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Refiners Eye Better Oil Deal Terms on U.S. Boom: Corporate India

India, Asia ’s second-biggest energy user, is in talks with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for better terms on oil contracts as surging U.S. output frees up supplies. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. (HPCL) , India’s third-largest state refiner, is seeking to at least double the interest-free credit period for crude purchases from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to 60 days, B.K. Namdeo, the company’s refineries director, said in Mumbai. Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) wants price discounts for agreeing to contracts that are more than 10 years long, according to Managing Director P.P. Upadhya. “Discussions are going on, and we expect the extended credit period to be reflected in the new contracts from April 1,” Namdeo said. “There is a surplus in the market, and India should take full advantage of the situation.” A shale-oil boom in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer, has pushed crude production to […]

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Pakistan frustrated with gas import options

Pakistan’s former petroleum secretary expressed doubts about gas supplies from neighbors but the government said Iranian negotiations could bring relief. Gulfraz Ahmad told delegates at an energy forum in Islamabad the U.S. government’s nuclear energy assistance to India partly derailed a trilateral gas pipeline from Iran, the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune reported Friday "After withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan , I fear Washington will again be opposing TAPI pipeline following a shift in its policies," he was quoted as saying. TAPI refers to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, which the United States has backed in favor of the Iranian gas pipeline. Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Alsama was quoted by rival newspaper the Nation, however, as saying waning sanctions pressure on Iran could breathe new life into that pipeline option. "We hope that the process [nuclear negotiations with Iran] would lead to successful settling […]

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Coal crunch gives impetus to India’s solar switch

For six years in a row, India’s monopoly coal producer has missed its production targets, leading to chronic electricity shortages and sending power producers scrambling for pricier imports. But what looks like a looming crisis could turn out to be an almost accidental energy overhaul. Like many developing nations, India has relied for decades on cheap coal to provide electricity for burgeoning industry and fast-expanding cities, putting aside worries about pollution and global warming. But from three years ago when solar capacity was almost zero, the country has added 2.2 gigawatts of solar to its electricity grid, enough to power 20 million Indian homes. It plans another 2 GW this year, toward a total 15 GW addition by 2017. Individual states plan even more. India has also added about 26 GW in coal-fired capacity since 2011, but already plants are sitting idle for […]

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Coal crunch gives impetus to India's solar switch

For six years in a row, India’s monopoly coal producer has missed its production targets, leading to chronic electricity shortages and sending power producers scrambling for pricier imports. But what looks like a looming crisis could turn out to be an almost accidental energy overhaul. Like many developing nations, India has relied for decades on cheap coal to provide electricity for burgeoning industry and fast-expanding cities, putting aside worries about pollution and global warming. But from three years ago when solar capacity was almost zero, the country has added 2.2 gigawatts of solar to its electricity grid, enough to power 20 million Indian homes. It plans another 2 GW this year, toward a total 15 GW addition by 2017. Individual states plan even more. India has also added about 26 GW in coal-fired capacity since 2011, but already plants are sitting idle for […]

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India’s Diesel Subsidy Spurs Pollution Worse Than Beijing

Molecular biologist George Easow’s move to India to start a clinical diagnostics business lasted just three weeks before he was convinced to return to the U.K. The convincing was done by his seven-month-old daughter Fiona. Within days of moving to New Delhi , the child was wheezing and gasping for air because of smog. “She could hardly breathe,” said her father. Fiona was kept indoors and put on medication. Nothing worked. “We had to make a call,” Easow said, adding her symptoms disappeared once back in the U.K. and haven’t returned. For the 16.8 million residents of India’s capital, the wheezing continues. The bad news is it’s going to get worse. New Delhi isn’t alone as cities across the nation suffer from some of the worst air quality in the world. That’s costing the country 1.1 trillion rupees ($18 billion) in shortened life spans of productive […]

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India moves ahead in forming coal regulator

India has given the go-ahead for the creation of a regulator for the country’s coal sector. "The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given [the] nod to the proposal to set up [a] coal regulator through an executive order," Press Trust of India quoted a senior minister as saying Thursday. Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had informed Parliament last week the regulator would be set up by executive order "as enactment of legislation would take some time," Press Trust reports. The bill is pending but the current session of Parliament is the last before a general election likely to take place in April and May. Nearly 70 percent of India’s electricity is generated by coal. "India’s coal-centered energy landscape will not change dramatically over the next 30 years," the International Energy Agency stated in a 2012 report. India’s Ministry of Power estimates 62 gigawatts […]

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New Delhi orders probe on gas pricing

