Led by healthy growth in coal, crude oil, fertilisers, cement and electricity production, output of eight core industries grew to a 13-month high of 18.1 per cent in May this year, according to official data released on Thursday. The growth of core infrastructure sectors expanded by 16.4 per cent in the year-ago period and 9.3 per cent in April this year. The last high growth was recorded in April 2021 when it was 62.6 per cent.
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.
Sunni rebels from an Al Qaeda splinter group overran the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday and closed in on the biggest oil refinery in the country, making further gains in their rapid military advance against the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's largest oil producer, has proposed an investment of Rs 7967 crore (Rs 79.67 billion) in setting up a 7.5 million tonnes refinery at the site of recent oil find in Rajasthan.\n\n
Essar Oil is in talks with Royal Dutch Shell to buy two of its refineries in Germany and one in the UK.
The growth in key sectors will have implications for the Index of Industrial Production as these eight segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.
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.
The windfall tax on oil produced within India and fuel exported overseas will make up for more than three-fourths of the revenue that the government lost when it cut excise duty on petrol and diesel to cool soaring inflation, industry sources said. India on July 1 joined a select league of nations globally that have taxed windfall gains accruing to oil companies from soaring energy prices. The government slapped a Rs 6 per litre tax on the export of petrol and jet fuel (ATF) and Rs 13 a litre on the export of diesel effective July 1. Additionally, a Rs 23,250 per tonne tax was levied on crude oil produced domestically.
India Inc is looking at the public sector to steer its ambitions, as former PSU heads are taken on board to lead the private sector.
Seven workers were on Monday injured after Central Industrial Security Force personnel opened fire to prevent labourers without valid passes from entering an oil refinery at Paradip in Odisha.
There are about 23 oil refineries in India with a combined capacity of 230 million tonnes per annum.
The BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday plunged about 275 points to close at 25,246 on across-the-board selling as costlier oil due to rising conflict in Iraq threatens to hurt the India economy.
State run refineries stand to gain as govt raised the FDI limit to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.
Glimpses of the Ukrainian grit and determination in the face of Russian attacks.
The UK-based D1 Oils would commission its first refinery for producing biodiesel from Jatropha in Chennai early next year, a senior company executive said.
Implementation of Kirit Parikh Committee recommendations looks bleak and the industry's expectation that all petroleum products including crude oil & natural gas should be included under GST is set to be turned down.
The Centre has garnered around Rs 2,500-3,000 crore in the first five weeks after it imposed a windfall tax on oil and gas companies for the export of fuel, Business Standard has learnt. It is likely that the government will continue with the one-time tax till the Indian crude basket is above $80 a barrel, sources said. The next review of the windfall tax on oil companies is early next week.
RP Singh, managing director of Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, the special purpose vehicle implementing BPCL Bina refinery, had told Business Standard in August that the company was in talks with strategic investors to sell 15 to 20 per cent stake.
Former oil secretary Tarun Kapoor, present and former chairmen of ONGC and a former director of IOC, are among over a dozen people who have applied for the top job at the oil and gas regulator, PNGRB, sources said. Kapoor, who superannuated as Secretary to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas last month, is the most prominent name in the list of 13 persons who have applied to become the chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) chairman and managing director Subhash Kumar and his predecessor Shashi Shanker are also in the race and so is G K Satish, who superannuated as Director for Planning and Business Development from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) a couple of months back.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its latest monthly oil market report projected the world's third-biggest energy consumer to add 0.39 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil demand in 2022. India's oil demand rose from 4.51 million barrels per day in 2020 to 4.76 million bpd in 2021, recording a 5.61 per cent growth.
Govt plans to stop RIL from selling crude to Jamnagar refinery.
After a spike in crude oil and gas prices in October following the Hamas terror attack, prices eased down 9 per cent month-on-month in November. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Opec+ agreed to a further voluntary production cut in January-March 2024 to try and support global crude prices. The best guess here is that crude prices (currently at $75/barrel, or bbl) will not likely cross significantly above $80, and gas prices are also likely to remain subdued unless there's a further escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The government has received three preliminary bids for buying of controlling stake in India's second-largest fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. Mining-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta had on November 18 confirmed putting in an expression of interest (EoI) for buying the government's 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL. The other two bidders are said to be global funds, one of them being Apollo Global Management.
After missing two self-imposed deadlines, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday announced recalibration of a proposed $15 billion deal to sell 20 per cent stake in its oil refinery and petrochemical business to Saudi Aramco, saying the two firms have agreed to re-evaluate the proposed investment in light of the Indian firm's new energy forays. The stake sale talks, which were first officially revealed in August 2019, are being reset in light of Reliance making forays into new energy business in recent months by investing $10 billion in alternative energy over three years. To pivot to green energy, it has already bought a German maker of photovoltaic solar wafers and signed a deal with a Danish company to manufacture hydrogen electrolysers in India.
Include Crude Oil, Natural Gas and petroleum products under GST.
Reliance Industries has sought environment ministry approval for a $13 billion upgrade to its Jamnagar complex, including a 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery.
Indian conglomerate Essar group is understood to have initiated discussions for acquiring 50 per cent stake in a Kenyan refinery from international oil players as part of its move for a global footprint. The refinery in Mombasa, in which the government of Kenya owns a 50 per cent stake, has an annual production capacity of about four million tonnes.
India-born billionaire Lakshmi N Mittal may take 49 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd's under-construction $3 billion refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab.
Production of eight infrastructure sectors recorded an almost flat growth rate of 6 per cent in February as against 5.9 per cent in the same month last year, according to official data released on Friday. The growth in February is lowest in the last three months. The output of core sectors had increased by 8.9 per cent in January 2023 and 7 per cent in December 2022.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will seek concession from Andhra Pradesh government for setting up a 15 million tonne refinery at a cost of Rs 19,000 to Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 190 to Rs 200 billion) at Kakinada.
Indian Oil Corporation plans to invest about Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) for setting up a new 15 million tonnes refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ennore in Tamil Nadu to maintain its position as India's largest refiner.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum may post a combined loss of Rs 10,700 crore in June quarter on selling petrol and diesel at rates below cost, a report said on Monday. While the raw material (crude oil) prices soared in April-June, petrol and diesel prices were not revised, leading to marketing losses which offset strong refining margins, ICICI Securities said in the report. The three state-owned oil marketing companies -- IOC, BPCL and HPCL -- control 90 per cent of the retail petrol and diesel sales in the country.
It grew at an annual 2.6% in the April-February period compared with 5.2% a year earlier.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at its meeting this morning approved the project, official sources said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances