of their own as the employment and economy in such export-oriented states will be affected.'
The government is developing ports across the country as centres for green hydrogen production and export, Sarbananda Sonowal, minister of ports, shipping and waterways (MoPSW) said on Tuesday. "Across the country, over 12 million tonnes of green hydrogen-based e-fuel capacity has been announced.
On how long the crew would have to stay on board the ship, the spokesperson said, "At this time, we do not know how long the investigation process will take and until that process is complete, the crew will remain on board."
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.
Main imports from the neighbouring country during April-January 2024-25 included fruits and nuts (USD 0.08 million), certain oil seeds and medicinal plants (USD 0.26 million), and organic chemicals.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday said it has halted the use of Russian crude at its export-only refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as the company moves to comply with European Union sanctions. Reliance is India's largest buyer of Russian oil, which it processes and turns into fuel, such as petrol and diesel, at its giant oil refining complex at Jamnagar.
The Pakistan Foreign Office issued a statement in response to questions from the press about reports in the media on the 'seizure of possible radioactive material' by Indian authorities at Mundra Port on a cargo ship from Karachi Port to Shanghai in China.
Two Indian seafarers stranded without passports on a cargo ship in Iran's port city of Bushehr since 2019, have been released after the Indian embassy in Teheran issued travel documents, the Maritime Union of India (MUI) said on Friday. The claim made by the MUI could not be independently verified.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani-led group's Haifa port in Israel was unharmed by the Iranian ballistic missile attack, with cargo operations progressing unhampered, sources said. Late on Saturday night, Iran targeted Israel's Haifa port and a nearby oil refinery in response to Tel Avi's attack on Iranian nuclear and other targets earlier this week.
Security agencies at Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port intercepted and seized the consignment of a Karachi-bound ship from China after it was found carrying a dual-use consignment with implications for Pakistan's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
Pakistan reacted strongly to the seizure by India of a ship carrying equipment used by Pakistan and Bangladesh for UN peacekeeping missions on Sunday.
The government has identified 50 public-private partnership (PPP) projects worth over Rs 60,000 crore, significantly surpassing the original targets of the National Monetisation Pipeline, said Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the Business Standard Infrastructure Summit on Thursday.
The crew of an Iraqi cargo vessel were denied permission to disembark at Karwar port in Karnataka by the coastal security authorities as per special instructions given by the central government "after the Pakistan incident", Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Friday.
Adani Group on Monday said it does not handle any cargo coming from Iran or any Iranian-owned ship at any of its ports, as it denied any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion. In a stock exchange filing, the group said reports of links between any of its entities and Iranian LPG are "baseless and mischievous".
Saudi Arabia's steep cut in LPG benchmark prices has pushed India's household LPG underrecoveries to their lowest level in over two years, slashing oil companies' losses from Rs 200-250 per cylinder last year to about Rs 20-40 now.
