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India Brings Three Energy-Related Ministries Under One Minister

India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought three often-quarreling, energy-related ministries under one minister, hoping to crank up the supply of power the country needs to generate more economic growth. The new Bharatiya Janata Party government said Tuesday that Piyush Goyal will head the power, coal and renewable energy ministries. "The idea is clear. We need more electricity, more power," Mr. Goyal, told reporters as he became the first person to simultaneously head all three ministries. "The intention is to debottleneck the system." He said he plans to visit and study the power network of the western state of Gujarat, which is one of the few states in India with a power surplus. It was until recently led by Mr. Modi. "Narendra Modi was able to turn around the energy sector in Gujarat during his tenure as the chief minister of the state from […]

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Modi victory in Indian elections seen positive for oil, gas sector

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s decisive win in India’s general elections should see key reforms in the oil and gas sector pushed through and could end years of under-investment in the country’s exploration sector. As a first step, analysts expect the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to swiftly raise natural gas prices — which would promote offshore investment — and deregulate diesel prices to cut the government’s subsidy burden. "The oil and gas space in India is ripe for reform, in our view," Credit Suisse said in a recent report. "Many measures have already been implemented, and a strong new government at the center can potentially continue and complete the reform process," the bank said. Analysts at Bernstein Research echoed a similar sentiment, saying that they expected a Modi election win to be positive for the oil and gas sector. "After stalling […]

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Pakistan needs Iran’s gas, envoy says

-Pakistan’s energy sector is in such disarray that it has few choices apart from a natural gas pipeline from Iran, the former Iranian envoy to Pakistan said. Ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian told Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency there are rivals to a pipeline clouded by sanctions imposed on Iran’s energy sector. "Owing to the grave conditions of energy (supply and demand) in Pakistan, some of the country’s major cities spend half of the day without electricity, meaning that Pakistan’s need to energy is real and inevitable," he said Sunday. Iran last year pulled out of a finance deal for Pakistan because of sanctions pressure. Pakistan was slated to get 21 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Iranian pipeline. The U.S. government supports a rival pipeline that would deliver natural gas to Pakistan from Turkmenistan. Last year, Washington said it was negotiating […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pakistan needs Iran's gas, envoy says

-Pakistan’s energy sector is in such disarray that it has few choices apart from a natural gas pipeline from Iran, the former Iranian envoy to Pakistan said. Ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian told Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency there are rivals to a pipeline clouded by sanctions imposed on Iran’s energy sector. "Owing to the grave conditions of energy (supply and demand) in Pakistan, some of the country’s major cities spend half of the day without electricity, meaning that Pakistan’s need to energy is real and inevitable," he said Sunday. Iran last year pulled out of a finance deal for Pakistan because of sanctions pressure. Pakistan was slated to get 21 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Iranian pipeline. The U.S. government supports a rival pipeline that would deliver natural gas to Pakistan from Turkmenistan. Last year, Washington said it was negotiating […]

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Reliance, BP, Niko Seek Arbitration With India Over Gas Prices

Reliance Industries Ltd. , the operator of India’s biggest natural-gas find, and its partners BP PLC and Niko Resources Ltd. said Saturday that they have sought arbitration with the Indian government in an effort to force implementation of a planned price increase for natural gas. India’s government sets gas prices in the domestic market. India’s cabinet last year approved a plan to increase the price of natural gas to around $8 per million metric British Thermal units from $4.20 now. The oil ministry in January said the new price would come into effect from April 1 and would be revised quarterly. India’s election watchdog in March, however, deferred the implementation of the federal-government decision, saying it could affect the outcome of national elections which began in May and end on Monday. Results are set to be announced Friday. "We have received the arbitration notice. We will take […]

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Pakistan cuts gas supply to industry, CNG pumps to curb blackouts

Pakistan plans to cut natural gas supply by around 150,000 Mcf/d to fertilizer plants and CNG pumps to increase electricity supply to cities facing daily rolling blackouts, according to officials in the power and oil ministries. The ministries decided to reduce the duration of load shedding in the eastern Punjab province, where daily power outages last 10-14 hours, the two sources said on condition of anonymity. Pakistan’s fertilizer sector previously consumed about 600,000 Mcf/day of gas, and CNG pumps use about 400,000 Mcf/day. On Thursday, the government started reducing gas supply to fertilizer plants by 50,000-75,000 Mcf/d, with the remainder of the cuts coming soon, the sources said. The plan is expected to generate about 600 MW, still well below the 4 GW shortfall. Pakistan’s overall electricity output stands at 11.5 GW, about 74% of total demand of 15.5 GW, the sources said. Hydropower […]

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Indian Apr coal imports rise 6.45% on month to 15.9 mil mt: Interocean

India imported around 15.86 million mt of coal at 24 major ports in April, up 6.45% from March, according to data released Wednesday by Indian ship broker Interocean. The April imports consisted of 12.3 million mt of thermal coal, up 8.76% from March, and 3.56 million mt of coking coal, down 0.84%. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the highest coal shipments last month at 2.98 million mt, down 18.88% from 3.67 million mt in March. It also received the highest steam coal shipments at 2.98 million mt, up 27.26% from 2.34 million mt in March. Paradip port on the east coast received the most coking coal last month, 754,159 mt up 0.29% on the month. The surveyed ports were: Kandla, Navlakhi, Mundra, Bhavnagar, Pipavav, Muldwarka, Bedi, Magdalla, Dahej, Dharamtar, Haji Bunder, Jaigarh, Goa, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Ennore, Karaikal, Krishnapatnam, Kakinada, Gangavaram, Vizag, Paradip, […]

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Oman Eyes Minority Stake in India LNG Project

Oman is in talks with India to buy a minority stake in Petronet LNG Ltd. ‘s planned liquefied natural gas terminal off India’s east coast, the middle-eastern nation’s oil and gas minister said Wednesday. Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Rumhy told reporters on the sidelines of an event that Oman wants to buy a 10% to 20% stake in the 5 million tonne a year LNG terminal at Gangavaram, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The stake could be bought through an investment or pension fund, he added. "Petronet’s track record in the terminal business is attractive……..There are synergies (as well)," he said. Indian state-run companies Corp. , Indian Oil Corp. , Bharat Petroleum Corp. and GAIL hold a 12.5% stake each in Petronet. French power company GDF Suez owns 10% and the Asian Development Bank another 5.2%. The rest is held by public, insurance companies and mutual funds. […]

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Federal Polls Push Up India Crude Oil Imports

India’s crude oil imports rose by nearly a quarter in February as demand for fuel products rose ahead of federal polls that begin from next week. The world’s third-biggest crude oil importer after the U.S. and China bought 16.42 million metric tons, or 4.29 million barrels a day of oil, from overseas last month, up from 13.37 million tons a year earlier, according to oil ministry data. Crude oil refiners say the demand for crude is up due mainly to the steady rise in demand for fuel products as political parties burn more gasoline and diesel to power their campaign for the federal elections. Fuel demand in February rose 2.4 per cent to 12.836 million tons from a year earlier. According to a senior government official, imports also rose because local refineries raised crude oil processing volumes to meet their fiscal-year throughput target. The annual crude oil contracts […]

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Facing Rising Seas, Bangladesh Confronts the Consequences of Climate Change

When a powerful storm destroyed her riverside home in 2009, Jahanara Khatun lost more than the modest roof over her head. In the aftermath, her husband died and she became so destitute that she sold her son and daughter into bonded servitude. And she may lose yet more. Ms. Khatun now lives in a bamboo shack that sits below sea level about 50 yards from a sagging berm. She spends her days collecting cow dung for fuel and struggling to grow vegetables in soil poisoned by salt water. Climate scientists predict that this area will be inundated as sea levels rise and storm surges increase, and a cyclone or another disaster could […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple