The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 14-month low of 3.8 per cent in December 2023, on account of poor performance of sectors like crude oil, electricity, steel and cement, according to the official data released on Wednesday. The core sector (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity) growth in November was 7.9 per cent. It was 8.3 per cent in December 2022.
IOC, at present, has seven refineries with a cumulative capacity of 54.2 million tonnes per annum capacity.
Benchmark indices settled lower on Friday, with the Sensex declining 111 points on the back of a sharp fall in index heavyweight Reliance Industries. The BSE benchmark went lower by 111.01 points or 0.21 per cent to settle at 52,907.93. During the day, it tanked 924.69 points or 1.74 per cent to 52,094.25. The NSE Nifty dipped 28.20 points or 0.18 per cent to close at 15,752.05.
Aramco also plans to invest in building India's largest oil refinery on the country's west coast.
Global oil major British Petroleum and French oil giant Total are eyeing equity in Hindustan Petroleum Corp's Rs 8,336 crore
After Nigeria, Libya has invited Indian oil firms to operate its old refineries after investing in their revamp and has offered New Delhi rights to explore oil in the country.
India imports about 25 million tonnes of oil from Iraq each year.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's largest oil producer, plans to set up new refineries at Rajasthan and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Thursday.\n\n
British oil major BP Plc on Thursday signed an agreement with state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd to negotiate a stake in HPCL's Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) Bhatinda refinery in Punjab.
Essar Oil's 10.5-million-tonne-per-annum refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat went onstream on Friday, with its first product, LPG, expected to roll out by Saturday.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to 6.7 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2023, on account of poor performance of some sectors like fertiliser, according to official data released on Thursday. However, the growth rate is higher than January this year.
Why does the world's fastest-growing major consumer of energy fail to attract investments in oil and gas? This is a question worth pondering after private sector conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) failed to close a $15-billion downstream asset deal with Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Aramco. It's understandable if multi-billion dollar investments in oil and gas projects or deals involving state companies that need to traverse a complex bureaucracy at state and federal levels and the corridors of ministries unravel. However, Mukesh Ambani-run RIL, India's most successful energy company, is not typically known to fumble on closing deals (Ambani closed deals worth around Rs 2 trillion early last year in telecom and retail with blue chip investors).
Indian Oil Corporation may expand its Haldia refinery in West Bengal to 7.4 million tonnes from 6 million tonnes, IOC chairman M S Ramachandran said on Monday.
Saddening glimpses of the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukraine's children.
Amid opposition charges that the Bharatiya Janata Party was out to destroy the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his government revered it and even Babasaheb Ambedkar would not be able to abolish it now.
Having created businesses ranging from world's largest single-location oil refining complex to nation's largest mobile network operators in just few years, billionaire Mukesh Ambani says his group Reliance Industries Ltd will never be complacent and will grow to be among the top 10 business conglomerates of the world. Addressing employees on Reliance Family Day - the birthday of the group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani, he said Reliance is now aiming to consolidate a place among global leaders in digital data platforms and AI adoption. "Today, the domestic and global environments for business are changing very fast.
Costlier oil due to rising conflict in Iraq threatens to hurt the India economy that is already battling price rise and slowing growth.
Come December, India may have to re-evaluate purchases of Russian oil if a price cap on crude oil proposed by the US and the European Union (EU) comes into effect. That impacts nearly a quarter of India's oil purchases that come at a discount, helping limit marketing losses for India's state refiners and enabling New Delhi to manage inflation by freezing pump prices of motor fuels. In September, India imported 1 million barrels a day or 24 per cent of its overall imports from Russia, which became the biggest supplier of oil to India.
Indian Oil Corporation, the country's largest downstream company, has major plans for Nigeria, the world's eighth largest exporter of crude oil.
Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is evaluating a plan to set up its third refinery at Jamnagar in an ambitious project to reach a total capacity of 100 million metric tonne per annum, the largest at a single location in the world. The company has appointed a global oil and refinery consultancy firm to evaluate the feasibility of the project, which will help capitalise the increased requirement for global crude distillation capacity.
Yemen has invited Oil and Natural Gas Corp to build a 100,000 barrels per day refinery on its Arabian sea coast but the Indian state-run firm has conditioned participation in the $1-billion project on being allotted an oilfield in return.
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, on Friday reported a 5 per cent drop in its June quarter net profit as lower fuel cracks and petrochemical margins outdid gains in telecom and retail businesses. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit was at Rs 15,138 crore, or Rs 22.37 per share, in April-June -- the first quarter of the current 2023-24 fiscal year -- compared to Rs 16,011 crore, or Rs 23.66 a share, earnings a year back, according to a company's statement.
Indian Oil Corporation is keen on acquiring stake in three refineries in Nigeria and is eyeing refinery turnaround jobs in African and West Asian countries.
Oman Oil Company has offered to buy a 26 per cent stake in the upcoming refinery at Bina for $250 million (Rs 1,200 crore), reversing an earlier decision not to increase its stake beyond the 2 per cent it currently owns.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is likely to abandon the proposed Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan if Cairn Energy declines discounts on the low grade crude oil the UK company will produce in the state.
Oil prices were poised for a third day of gains following a rise of more than 4 percent last week after Islamic militants seized much of northern Iraq as Baghdad's forces there collapsed.
As Cairn India began to pump crude oil on Monday from its Mangala oilfield here.
Ruias-owned Essar will take a 50 per cent stake in Kenya's only refinery in Mombasa, the African nation's Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi said on Wednesday.
Extend tax holiday for refineries in private sectors, reduce excise duty on Naphtha from 16%, exempt excise duty for captive consumption of intermediate products within the refinery for manufacture of exempted products.
However, the state-run oil marketing company a couple of months back had re-phased the project comprising the refinery and a petro-chemical complex in view of escalating cost. Both the refinery and the petro-chemical complex at Paradeep were earlier estimated to cost Rs 26,000 crore (Rs 260 billion). But the cost has now gone up to about Rs 45,000 crore (Rs 450 billion).
The finance ministry has restricted tax holidays to only new refineries run by public sector firms and has barred units under construction by private sector companies like Essar Oil from the benefit.
The hike in Custom and Excise duty on crude oil and petroleum products will be passed on by the refineries as well as oil marketing companies
State exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Thursday said it will take 26 per cent equity in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd's upcoming 6 million tonnes refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.
The Rs 31,000-crore refinery and petrochemical plant being planned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh is likely to have a new partner -- the Bangalore-based GMR group. GMR is the latest to join the long line of suitors, including the Hinduja group, Reliance Industries and Essar Oil, for the refinery.
Sectors that will drive profit growth include refineries, private banks, capital goods, cement, fast moving consumer goods, metals and oil & gas. Sectors with disappointing growth are public sector banks, construction, media, pharmaceuticals, steel, textiles, telecom and tyres.
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors jumped by 12.1 per cent in October 2023 against 0.7 per cent expansion in the year-ago period on account of a sharp uptick in production of coal, steel, cement and electricity, according to the official data released on Thursday. These numbers assume significance as the eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- contribute 40.27 per cent to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Growth was primarily driven by a low base effect and double-digit growth in four sectors -- coal, steel, cement and electricity.