Flash Announcement: A BASELESS & MALICIOUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST ONGC MANAGEMENT
We would like to bring to the notice of our esteemed readers that some unscrupulous elements have launched a below the belt attack on Mr Sudhir Vasudeva, director (Offshore) of ONGC and Mr R.S. Butola, Managing director of ONGC Videsh by using a forged logo of our magazine, Indian Oil & Gas. They have picked up isolated sentences from some of our news items, typed our office address below the logo and sent out photocopies to 50 top people in the country including the Prime Minister, CBI, Vigilance Commission and top journalists. The motive is obvious: scuttle their chances in the run up to the selection of CMD for ONGC. The most regrettable part of the campaign is that they have sought to drag chairman R.S. Sharma into it, ignoring the fact that even his detractors have not so far questioned his personal integrity. This is a highly unfortunate development. Our magazine has repeatedly gone on record stating that the management led by Mr R.S. Sharma has brought in almost total transparency in the award of contracts. The very same magazine’s logo has been forged to malign the ONGC management. We feel sad about the entire development.
July 30, 2010 : Government of India has decided on amending the Petroleum & Minerals Pipelines Act to provide stiffer penalties for acts of damage /pilferage. Click Special Database for the highlights of the proposed amendment as contained in the Bill.
July 29, 2010 : Crude oil production figures by companies under production sharing contracts are not given out officially. www.indianoilandgas.com has obtained the details company-wise for June 2010. Click Special Database for details.
Today's News [FREE Access]
ONGC net drops 24% on subsidy burden July 30, 2010 : State-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has reported a 24% drop in net profit for the quarter ended June because of higher subsidy payments and foreign exchange loss on purchase of more..
Essar Oil to invest $350 m in Raniganj CBM block in 2 years
July 30, 2010 : Essar Oil will start producing gas from its CBM block in Raniganj, West Bengal, this quarter and achieve peak gas output in late 2012, the company said Thursday. It will invest $350 million over the next two years for production of coal bed methane gas. “We will start gas production either by end-August more..
BP to exit coal bed methane block
July 30, 2010 : Facing a $32 billion knockback due to the gigantic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum is weighing venturing out of long-gestation projects. The company’s Indian arm has decided to exit its only coal bed methane block in India. BP has informed the directorate general of Hydrocarbons that more..
Essar Oil hints at acquiring BP’s Africa assets
July 30, 2010 : Essar Oil has hinted that it is interested in buying British energy giant BP Plc’s fuel marketing assets in East Africa, which Reliance Industries is also said to be eyeing. “BP is running a process (to sell its interest in East Africa). It is early part of the process, it will take six months time more..
Essar Oil still in race to buy Shell's Europe plants
July 30, 2010 : India's Essar Oil is still in talks to acquire three of Royal Dutch Shell's European refineries, a top company official said on Thursday. "We are still under discussion. Talks are no longer exclusive," Prashant Ruia, chief executive of Essar Group, said. Essar has been interested in buying more..
R-Power not in priority list for next D6 gas flow
July 30, 2010 : Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power does not figure in the first six companies that will get gas on priority from Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 when output from the block goes beyond the current capacity of 60 mmscmd, a power ministry official told ET. The list, which is being finalised by the ministry, more..
Aban Offshore gets LoI for deployment of jack-up rig
July 30, 2010 : Aban Offshore Ltd has informed BSE that a letter of intent has been received for the deployment of the jack-up rig Aban VII offshore India for a three firm wells plus one optional well programme. The estimated revenue from the firm period of deployment (with an estimated duration of 120 days) is $10.5 million more..
NTPC extends tenure for Director (Finance)
July 30, 2010 : NTPC informed BSE on Thursday that it has further extended the tenure of A.K. Singhal, Director (Finance), beyond July 31. Singhal took over as Director (Finance) on August 1, 2005, for a period of five years. The Ministry of Power in its order dated July 28 has said that more..
PetroPulse Column
Fiscal Fudge Over Petro Pricing American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once famously said: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
An inversion of that nugget of wisdom would more...
IOG Exclusive
How Much Will Indian Govt. Get From RIL-Niko operated Gas Block D6 in KG Basin ?
July 23, 2010 : How much will the Indian government get by way of royalty, and profit share from the prolific gas D 6 block of KG basin being operated by Reliance-Niko combine. There have been government estimates but nothing precise from Reliance. Niko has come out with the details.
What exactly are the terms more...
