No period in the recent history of Indian oil and gas sector will perhaps leave its long- lasting imprint than 2010 that saw the unfolding of two events that could shape the future of this fast growing sphere.
Global trends and the Covid situation in China would drive the equity markets this week, which may also see volatility amid the scheduled derivatives expiry on Thursday, said analysts. According to analysts, investor sentiment remained subdued last week amid surging Covid cases in China and a few other nations. Also, stronger US growth data has cemented expectations of the Federal Reserve continuing with its hawkish stance, which added to the muted trend.
Rising geopolitical uncertainty, a falling dollar and the growing speculative interest in commodities trading will keep crude prices volatile.
Wipro was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, slipping nearly 2 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and Bajaj Finserv. On the other hand, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints and Maruti were among the gainers.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that surging global oil prices may pull down India's economic growth by 0.5 per cent but expected stable interest rates to spur investment.
Benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday, halting their eight days of rally, ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and mixed global market trends. Also, fall in index majors Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Larsen & Toubro added to the weak trend in equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 161.41 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 61,193.30.
Dilip Shanghvi's Sun Oil & Natural Gas, signed a deal for the transfer of Interlink Petroleum's interest in the Modhera and Baola fields.
Whether this remains under control in the coming months will depend on the future intensity and spread of the Russia-Ukraine war, and the effectiveness of the Indian government's response, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Indian industry wants the government adopt a multi-pronged approach to de-risk the country's oil needs by conserving energy, promoting alternative sources and building strategic reserves, a Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry su
Retail inflation rose to three-month high of 4.81 per cent in June, mainly on account of hardening prices of food, according to the government data. Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 4.31 per per (revised upward from 4.25 per cent) in May and 7 per cent in June 2022. The inflation, however, remains within the RBI's comfort level of below 6 per cent.
Reflecting subdued global economic growth, India's outward foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 33.3 per cent sequentially to $1.21 billion in August, compared to over $1.82 billion in July.
The year is not yet over and a few more duty hikes are not ruled out.
Government has put on auction the gas discovery area it snatched from Reliance Industries in KG-D6 block and the field that Cairn India is seeking to regain around its Rajasthan block.
Benchmark Brent oil futures prices more than halved between June 2014 and January 2015.
Transmeridian has been on the radar of ONGC Videsh Ltd (the overseas investment arm of ONGC) for sometime now.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has discovered natural gas reserves in Krishna Godavari basin off the Andhra coast, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said on Tuesday.
Equity markets rallied after softer-than-expected inflation data in the US and UK rekindled hopes of the end of the rate-hiking cycle by major central banks. The soft inflation reading drove down bond yields and the US dollar, whetting the appetite for risky assets. The 10-year US bond yield fell below 4.5 per cent after topping 5 per cent less than a month ago.
The 28 discoveries include Charada structure and Matar field in Cambay basin (Gujarat) and YSAF in KG basin (off Andhra Pradesh coast), the company said. The discoveries made in FY'09 have been notified to the directorate general of hydrocarbons.
The company had scaled down capex in D1 and D3 fields to $5.93 billion from the $8.84 billion spending it had proposed in 2006.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said India has ramped up the import of crude oil from Russia at discounted prices amid sanctions on Moscow as part of the country's inflation management. "In a situation where global prices were going beyond anyone's affordability, at that stage to take a very strong political decision, I respect the prime minister for his courage on this to get it from Russia because they are ready to give it to you at discount. And how speedily did we manage to do it," she said. India ramped up its import from Russia from about 2 per cent of the total shipment of petroleum products to 12-13 per cent in a couple of months as part of inflation management, she said at a seminar organised by economic think-tank Icrier.
Equity benchmark Sensex declined over 215 points on Wednesday, weighed by losses in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Steel, after the Reserve Bank raised the key interest rate by 35 basis points. Subdued Asian markets and continued selling by foreign investors also weighed on sentiment, traders said. Extending its losses for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 215.68 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 62,410.68.
Unless there is a sharp uptick in oil prices, Fed may push back rate hike
'The risk is in not being invested and missing out on an upmove.'
Myanmar is likely to award at least one offshore oil and gas exploration block and refinery revamp project to Indian firms even as New Delhi is exploring the possibility of piping
The oil explorer's IPO received bids for 80.93 crore (809.3 million) shares against 2.64 crore (26.4 million) on offer as on 1600 hrs. Investment banking sources said that the portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers got subscribed 54 times, while the non-institutional and retail investors bid 9.77 times and 1.14 times respectively.
Retail inflation dipped marginally to 6.44 per cent in February, mainly on account of a slight easing in prices of food and fuel items though it remained above the Reserve Bank's comfort level of 6 per cent for the second month in a row. As per the government data released on Monday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation was at 6.52 per cent in January and 6.07 per cent in February 2022. The retail inflation rate for the food basket worked out to be 5.95 per cent in February, marginally lower than 6 per cent in January.
Post-cessation, activities related to the safe shutdown of the field are underway.
The last year has seen public sector undertakings (PSUs) outperforming the Nifty50, albeit by a small degree. But PSU valuations are still, on average, less than half of private sector peers at price-to-equity or PE 8.7x for the Nifty PSU Index versus 20.9x for the Nifty50. There are several reasons for lower valuation.
Power Grid, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti and Nestle were among the laggards. Shares of HCL Technologies were trading over 1 per cent lower even after the company reported a 7.6 per cent year-on-year rise in June quarter net profit on the back of new order wins.
The government had allowed companies in February last year to launch probe missions to find more oil and gas within already-producing areas.
A piece of slightly negative news can cause a serious setback, warns Debashis Basu.
OVL, the overseas arm of state-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, and Oil India Limited agreed in June last year to jointly buy Videocon's 10 per cent interest in the Rovuma Area 1 for $2.475 billion.
Chairman and managing director R S Sharma said, "Our oil production, after a ten-year flat growth, is projected to increase by about three million tonnes (annually) in the next two-three years and gas production from 62 million cubic metres per day is expected to cross 100 million cubic metres per day in the next five-six years."
Global funds, according to Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, are now beginning to pay more attention to India with the market now offering 30 companies with a market capitalisation over $25 billion.
Russian traders have started asking for payments in ruble for their exports to India in a move that could derail trade between the two countries which gathered pace after the war in Europe. This is because Indian importers are unable to pay in ruble. The India-Russia trade gathered pace after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February this year. In the April-June quarter, India's imports from Russia were valued at $9.27 billion, up 369 per cent year on year.
The Reserve Bank has notified that all transfer of stake or interest in an oil and gas field to non-residents will be treated as FDI and will have to be reported under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is in talks with two Middle-East Asian companies to acquire stake in an oil field in Sudan that is estimated to hold oil reserves in excess of 3.5 billion barrels.
We take a look at Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has been Africa's and the Arab world's longest-ruling, most erratic leader, presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just 6 million people.
With an eye on the adverse fallout of rising oil prices, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said the government's subsidy bill for petroleum products and fertilisers might cross the projections for 2011-12 and put fiscal consolidation plans under strain.