New Delhi’s government called for a criminal probe of charges against federal oil minister Veerappa Moily, Reliance Industries Ltd.’s Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and others following complaints of irregularities in the pricing of natural gas in the Krishna-Godavari basin. The capital city’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Tuesday the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government was asked to probe the issue based on complaints filed by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, former Navy chief Adm. Tarun Tahiliani, a lawyer and a former expenditure secretary, Press Trust of India reports. The issue relates to the federal government’s plans to allow producers to increase the price of natural gas to around $8 per million metric British thermal unit from the current price of $4.20, from April 1. Kejriwal said the complaint alleged "collusion between some union ministers and Reliance Industries Ltd." that purportedly […]

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India needs nuclear power, for now — minister

India needs to rely on nuclear power until it can further develop renewable energy, a government official said. New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah, speaking at the opening Thursday of Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2014, cited India’s growing needs for energy amid its developing economy. "India is moving forward. India needs energy. Therefore, please forgive us. We have to use nuclear energy [until] renewable energy comes up to such a level that we are able to dispense with fossil fuels and nuclear energy," Press Trust of India quoted Abdullah as saying. India, the fourth largest energy consumer in the world after the United States, China and Russia, has increased its oil imports from about 40 percent of demand in 1990 to more than 70 percent of demand by 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , at […]

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Asians concerned about future of energy: study

Energy shortages and higher energy prices are among the chief concerns of people surveyed in nine Asian countries, a study commissioned by Shell indicates. Shell Pakistan, in a news release Tuesday announcing the findings of the "Future Energy Survey," noted that by 2030, the world will require 40 percent to 50 percent more energy, water and food, amid rising demand and increasing population. The study by Paris-based market research firm Ipsos involved 8,446 participants in nine Asian countries — Brunei, Korea, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — from January to December 2013: Specific concerns revealed by the survey, Shell says, include: 91 percent of respondents in Thailand and 70 percent in South Korea cited energy shortages as a chief concern; 91 percent of respondents in India and 79 percent of respondents in Singapore cited higher energy prices; in Vietnam, water shortages […]

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Initial agreement signed for mega solar project in India

A group of state-owned Indian companies have signed an initial agreement for setting up what the government says is the world’s largest solar power plant. The 4,000-megawatt plant in the northwestern state of Rajasthan would be spread across 19,000 acres. "The MOU signed today will have to get the approval of the Cabinet and then the project will move forward," Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel said at the signing ceremony in New Delhi Wednesday, Press Trust of India reports. The consortium of six state-run companies includes Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, known as BHEL, and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. Construction for the first phase of 1,000 megawatts is expected to start in about three years. The plant will rely on crystalline silicon technology. The Hindu newspaper cited New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah as saying at the […]

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Indian lawmaker group calls for boosting renewable electricity

India has 7.5 million households without access to electricity, a new report by a group of Indian lawmakers says. The report, submitted Monday to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by the lawmakers, known as the Climate Parliament Group of MPs, notes that per capita electricity consumption in the country’s rural households was 8 units per month compared to 24 units in urban households. "The reason for such low level of consumption is not low demand, but poor access to energy. In spite of a number of programs and schemes for rural electrification, India has one of the lowest levels of access to modern energy," Press Trust of India quotes the report, "RE-Energising India: Policy, Regulatory and Financial Initiatives to Augment Renewable Energy Deployment in India," as saying. Noting the Indian government in 2001-02 had pledged to provide "electricity for all by 2012," a […]

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India to review oil and gas estimates

The Indian government announced plans to review more than a dozen basins across the country to update its estimated oil and natural gas potential. M. Veerappa Moily, India’s energy minister, set up a multilateral team to reassess the nation’s reserve potential. The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, reported the team will spend the next 30 months evaluating the reserve potential in 26 basins across India. The survey covers an estimated 1.2 million square miles of Indian territory. The newspaper reported Monday the last such exercise was carried out 20 years ago for 15 reserve areas. The Indian government is looking to secure more oil and gas reserves to help support its expanding economy. In early January, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. said it expects to produce as much as 353 million cubic feet of natural gas from offshore reserves by 2018. The […]

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Iran looking at exporting natural gas to India via deep sea

Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor was found dead in a Delhi hotel on Friday night. Follow us for the latest updates on the case. The Congress vice-president must rethink his speeches. He needs to bring these down to the level of the common man if he wants to make any impact. In 1947, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Calcutta, Adinath Sen, welcomed a young bride into his home. Given how rich and well-respected Sen was, to be his daughter in-law must have been something of a coup, even though there was gossip about how Sen junior was a party boy inclined to both alcohol and […] Its net revenue stood at Rs 1.03 lakh crore vs estimate Of Rs 1.04 lakh crore. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stood at Rs 7,622 crore, higher than the estimate of Rs 7,420 crore. Without […]

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Pakistani official says Iranian gas line slowed by funding issues

Slow development of a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan is caused by funding issues, not pressure from the United States, a Pakistani official said. "The gas pipeline is a bilateral issue between Pakistan and Iran," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said during a Thursday news briefing. Pakistan says a pipeline from Iran could help offset an energy shortage brought on by aging infrastructure and a crumbling energy sector. Envisioned more than a decade ago as a pipeline that could reach to India, the project has come up against pressure from Western powers concerned about its benefits to Iran. Aslam said the development was plagued more by the lack of funding than by pressure from any foreign government. "The progress on pipeline has been slow because of the funding issues and not because of the United States," she said. Pakistan could get 21 million […]

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Pakistan’s Oil & Gas to Boost Supply as Deficit Hurts Growth

; Gas Development Co., Pakistan ’s biggest energy explorer, will boost gas output from existing fields by a third in the next 12 to 18 months as energy shortages hamper growth and shut factories. “We are working on six projects and expect to increase gas supplies by about 350 million cubic feet a day,” Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan said in an interview yesterday. “The major portion of gas would come in this financial year” which ends June 30, he said. New supply is needed to ease gas shortages that widened to about 2 billion cubic feet a day during peak hours this winter causing social unrest and shutting factories in the nation of over 196 million people. Pakistan’s production of natural gas has plateaued since 2008, the country’s central bank said in a report yesterday. Gas from existing reservoirs of Kunnar Pasakhi Deep, […]

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Pakistan’s Oil & Gas to Boost Supply as Deficit Hurts Growth

; Gas Development Co., Pakistan ’s biggest energy explorer, will boost gas output from existing fields by a third in the next 12 to 18 months as energy shortages hamper growth and shut factories. “We are working on six projects and expect to increase gas supplies by about 350 million cubic feet a day,” Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan said in an interview yesterday. “The major portion of gas would come in this financial year” which ends June 30, he said. New supply is needed to ease gas shortages that widened to about 2 billion cubic feet a day during peak hours this winter causing social unrest and shutting factories in the nation of over 196 million people. Pakistan’s production of natural gas has plateaued since 2008, the country’s central bank said in a report yesterday. Gas from existing reservoirs of Kunnar Pasakhi Deep, […]

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India to cut Iran crude imports to 9-9.5 mil mt in 2014-15

India will lower its crude oil imports from Iran by 15% to 9 million-9.5 million mt in fiscal year 2014-2015 (April-March), from an estimated 11 million mt in fiscal 2013-2014, a senior petroleum ministry official said Tuesday. Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. — two of the largest importers of Iranian crude in the country — are expected to end the current fiscal year with imports of 4 million-4.5 million mt each, and Indian Oil Corp. will import around 1 million mt, R.K Singh, joint secretary for refineries at the petroleum ministry, said on the sidelines of the Petrotech 2014 conference near New Delhi. This is down from 13.3 million mt in fiscal year 2012-2013. The cut is in line with the 15% annual reduction countries have to show to be eligible for US waivers from sanctions against Iran, he said. […]

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India reviews diesel deregulation for bulk consumers: official

India is reviewing its policy of deregulating diesel prices for bulk consumers introduced in January 2013 after bulk sales have dropped as those consumers shifted to the retail sector, a senior oil ministry official said Thursday. "Bulk diesel sales have dropped dramatically and [as a result] subsidies have increased," Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae said. Rae was speaking on the sidelines of a Petrotech 2014 pre-conference session in New Delhi. India in January 2013 allowed oil companies to raise diesel prices each month by Rupees 0.50/liter in the retail sector but announced deregulated prices for bulk consumers. Bulk consumers include state-run bus transport corporations, the Indian Railways, and small and medium-size enterprises that use gasoil to run their facilities. They buy gasoil directly from refineries. The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, which is a part of the oil ministry, in a November report on […]

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India's Dec coal imports fall 4% on month to 12.2 mil mt: Interocean

India’s coal imports via major ports across the country dropped 4% month on month in December, to around 12.2 million mt, data released late Tuesday by Indian ship broker Interocean showed. In November, imports totaled 12.7 million mt. Of the total imports in December, 2.6 million mt was coking coal, up 53% from 1.7 million mt in the previous month, while steam coal comprised 9.6 million mt, down 13% from 11 million mt in November, the data showed. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the largest quantity of coal shipments in December, at 2 million mt, down 17% from 2.4 million mt in November. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader International International Coal Report Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and […]

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India’s Dec coal imports fall 4% on month to 12.2 mil mt: Interocean

