An empowered group of ministers on April 9 decided to give any unutilised KG-D6 gas to steel plants who are currently not being supplied their full share of administered price fuel, official sources said. After gas-based steel plants, allocations would also be made to existing gas-fired power plants and to other power plants, including captive power plants depending upon the availability of the unutilised gas.
In a new twist to the gas dispute between Ambani brothers, the fertiliser ministry on Monday said private family agreements cannot over-ride national priorities.
Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Resources (VRL), which has hired Standard Chartered Bank to raise funds for its Konkola copper mine assets, says it is engaging with several potential partners for both short-term funds and long-term equity financing for the Zambian project. A Vedanta official said its commitment to optimising capital allocation and driving expansion is a key cornerstone of its strategy for the mines. It will enhance value creation and operationalise the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
Demands include clearing eight critical coal blocks attached to projects of big corporate houses.
The beleaguered Dabhol power plant will from October 1 start buying natural gas from Reliance Industries to cut electricity generation cost at the nation's largest gas-fired unit.
The revised GSMA was signed pursuant to the Supreme Court's May 7 judgement, turning down RNRL's demand for cheap gas from RIL based on a family agreement.
RIL has complained the to power ministry about NTPC's reluctance to sign an agreement to buy gas from it and said that the power PSU stands to lose Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion)on buying imported LNG.
But the government will present a second tranche of Supplementary Demands for Grants during the Budget session of Parliament in February, when it can seek additional spending.
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal's conglomerate on Friday announced a major business shake-up, with flagship Vedanta Ltd approving a spin-off of its metals, power, aluminium and oil and gas businesses into separate listed entities and an overhaul of lucrative zinc unit planned as part of value creation and reducing debt load. Vedanta will issue one share of the five demerged businesses for every share held in the company, the firm said in a statement. The entire exercise, which would require shareholder and lender approval as well as a nod from the stock exchanges and courts, is expected to be completed in 12-15 months, its president for finance Ajay Agarwal said.
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.
State-run NTPC has agreed to buy natural gas from Reliance Industries but is opposed to paying marketing margin to the private firm and wants to use the fuel at plants other than Kawas and Gandhar that were identified by the government.
RNRL had sought 28 mscmd of gas for 17 years at $2.34 per million British thermal units (mBtu) from Mukesh Ambani's RIL.
Reliance Industries has inked deals to supply gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to most power sector consumers, including Essar Power and an Anil Ambani Group firm.
The Ministry refused to buy RGTIL's argument that the government has already allocated all of the projected 91 mmscmd gas output from the KG-D6 fields to customers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharasthra and other northern states, leaving no gas for transportation through its proposed pipelines from Kakinada to Howrah, Chennai, Tuticorin and Mangalore.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
In his representation to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi submitted a memorandum on long pending issues of the state.
Financial services and consumer durable companies accounted for most of the selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPI) in the last fortnight of February. FPIs sold finance stocks worth Rs 2,263 crore and consumer durable stocks worth Rs 1,111 crore, according to data collated by Prime Infobase. Information technology (selling worth Rs 708 crore), metals and mining (Rs 694 crore), and power (Rs 497 crore) were the other sectors where overseas funds sold shares.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas would be issuing instructions for fresh gas allocation from D6 this week.
RIL had sought 11.80 million standard cubic meters per day of KG D-6 gas to meet feedstock requirement at its twin refineries but it got only 2.34 mmscmd.
The situation raises concerns about whether the promised freebies will once again push the state into a revenue deficit.
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.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will preside over a full Planning Commission meeting on September 1 for the mid-term appraisal of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period (2007-12).
The Delhi high court has rejected a government challenge to an arbitration panel award that had ruled in favour of Reliance Industries Ltd in a dispute over gas migration from fields operated by state-owned ONGC in the KG basin. The government had slapped a provisional penalty of $1.55 billion on Reliance for "unjust enrichment" from gas migrating from the ONGC-operated KG-D5 block to the private firm's adjoining KG-D6 area. It had sought $175 million in additional profit petroleum from Reliance and its UK partner BP Plc.
This year's edition, three years lost to the pandemic and scheduling, wore a distinctive shade of green, and, as would befit an era of technology shift from internal combustion engines to electric motors, had a clutch of high-technology exhibits and concepts. But the excitement of the expo's heyday was missing.
Reliance Industries Ltd has decided not to use its allocation of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin's D6 field for petrochemical production; it will, instead, swap it with gas available from other sources. It will use D6 gas only for power generation.
Educational technology company Byju's chief financial officer Ajay Goel has quit after completing the audit process for the financial year 2022 and will return to Vedanta, the company said in a statement. The edtech major has roped in industry veteran Pradip Kanakia as senior advisor, and president (finance) Nitin Golani has been given additional responsibility as India chief finance officer (CFO) to handle the finance function of the company.
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council has approved Reliance Industries' 4.33 dollars per mBtu price of gas from KG-D6 fields, saying it was in line with industry practices.
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.
Commodity investments can help you diversify your portfolio in asset classes other than equity and debt, says Dwaipayan Bose.
"All requirements including providing bank guarantee have been met by NTPC and gas flow can start as early as tomorrow," an official said.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Friday said it may sell gas from its KG-D6 fields to RNRL at $4.20 per mmBtu if the government allocates fuel to the Anil Ambani Group firm.
The unit, with a capacity to produce 150 Mw of power, has been shut since March 2009. Prior to its closure due to environmental reasons, the unit was running on liquid fuel. Reliance has already signed gas sales and purchase agreements with nine power sector players for supply of 11 mmscmd of natural gas from the KG-D6 block.
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.
RIL's KG basin started pumping gas in April and is currently producing 37-38 mscmd.
The government has already decided to accord priority to fertiliser and power units for allocation of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin. According to sources, the empowered group of ministers on gas, which met last week, has made it clear it will be able to provide additional gas to steel firms only after meeting the requirements of the power and fertiliser units. Among the steel majors, Essar, Ispat and Vikram Ispat have gas-based units.
India and Pakistan will seek third party certification of Iran's gas reserves before moving ahead on the $7.4-billion Iran-India-Pakistan pipeline, which is to meet the growing energy needs of both nations.
Power plants, involving investments of Rs 100,000 crore, facing closure.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 11.11 lakh crore spending on infrastructure and vowed to continue reforms as she resisted resorting to populist measures in Modi government's last Budget before general elections, instead choosing to stay on the path of cutting deficit while bolstering measures for focus groups.
The oil ministry is rejecting the monetisation of new discoveries as their production will not be viable at the present price of $4.2 per mmbtu
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