Projects worth over $20 billion, ranging from the decade-long Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to various oil and gas exploration and production projects, are being re-considered, said officials in the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The petroleum and natural gas ministry has asked the Planning Commission to constitute a committee to suggest a mechanism to average out prices of imported and domestic gas--a move expected to make gas prices uniform for consumers.
A deepwater well in a Krishna Godavari basin block operated by state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been leaking gas for two months and there are now fears of environment damage due to the uncontrolled flow.
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.
The government is giving top priority to making available 581 MMSCMD of gas required by power projects in the country, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Reliance Industries has found natural gas reserves in a well drilled on its NEC-25 block in Mahanadi basin, off the Orissa coast, the company's junior partner Niko Resources of Canada said on Friday.
The Freedom 125 has sold 8,310 units in October to date. This is its highest since it was launched in July and may touch close to 9,000 by the end of the month.
RIL has more than half a dozen undeveloped discoveries.
According to sources, the government has provided a list of 20 companies to Reliance Industries for sale of gas as per the gas utilisation policy. Some of these companies include Nagarjuna Fertilizer & Chemicals, Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals, Tata Fertilizers and Oswal Chemicals & Fertilizers among others.
Natural Gas production from KG-D6 block has dropped to below 20 million standard cubic metres a day this week, from over 63 mmscmd peak output achieved in August 2010.
The government will allow exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Gas Authority of India to market domestic LPG to increase penetration of cooking fuel to 75 per cent of the population.
The government on Friday said allocation of natural gas to companies like Anil Ambani Group's RNRL will depend on availability of the fuel after supplying to already designated users.
India will step up efforts to find new oil and gas fields as the country's largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation expects output from its existing fields to drop sharply in next few years.
Amidst Finance Ministry raising prospects of forcing Reliance Industries to sell gas at old price of $4.2, Oil Minister M Veerapa Moily on Thursday said there was no rethinking in the government on the decision to double gas rates from April 1, 2014.
A joint venture agreement between GAIL (India) Limited and China Gas Holdings Limited to foray into natural gas
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.
RIL senior vice president (commercial) B Ganguly wrote to NTPC on Friday expressing his company's willingness to sign Gas Sales and Purchase Agreements for the state-run firm's Anta, Dadri and Faridabad plants.
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs has approved a hike in gas prices from April 2014.
While a new formula for pricing of all domestically produced natural gas was notified on January 10 and published in Gazettee on January 17, the Election Commission last month asked the government to defer its implementation till general elections are completed.
The Budget has given signals that India is sensitive to the US needs and willing to walk the extra mile, but if need be, we should respond in equal measure as a sovereign nation, notes Ajay Srivastava.
The government is likely to make it mandatory for natural gas producers to auction the fuel to consumers within a fixed price band instead of the present practice of entering into negotiated deals.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has told oil regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) that its KG basin block may hold about 3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves from which it plans to produce 25-30 million unit a day by 2016.
The government on Friday awarded 20 oil and gas blocks for exploration and production -- 14 of which went to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and partners.
The President said he made the decision in consultation with European allies but added they may not be in a position to join the US in banning Russian energy imports.
IndianOil Corp Ltd, for instance, saw a growth of around 22 per cent in volumes and nearly two per cent in its market share. It traded nearly 10,517 million tonnes (mt) of auto gas in December against 8,593 mt of auto gas in September.
The government may consider a public-private partnership (PPP) mode for setting up national gas highways to ensure distribution across the country.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will visit Dhaka and Yangon in January to explore the possibility of laying a natural gas pipeline from Myanmar to India via Bangladesh.
ONGC Videsh (OVL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is eyeing more gas fields in Libya.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the sole supplier of compressed natural gas in Delhi, on Friday declared open the sale of its 4 crore equity shares under an initial public offer.
RIL has so far drilled six wells on the MA oilfield, the only oil discovery among the 19 oil and gas finds the company had made in the eastern offshore KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has struck a large gas field in the Krishna-Godavari basin in Bay of Bengal, home for the gigantic gas find of Reliance Industries Ltd.
GAIL will take up to 10 per cent of the Hong Kong-listed firm through a share subscription and has agreed not to sell the shares for two years.\n\n
The ministry refused to buy RGTIL's argument that the government has already allocated all of the projected mmscmd of 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.
Reliance had last month struck gas in the fourth successive well on the block KG-DWN-2003/1 that lies close to its prolific D6 area in the Krishna-Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal.
ONGC-Mittal Energy Ltd -- joint venture of ONGC Videsh Ltd and Mittal Investment Sarl -- had in 2007 won the offshore block North Coast Marine Area-2 (NCMA-2), that is estimated to hold in-place reserves of two trillion cubic feet, beating Britain's Centrica Plc.
BG Exploration and Production India, a part of UK-based BG group and Reliance Industries, hold 30 per cent stake each in the field, while ONGC has a participating interest of 40 per cent.
The empowered group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on July 27, is likely to discuss setting priority for usage of the gas that is likely to be available in next five years, two sources privy to the development said.
Eight companies are in the fray for rolling out gas networks in six cities, bids for which were invited by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. The deadline for submission of the bids expired on Tuesday.
