Despite ongoing tensions in West Asia, the successful arrival of the LPG carrier 'Nanda Devi' in Gujarat ensures a steady supply of liquefied petroleum gas to India, highlighting the country's efforts to secure its energy needs.
A US-sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude oil is heading to India, marking the resumption of oil imports from Iran after seven years.
Historically, India was a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing significant volumes of Iranian light and heavy grades due to strong refinery compatibility and favourable commercial terms.
Three Indian-flagged crude oil tankers, Desh Vaibhav, Desh Vibhor, and Sanmar Herald, successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz and are en route to India, even as Iran announced the closure of the critical waterway following Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assures India's energy security amidst West Asia tensions, highlighting naval protection of tankers and readiness to counter cross-border terrorism.
Indian refiners are recalibrating their crude sourcing strategy due to supply disruptions in West Asia, leading to Venezuela and Brazil emerging as top five suppliers in April, replacing traditional sources like Iraq and the United States.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Friday shared key details on agreements between India and the UAE, stating that the UAE will store up to 30 million barrels of crude oil in India's strategic petroleum reserve following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
India has refuted claims of payment issues hindering crude oil imports from Iran, clarifying that refiners have the flexibility to source oil from various global suppliers. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas addressed reports of a tanker rerouting to China, emphasising standard industry practices and secured oil requirements.
Indian private sector and State-run refiners continued to receive crude oil from Russian suppliers even after November 21 -- the winding-down date for US sanctions on supplies from leading Russian oil producers imposed in October -- as new intermediaries sprung up in West Asia to sell the oil, according to senior refining sources and ship tracking data.
From just 0.2 per cent before the Russia-Ukraine war to now accounting for 35-40 per cent of total crude imports, India's reliance on Russian oil has surged -- drawing fresh scrutiny with US President Donald Trump announcing a penalty on top of a 25 per cent tariff, or tax, on all goods going to the US.
Rosneft bought a 49 per cent stake in Essar Oil's refinery port and petrol pumps, while Netherlands-based Trafigura Group Pte, one of the world's biggest commodity trading companies, and Russian investment fund United Capital Partners split another 49 per cent equity equally.
The exploration and production assets of Essar Oil will not be part of the Rosneft deal and would continue to remain with the Group.
The move comes days after the Indian Navy also warned of a possible terror attack from the sea side.
Russian oil supplies to India will continue to flow unhindered and suppliers will come up with ways to sidestep secondary sanctions, a Russian official told Business Standard.
The agreement came in after the Ruias agreed to clear most of the Rs 26,000-crore dues to the lenders on completion of the transaction.
'He asserted in his usual jovial style that he was not an MBA like his audience at IIM-Ahmedabad but perhaps had an even better business degree: MBB'. 'He went on to explain to his perplexed, blue chip B-School audience that MBB stood for "Marwadi by birth"!' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Shashi Ruia, co-founder of the Essar group who passed into the ages on November 25, 2024 in Mumbai.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, has renewed a deal to buy up to 2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2022 from Russia's Rosneft, the Russian oil producer said. IOC had in February 2020 signed a deal with Rosneft Oil Company to import up to 2 million tonnes of oil via the port of Novorossiysk. In 2021, the deal envisaged supply of up to 1.7 million tonnes of crude oil but IOC bought just on parcel or shipload as the cost of transporting the oil made it uneconomical, when compared to alternatives. For 2022, the deal is for the supply of up to 2 million tonnes of oil from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Profit taking in index heavweights RIL and HDFC weighed on sentiment while ICICI Bank surged 7%.
Financials were the top losers after sharp gains in the previous session along with ITC
The surge in deal value is largely due to the $12.9 bn Essar-Rosneft deal
ONGC was the top performer while private banking major ICICI Bank extended gains
ICICI Bank extended yesterday gains, rising 10% in two trading sessions
The Essar Oil, Rosneft deal also helped Arpwood Capital, boutique investment bank, co-founded by Rajeev Gupta and Raj Kataria, to grab the second spot in the mergers and acquisitions league table.
'Indian diplomacy in West Asia under the present government has been a success story -- and with Saudi Arabia in particular,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Last June, the group had delisted Essar Energy from the London Stock Exchange as well.
A vilification campaign against Rosneft has begun in right earnest, says M K Bhadrakumar.
In 2017, a consortium led by Russian state oil company Rosneft agreed to buy Essar Oil for $12.9 billion in India's biggest foreign acquisition of a homegrown company. Rosneft's buyout of Essar's assets was meant to herald a wave of energy investments in India - over six decades after Esso, Caltex and Shell invested in India's refining sector in the 1950s. But the government has tripped up in its efforts to sell Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), formerly Burmah Shell, a blue chip public sector company. Bidders include a couple of global funds and resources firm Vedanta.
An estimated 30,000 people along coastal areas will be moved to safer places in Kutch district of Gujarat from Wednesday as the very severe cyclonic storm Nilofar hurtles towards the state and slams it by November 1 afternoon.
At $12-bn valuation, this will be India's largest FDI; deal to be announced on Saturday, says Dev Chatterjee.