India’s coal imports via major ports across the country dropped 4% month on month in December, to around 12.2 million mt, data released late Tuesday by Indian ship broker Interocean showed. In November, imports totaled 12.7 million mt. Of the total imports in December, 2.6 million mt was coking coal, up 53% from 1.7 million mt in the previous month, while steam coal comprised 9.6 million mt, down 13% from 11 million mt in November, the data showed. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the largest quantity of coal shipments in December, at 2 million mt, down 17% from 2.4 million mt in November. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader International International Coal Report Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and […]

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Pakistan has sanctions jitters over Iranian gas pipeline

A planned natural gas pipeline from Iran isn’t protected from Western economic sanctions, the Pakistani Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said. A Pakistani Senate committee was told by the ministry that relaxed sanctions that came as a result of last year’s interim nuclear deal with Iran didn’t extend to a planned natural gas pipeline from Iran, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported Tuesday. Pakistan says its aging infrastructure has left it with a crumbling energy sector and a subsequent need for an external source of natural gas. Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said companies normally slated for pipeline construction on the Pakistani side of the border would likely face sanctions once the work began. Iran says it has the pipeline completed on its side of the border. The Pakistani government said it wants to meet with its Iranian counterparts to discuss the issue later this […]

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India urges Asian unity for fair LNG pricing

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged Asian buyers of imported liquefied natural gas to unite to demand fair pricing. LNG prices in Asia are higher than those in Europe and North America because the cost in Asia is linked to crude oil prices under long-term contracts. Speaking at the dedication of Petronet’s Kochi LNG terminal in Kerala Saturday, Singh said Asia "has been the driver of the global LNG demand in recent times. It is therefore important that major buyers of LNG in Asia come together to demand a fair pricing mechanism for gas being imported from outside of Asia." "I hope to see India contribute towards an effort of this kind in the future," the prime minister added. Gas buyers from India, China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan met in December to discuss how they could use their collective purchasing power to […]

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Reliance Industries To Up Output from India's Richest Gas Deposit

Reliance Industries Ltd. will raise natural gas output from a new well in India’s richest gas deposit from this month, which could help it to reverse months of declining output. The company is expecting to add between 1.5-2 million metric standard cubic metres a day (MMSCMD) by this month from its current output level of around 12 MMSCMD. The additional output will come from the well located in MA field in the east coast Krishna-Godavri D 6 block, a company spokesman told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. Production in the east coast KG D-6 block has declined from around 61 MMSCMD in 2010, he said. Reliance says the decline in natural gas output from the east coast block is due to geological complexities. Any additional natural gas output would be welcomed by India, which imports nearly 75% of its energy needs to feed […]

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Reliance Industries To Up Output from India’s Richest Gas Deposit

Reliance Industries Ltd. will raise natural gas output from a new well in India’s richest gas deposit from this month, which could help it to reverse months of declining output. The company is expecting to add between 1.5-2 million metric standard cubic metres a day (MMSCMD) by this month from its current output level of around 12 MMSCMD. The additional output will come from the well located in MA field in the east coast Krishna-Godavri D 6 block, a company spokesman told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. Production in the east coast KG D-6 block has declined from around 61 MMSCMD in 2010, he said. Reliance says the decline in natural gas output from the east coast block is due to geological complexities. Any additional natural gas output would be welcomed by India, which imports nearly 75% of its energy needs to feed […]

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Exclusive: China commits $6.5 billion for Pakistani nuclear project

China has committed $6.5 billion to finance the construction of a major nuclear power project in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi as it seeks to strengthen ties with its strategic partner, Pakistani officials said. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif broke ground on the $9.59 billion project last month but officials have provided few details of how they plan to finance it. Financing documents seen by Reuters showed China National Nuclear Cooperation (CNNC) has promised to grant a loan of at least $6.5 billion to finance the project which will have two reactors with a capacity of 1,100 megawatts each. Two members of the government’s energy team and three sources close to the deal confirmed this. CNNC was not available for comment. "China has complete confidence in Pakistan’s capacity to run a nuclear power plant with all checks in place," said Ansar Parvez, chairman of the Pakistan […]

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Water security: ‘Water scarcity has put survival in jeopardy’

Increasing population worldwide, particularly in Pakistan has caused deterioration of the environment and challenges of food and water security, speakers at a seminar on Integrated Flood Management said on Tuesday. The seminar was organised at the New Senate Hall by the Water Management Research Centre of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. It was chaired by Vice Chancellor Iqrar Ahmad Khan. Dr Khan said 43 per cent of the world’s population lived in urban centres… urbanisation was also on the rise in Asia. By 2020, half of Asia’s population would be living in cities, he said. “We need to take emergency measures to provide water facilities for cities and create awareness about rational use of water,” said Dr Khan. Pakistan is barely above the 1,000 cubic metres per capita benchmark for water scarcity, he said. This would worsen in the […]

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Iran advises Pakistan to seek outside help on pipeline

An Iranian deputy energy minister said his government was recommending Pakistan look for a third party to help finance a natural gas pipeline from Iran. "Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh recommended Islamabad demand help from third-party companies for the completion and acceleration of the project on the Pakistani soil," Ali Majedi, a deputy petroleum minister in charge of international affairs, said. He was quoted by The News International, a Pakistani newspaper, as saying Monday it was possible that some of those companies could buy natural gas from Iran and then sell it to Pakistan. Iran last week backed out of a $500 million finance commitment to help Pakistan build the pipeline on its side of the border because of the sanctions constraints. Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his government was still interested in the project, though it was […]

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India may face gas shortage

A Parliamentary standing committee has expressed fear that India could witness acute shortage of natural gas in two years, which may not be met even through imports due to lack of infrastructure. “As the government pursued the economic policy to achieve high growth, the demand for natural gas has also sharply increased in India during the past few years, and is expected to escalate further,” said the Parliamentary standing committee on petroleum and natural gas in a report. “As during 2012-13 there was only 134 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas available including the imported LNG against the demand of 286 mmscmd. Thus there was huge unmet demand of 152 mmscmd,” it said. It said that in 2015-16, the expected gap would be to the tune of 300 mmscmd. “As against the demand of 439 mmscmd, the available gas supply would be 139 mmscmd […]

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Pakistani Shi'ite cleric shot dead in reprisal attack

A prominent Pakistani Shi’ite Muslim cleric has been shot dead in an apparent reprisal attack following the murder this month of a Sunni Muslim leader, police said on Monday. Sectarian violence has been on the rise in Pakistan, adding to the list of concerns for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a time when security forces are already stretched fighting an escalating Taliban insurgency in the northwest of the country. Allama Nasir Abbas, leader of Tehreek Nifaz Fiqah-e-Jafaria, a banned Shi’ite organisation, was shot by unknown gunmen on a motorbike as he drove home after addressing a religious gathering in the city of Lahore on Sunday evening. "It’s a targeted attack. The gunmen shot him from close range when he was driving home along with his driver and a friend," Lahore police chief Chaudhry Shafeeq told Reuters. "Abbas died on the way to hospital. His driver and […]

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Pakistani Shi’ite cleric shot dead in reprisal attack

A prominent Pakistani Shi’ite Muslim cleric has been shot dead in an apparent reprisal attack following the murder this month of a Sunni Muslim leader, police said on Monday. Sectarian violence has been on the rise in Pakistan, adding to the list of concerns for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a time when security forces are already stretched fighting an escalating Taliban insurgency in the northwest of the country. Allama Nasir Abbas, leader of Tehreek Nifaz Fiqah-e-Jafaria, a banned Shi’ite organisation, was shot by unknown gunmen on a motorbike as he drove home after addressing a religious gathering in the city of Lahore on Sunday evening. "It’s a targeted attack. The gunmen shot him from close range when he was driving home along with his driver and a friend," Lahore police chief Chaudhry Shafeeq told Reuters. "Abbas died on the way to hospital. His driver and […]

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India inflation soars to 14-month high of 7.5 pct

India’s worrisome inflation rose to 7.52 percent in November, driven by soaring food and fuel prices, data showed Monday. The highest level in more than a year increases pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates this week. The wholesale price index was up from 7 percent in October. The sharp increase was the highest since September 2012 and was led by food prices jumping by 19.9 percent over the previous November, dashing hopes that favorable monsoon rains would slow the runaway food inflation. Prices for fuel were also up 11.1 percent. Higher prices for food and fuel hit the hundreds of millions of poor Indians living on $2 per day particularly hard because they spend roughly half of their income on the staple items. The grim inflation numbers increase the likelihood that the Reserve Bank of India will raise interest rates when it […]

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Pakistan stands by Iranian gas pipeline

A Pakistani government minister said sanctions on Iran’s energy are curbing progress on a bilateral gas pipeline but Islamabad was committed nonetheless. Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Iran pulled out of a $500 million finance commitment because of the sanctions constraints, the Pakistani newspaper the Express Tribune reported Friday. "The compressor equipment required [for the pipeline] would not be available due to sanctions against Iran," he was quoted as saying. "However, we are committed and will make the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline." The Pakistani government said the aging infrastructure in the country means it needs outside help to keep up with energy demand. Iran said construction on its end of the pipeline is making progress and had offered financial support to Pakistan to help build it on its side of the border. The U.S. government supports a rival […]

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Sanctions cloud Iran, Pakistan pipeline prospects

The Pakistani government said Wednesday it was ready to move ahead with a gas pipeline from Iran but needed assurances regarding the impact of U.S. sanctions. Pakistani Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met Monday in Tehran with Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh to discuss moving forward on a long-planned natural gas pipeline from Iran. A Pakistani government official told the Express Tribune on condition of anonymity there were concerns in Islamabad about U.S. sanctions on Iran. “We cannot move ahead with the project unless the issue of possible U.S. sanctions is resolved,” the official said. Iran got relief from Western economic sanctions in exchange for nuclear concessions after reaching an interim deal with multilateral negotiators last month. Iran’s trade in the energy sector, however, is still limited by sanctions. The Pakistani government said it needs more sources of natural gas […]

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India Considers Importing More Iranian Crude

India is exploring the possibility of increasing crude-oil imports from Iran, following a recent deal between Tehran and world powers that is expected to ease sanctions on Iranian crude, an Indian official said. While sanctions on Iran’s sales of crude oil are yet to be eased, observers say the deal is likely to lead to a gradual loosening of existing restrictions on dollar-based payments that would enable importers such as India to buy more crude from Iran. India and Iran presently have a barter trade system in place to bypass payment problems caused by the Western sanctions. Under an agreement last year, India pays for about half its crude-oil imports from Iran in Indian rupees instead of U.S. dollars. Indian and Iranian officials had detailed discussions on the possibility of increasing crude-oil imports from Iran, India’s Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters after a meeting with an […]

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Pakistan to push forward on gas project with Iran

Pakistan will push forward with a controversial pipeline to import natural gas from neighboring Iran, Pakistan said Tuesday, a project opposed by the United States. The pipeline will link Iran’s gas fields with energy-starved Pakistan, but by going ahead with the project, Pakistan may incur U.S. and international sanctions imposed on Iran – or anyone doing business with Iran – over that country’s nuclear program. The U.S. has opposed the project and instead supported an alternative proposal to build a pipeline from the gas fields of Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday that petroleum ministers of the two countries met in Tehran on Monday to discuss the project, which has been beset by repeated delays. The two countries decided to fast track the pipeline and formulate a road map to work out challenges, the ministry said. […]

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Why Nuclear Rules Scare Foreign Companies

India wants to boost its nuclear power-generation by more than ten times over the next two decades to cut dependence on imported fossil fuels, but there’s one problem: global companies don’t want to sell India the equipment it needs to run nuclear power-plants under existing rules. Foreign equipment-makers are worried about an Indian law, passed in 2010, which would make them liable to pay compensation in the event of an accident, says Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, a Mumbai-based partner at Indian law firm Verus, and one of the few lawyers in the country who specialize in India’s nuclear liability law. Mr. Bandyopadhyay says that in most other countries, if there is a nuclear accident, the damages are borne only by the company which runs the nuclear plant, not companies which supplied equipment to the plant. Still, given the large size of India’s market for nuclear power, some equipment-makers are negotiating with […]

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Cairn Seeks Oil Swaps to Circumvent Export Ban: Corporate India

Cairn India Ltd., the nation’s biggest onshore crude oil producer, is proposing swap deals in the commodity to help skirt the government’s ban on exports that yield higher margins. Some Japanese utilities and Singapore-based refiners are interested in the high-wax crude extracted from Cairn’s fields in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, Chief Executive Officer P. Elango said in an interview. The company has sought India ’s approval for a tripartite agreement that would replenish the exported volume with no loss to any of the parties including the government, he said. Billionaire Anil Agarwal , who controls Cairn India, is seeking to increase the best profit margin among the biggest Asian oil companies as his metals and mining businesses founder in the South Asian country. Shipping to customers who are best equipped to process the low-sulfur crude may help the company command a premium versus a 15 percent discount on […]

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India needs $2.1 trillion investment for energy: IEA

India’s energy demand will double by 2035 on back of economic growth and increased population, the head of the International Energy Agency predicted. “When we look at India, we see that in 2035, India will be the largest importer of coal, will be the second [largest] importer of oil after China and will be No. 4 in importing gas after [the] European Union, China and Japan,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the Eighth Asia Gas Partnership Summit in New Delhi Wednesday, Press Trust of India reported. Although India’s energy demand will double, its per capita consumption will still be a fourth of the OECD average, she said. Van der Hoeven said India would need $2.1 trillion investment in its energy sector by 2035. Speaking Tuesday at the opening of the summit, Indian Prime Minister […]

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Power Outages Hobble Pakistan's Biggest Exporters

Muhammad Latif stays in his neat office these days, upstairs from the vast textile factory he founded in 1975. Until a few years ago, he says, his business, Chenab Ltd., made high-end sportswear and bed linen for some of America’s best-known retailers, from Macy’s to Tommy Hilfiger to Victoria’s Secret, in this industrial city in central Pakistan. A workforce that peaked at 14,000 fed rolls of cloth into state-of-the art Italian and German machines or sewed garments on sprawling automated production lines. Today, crippled by the shortages of electricity that have paralyzed this country in the past five years, most of the machinery stands idle, and the staff has shrunk to 4,500. Sales for the year ended in June are down nearly 75% to 2.17 billion Pakistani rupees, or about $20 million, from 2008, according to the company. “I don’t go downstairs. I get depressed there,” Mr. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Power Outages Hobble Pakistan’s Biggest Exporters

Muhammad Latif stays in his neat office these days, upstairs from the vast textile factory he founded in 1975. Until a few years ago, he says, his business, Chenab Ltd., made high-end sportswear and bed linen for some of America’s best-known retailers, from Macy’s to Tommy Hilfiger to Victoria’s Secret, in this industrial city in central Pakistan. A workforce that peaked at 14,000 fed rolls of cloth into state-of-the art Italian and German machines or sewed garments on sprawling automated production lines. Today, crippled by the shortages of electricity that have paralyzed this country in the past five years, most of the machinery stands idle, and the staff has shrunk to 4,500. Sales for the year ended in June are down nearly 75% to 2.17 billion Pakistani rupees, or about $20 million, from 2008, according to the company. “I don’t go downstairs. I get depressed there,” Mr. […]

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Pakistan Breaks Ground on Nuclear Power Plant Project With China

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday ceremonially broke ground on a $9.59 billion nuclear power complex to be built in Karachi with China’s help, seeking to ease Pakistan’s long-running energy crisis and signaling a new step by China in becoming a top nuclear supplier. The deal, which officials said was still being finalized, is a major new advance in energy cooperation between the two countries, dwarfing previous reactor projects built along with China at Chashma, in Pakistan’s interior. And it establishes a growing counterpoint to a nuclear axis between the United States and India in recent years that Pakistani officials have seen as an irritant and Chinese officials have seen as a geopolitical challenge. “The beginning of the 2,200-megawatt power project is indeed a proud moment in the energy history of Pakistan,” Mr. Sharif said at the ceremony, adding that the construction was to be completed […]

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Pakistan sees hope for Iranian gas pipeline

A Pakistani government official said a breakthrough nuclear deal with Tehran may breathe new life into a natural gas pipeline planned from Iran. “We hope the agreement between Iran and the world powers would revive confidence of countries like China and Russia to finance the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project,” the official told The Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper, Monday. Iran and delegates from the so-called P5-plus-1 nations — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany — in concert with the European Union, reached a landmark nuclear deal in Geneva, Switzerland, last weekend. Under the terms of the agreement, Iran agreed to suspend certain parts of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from some economic sanctions. “We are hopeful that those [foreign finance] institutions would have some confidence and they would sponsor the [pipeline] project after Iran and Western nations inked the […]

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Indian Refiners Say Iran Nuclear Deal Eases Crude Import Process

The lifting of a European Union ban on insuring tankers carrying Iranian crude as part of a nuclear deal reached in Geneva today will ease the process of importing the Persian Gulf state’s oil, according to Indian refiners. While officials from Indian Oil Corp. (IOCL) , Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) said the removal of restrictions on shipping cover will enable them to purchase contracted volumes more easily, they said they don’t intend to buy more than previously planned. “We can go ahead and import the contracted volume for this year,” said Rajkumar Ghosh, the director of refineries at Indian Oil, the country’s largest processor. The company has a deal to buy 1.2 million metric tons of Iranian oil in the year ending March 31, of which 0.5 to 0.6 million tons have been imported since April, he said. Middle East suppliers sell the […]

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Essar Billionaires Cut Exports on Refiner Glut: Corporate India

Billionaire brothers Shashikant and Ravikant Ruia, who run India’s second-biggest oil refinery, will increase fuel sales at home as capacity additions in China and the Middle East shrink export margins. Essar Oil Ltd. (ESOIL) will reduce overseas sales from its 400,000-barrel-a-day plant as it predicts local demand for gasoline and diesel will rise in the year ending March 31, Managing Director Lalit Kumar Gupta said in an interview. The end of an above-normal monsoon in India will help revive diesel demand in Asia ’s second-biggest energy consumer, he said. “Domestic sales will rise and protect margins,” Gupta, 53, said by phone from New Delhi. “Demand in India will increase, and local refineries will be needed.” New processing capacities in China and the Middle East are set to increase supplies of petroleum products to Asia and erode earnings of export-focused refineries including Essar Oil and Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) , […]

