The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
The government has slashed by up to 20 per cent the supplies of cheaper domestically produced natural gas to city retailers -- a move that may result in Rs 4-6 per kg hike in the price of CNG sold to automobiles, unless excise duty on the fuel is cut, sources said. Natural gas pumped from below the ground and from under the seabed from sites ranging from the Arabian Sea to Bay of Bengal within India is the raw material that is turned into CNG for sale to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households.
The Kelkar Committee, which was appointed by Finance Ministry to suggest a roadmap for fiscal consolidation, has suggested immediate hike in fuel prices and complete deregulation of diesel prices by start of 2014-15 fiscal.
Adani Total Gas Ltd, the joint venture of billionaire Gautam Adani's group and French energy giant TotalEnergies, will invest Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore in the next 8 to 10 years to expand infrastructure for retailing CNG to automobiles and piping gas to households and industries, its CFO said. The company retails CNG to automobiles and pipes gas to household kitchens for cooking purposes in 52 licences that cover 124 districts of the country. It has 460 CNG stations in the country and about 7 lakh consumers of its piped cooking gas.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the rise in the price of fuel and cooking gas
As the Tata Sierra makes a triumphant return as a modern monocoque 5-doorOn November 15, Rajesh Karkera recalls the original SUV that defined his early adulthood.
Jet fuel or ATF price on Wednesday was cut by almost 6 per cent after four rounds of monthly increases since July, while commercial cooking gas (LPG) rates were raised by a steep Rs 101.5 per 19-kg cylinder in line with international benchmarks. However, the price of domestic LPG - used in household kitchens for cooking purposes - remained unchanged at Rs 903 per 14.2-kg cylinder. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was cut by Rs 6,854.25, or 5.79 per cent, in the national capital to Rs 111,344.92 per kl from Rs 118,199.17, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) may go with Oil Minister Murli Deora's proposal to free petrol prices from government control, which would trigger a hike of Rs 3.73 a litre, official sources said.
The government on Wednesday rolled back its decision to hike LPG price by Rs 5 every month.
Jet fuel or ATF price on Tuesday was hiked by a steep 8.5 per cent - the second increase in a month, while commercial cooking gas rate was cut by Rs 100 per cylinder in line with divergent trends in international benchmarks. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was increased by 7,728.38 per kilolitre, or 8.5 per cent, in the national capital to Rs 98,508.26 per kl, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Rates, which vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT, have been increased on firming up of global rates that followed four months of decline.
Maharashtra government is set to implement some harsh monetary steps from next month.
IGL had this month raised compressed natural gas (CNG) prices in the national capital by Rs 1.25 per kilogram to Rs 29 per kg and piped cooking gas to Rs 26 per cubic meter, as it bought more of imported LNG to meet the rising demand.
Demanding a roll back of the hike in cooking gas price, that was increased by Rs 20 per cylinder yesterday, CPI (M) said the Centre's decision not to touch import duties on petroleum products will lead to an "anomalous" situation.
The government has raised the security deposit paid by consumers for new LPG connection to Rs 850 per cylinder following higher prices paid by the distributors in procuring cylinders.
On December 5, the government had announced a Rs 5 per litre and Rs 2 a litre reduction in petrol and diesel prices, respectively, as global crude prices hovered around four year lows.
Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the third increase in rates since May on firming international energy prices. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 1,003 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Common households pay non-subsidised rates for the cooking gas they buy, after the government restricted subsidy to just poor beneficiaries who got connections under the Ujjwala scheme.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Adani-Total Gas Ltd and Shell were among the 29 companies that bid and bought natural gas to be produced from the deepest field in the KG-D6 block of Reliance Industries Ltd and bp, sources said. IOC walked away with almost half of the 6 million standard cubic meters per day of gas sold in an e-auction on Wednesday while state-owned gas utility GAIL bought 0.7 mmscmd, Adani-Total Gas Ltd 0.4 mmscmd, Shell 0.5 mmscmd, GSPC 0.25 mmscmd and IGS another 0.5 mmscmd, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Reliance-bp on Wednesday held an e-auction for sale of gas from the MJ field in their eastern offshore KG-D6 block after incorporating the government's new marketing rules to give CNG-selling city gas companies first priority over supplies.
CNG price in Mumbai as well as several other cities in the country has been hiked by Rs 2 per kg but users in poll-bound Delhi have been spared for the time being, according to city gas firms. Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the firm that retails CNG to automobiles and pipes natural gas to household kitchens for cooking in the national capital and adjoining cities, over the weekend raised CNG price by Rs 2 per kg.
The state-owned oil retailing firms are seeking a Rs 40 per cylinder raise in the domestic cooking gas prices and a Rs 2 per litre hike in kerosene prices to offset the drastic cut in the subsidy provided by the government.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Monday remained non-committal on rolling back the hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices saying the demands for revisiting the decision could only be considered after the Prime Minister returns from The
LPG rates were last hiked on November 1 by Rs 2.05 per cylinder. Prior to that rate was hiked on October 28 by Rs 1.5 per cylinder on account of hike in commission paid to dealers.
India's fuel sales fell in the first half of April as a record rise in prices in a short 16-day period dented demand, preliminary industry data showed on Saturday. Petrol sales fell almost 10 per cent in the first half of April when compared with the same period in the preceding month, while diesel demand slid 15.6 per cent. Even cooking gas LPG, which had consistently shown growth even during the pandemic period, saw a 1.7 per cent month-on-month fall in consumption during April 1-15.
Mumbai sources all of its gas requirement from domestic fields and as such there will be no cut in rates in the city.
Govt expects to save Rs 10,000 crore through this move.
The world's largest cash transfer programme has eliminated around 40 million ghost connections
The government is likely to decide this week on a hike of Rs 2 to Rs 3 a litre in the prices of petrol and diesel, but spare kerosene and cooking gas prices from any increase.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Tuesday reported halving of its March quarter net profit largely because of losses in the petrochemical business and shrinking margin after it announced a pre-election fuel price cut despite rising input costs. The net profit of Rs 4,837.69 crore in January-March compared to Rs 10,058.69 crore a year back and Rs 8,063.39 crore in the preceding October-December quarter, according to a stock exchange filing by the company.
Facing stiff opposition, the government tonight put on hold the Rs 26.5 increase in price of cooking gas cylinders that consumers buy beyond their quota of six subsidised bottles.
Cooking gas LPG prices may be hiked next week after under-recovery on the fuel widened to over Rs 100 per cylinder, sources said insisting that the rate hike, including the quantum of increase, is dependent on government permission. If allowed, this will be the fifth increase in cooking gas rates across all categories - households using subsidised gas for cooking and heating purposes, non-subsidised fuel and industrial-sized gas. LPG rates were last hiked by Rs 15 per cylinder on October 6, taking the total increase in rates since July to Rs 90 per 14.2-kg cylinder.
Petrol and diesel prices were cut by Rs 2 per litre each as state-owned oil companies ended a nearly two-year-long hiatus in rate revision, just hours before the general election schedule was announced.
The likely solution that appears before the AAP government is to seek for a higher quota of domestic natural gas for Delhi, which would bring down auto and cooking gas prices.
Despite the increase, at Rs 64.32 per litre ATF costs less than petrol and diesel.
Inflation rises to 11.05 per cent for the week ended June 7, 2008, against 8.75 per cent in the previous week.
Petrol costs more in India, but cooking gas, kerosene and diesel cost less than in Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
Having failed to align cooking gas prices with the market and limit the number of subsidised cylinders to consumers, the government is now trying to curb the misuse of multiple connections in households.
Narendra Modi's landslide victory gives him the mandate to deregulate diesel prices as well as raise natural gas rates with a clear road map towards free pricing to cut subsidies and shrink the budget deficit.
At present, a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder in the national capital costs Rs 1,103. It will cost Rs 903 when the Centre's decision is implemented from Wednesday.