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U.S., Pakistani officials to discuss energy issues

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) — A U.S. State Department official in charge of energy policy aims to help tackle Pakistan’s energy woes with visiting Pakistani officials, the department said. Carlos Pascual, U.S. coordinator for international energy affairs, is part of a group scheduled to meet Tuesday with Pakistani Minister of Natural Resources Shahid Abassi and Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif. The meeting is part of a strategic energy dialogue announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during his August visit to Pakistan. “This working group fosters cooperation on Pakistan’s energy sector, including power generation, renewable energy, gas, and reform priorities,” the State Department announced Sunday. Pakistan’s aging infrastructure and energy sector mismanagement have left most the country without a reliable source of electricity, observers say. The State Department said the U.S. government helped Pakistan add 1,000 megawatts of power to its grid since 2009. Pakistan’s interest in […]

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Pakistan 'ready to deliver nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia'

Intelligence sources say Pakistan-made nuclear weapons ready for delivery to Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to counter Iran’s atomic programme, but Islamabad says claims ‘baseless’ Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also dismissed the allegations as “baseless”, as did General Hamid Gul, a former head of the ISI intelligence service. Saudi officials have long told their American allies that they planned to obtain atomic weapons if Iran went nuclear. The latest reports suggests they could be ready even sooner. Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden last month that if Iran got the bomb, “the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring”. Pakistan declared itself as a nuclear armed state in 1998 with its first test. It has never signed up non-proliferation agreements and has […]

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Pakistan ‘ready to deliver nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia’

Intelligence sources say Pakistan-made nuclear weapons ready for delivery to Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to counter Iran’s atomic programme, but Islamabad says claims ‘baseless’ Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also dismissed the allegations as “baseless”, as did General Hamid Gul, a former head of the ISI intelligence service. Saudi officials have long told their American allies that they planned to obtain atomic weapons if Iran went nuclear. The latest reports suggests they could be ready even sooner. Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden last month that if Iran got the bomb, “the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring”. Pakistan declared itself as a nuclear armed state in 1998 with its first test. It has never signed up non-proliferation agreements and has […]

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Iran frustrated with gas line for Pakistan

TEHRAN, Nov. 5 (UPI) — Pakistan needs to live up to its end of the bargain for a cross-border natural gas pipeline planned from Iran, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi said. Majedi was quoted by Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency as saying the Iranian government wasn’t going to help cover the cost of building the pipeline in Pakistani territory. “We did not make such a commitment to help Pakistan with $2 billion for the construction of the pipeline,” he said Monday. Iran has expressed concern about the project, in the planning stages for decades, because of economic uncertainty from its Pakistani counterparts. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was quoted by Fars as saying last week the nullification of the contract “for supplying gas to Pakistan is likely.” Iran’s Western adversaries oppose the pipeline because of the economic benefits it would bring Tehran. Washington, in particular, favors a […]

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Iranian official says Iran doing its part on gas pipeline to Pakistan

TEHRAN, Nov. 4 (UPI) — Iran has done most of the work needed to get a troubled gas pipeline developed for the Pakistani market, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said. “Iran has done a major part of the work [necessary] for the implementation of the project and now Iran’s gas has reached near the border with Pakistan with a high capacity,” Zanganeh was quoted as saying in a Press TV report Sunday. Zanganeh questioned the prospects for the pipeline last week, saying Pakistan was having trouble financing construction of the pipeline in its territory. Iran’s Fars News Agency quoted Pakistani lawmaker Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani as saying the pipeline “must be completed.” Pakistan’s aging infrastructure and energy sector mismanagement have left most the country without a reliable source of electricity, observers say. The U.S. government warned Pakistan earlier this year the pipeline would violate sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector. U.S. […]

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India says patience needed on Sudan’s missed pipeline payments

NEW DELHI, Nov. 4 (UPI) — Indian energy company ONGC Videsh Ltd. was asked to be patient with Sudan, which has missed four payments for pipeline work, officials said. Sudan missed the payments to the international subsidiary of India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. for pipeline work in Sudan, the Times of India reported Saturday. “We should show some more patience to the government of Sudan … as it would have repercussions on our engagement with that country in the oil sector,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs was quoted as saying. The Times reported India is vying for a larger role in a Sudanese oil sector dominated by Chinese energy companies. Sudan controls most of the pipeline infrastructure in the country but lost some reserves to South Sudan when the latter gained independence in 2011. “Our ambassador has also suggested [ONGC Videsh] should look at the possibility of converting […]

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