L&T Quotes $ 950 M For GSPC's Platform Project, Re-tender Likely July 21, 2010 : Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) is known for its transparent business practices. Normally, bidders should be happy to deal with such a management. However, more...
OIL Agitated Over Delay In Forest Clearance & PEL For KG Block July 20, 2010: The state-owned, Oil India Limited (OIL), has asked the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to extend the current exploration period (Phase -I) of block more...
HPCL Asks For Full Compensation for under-recoveries on sensitive petroleum products July 15, 2010: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has estimated a whopping Rs 44.61 billion as its gross under–recoveries on more...
RIL Questions DGH’s Special Sanctity For Appendix-F Of PSC
July 9, 2010: Normally, a contract is taken in totality and each provision is important in its execution. But Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is annoyed with DGH’s obsession with Appendix-F of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
RIL was annoyed by the Management Committee Resolution (MCR) in which more...
Special Reports
BP’s Comments on Common Gas Pool Price by Mercados
The country is grossly short of energy and is increasingly dependent on imported fuels for its energy needs. Over 70% of the crude oil demand is being met through imports. There also exists a big gap between gas demand and supply, which is projected to increase in the coming years. Despite the massive increase in supply from more...
BG India’s Comments on Common Gas Pool Price by Mercados
With a backdrop of strong economic growth, the share of natural gas in India's total primary commercial energy mix is forecasted to increase to ca. 13% by 2030. This would translate into potential gas requirement of ca.1100 mmscmd by 2030, provided there is access to a pan India market and a very robust backbone of gas more...
Reliance Industries’ Makes Yet Another Acquisition In Shale Gas June 28, 2010 : So Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has made yet another acquisition in the shale gas space in the United States. Following the earlier JV inked with Atlas for the development of the more...
Fuel Price Hike : Who Are The Real Beneficiaries?
June 26, 2010: So the Government has finally take the plunge and hiked the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene, inspite of the expectations that only the prices of petrol would be increased due to the currently prevalent high inflation rate. Given the pricing of kerosene and LPG is considered politically more...
Petroleum Price Hike Deferred On Political Considerations.
June 9, 2010: The Government has, once again, failed to muster the courage to remove the distortions in the downstream petroleum market in India. Pressure from certain UPA constituents is the likely cause as political considerations have again triumphed over economic ones.
The Government appears to have missed more...
Interviews
Interview with Rajeev Sharma, M.D, Adani Energy
Rajeev Sharma knows gas business better than many in the petroleum sector. As founder MD of the highly successful Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), he demonstrated his dynamism and business acumen. He left GAIL (India) to join the rapidly expanding Adani Group to head its energy company, Adani Energy which again is a great success more...
Views
Decontrol diesel : Dithering Would Be Fiscally Retrograde
It is unfortunate that there is no road map for diesel price decontrol. The Centre must not develop cold feet and dillydally now, after last month’s welcome move to deregulate retail prices of petrol and having announced its intention to do likewise for diesel so as to rationalise runaway fuel subsidies. In any case, more...
Is petro-price reform adequate? Petro-price hike is war on peopleRam Naik, Former Petroleum Minister
With an unprecedented petro-price hike and that too at a wrong time, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has literally waged a war against people. While commenting on the recent petroleum price hike, a section of media more...
Ill-informed debate on oil decontrol
The politicisation of petroleum product prices has driven politicians into exaggerations, half-truths and plain falsehoods, says Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar.
THE government has finally hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG, though by less than recommended by the Kirit Parikh Committee. It has more...
Gas as transportation fuel
To ensure energy security, we need a time-bound action plan to substitute petrol and diesel with gas and this will have a salutary effect on global crude prices, says R S Pandey.
Should the prices of petrol and diesel be freed? This is a tough call for more...
Personalities
Dr A.K.Balyan Dr A.K.Balyan, director (HR) of ONGC took over as Managing Director and CEO of Petronet LNG Ltd On July 16.
more...
V Srikanth
V Srikanth will join Reliance Industries as deputy chief financial officer. Srikanth, 44, currently is the head of markets for Citi South Asia covering fixed income, currencies, commodities and equities. He is also a director in Citi group company CCML (Citicorp Capital Market) which is into underwriting and trading for the rupee fixed income more...
Naresh Kumar Petrotech Society unanimously elects Naresh Kumar as president fourth consecutive term
more...
Indian Petro Scene - In a Nutshell
Vast areas of India’s sedimentary basins remain unexplored. The exceptional discoveries of oil and gas in recent years have placed India firmly on the global oil and gas map and brought about a paradigm shift in the minds of potential investors in the upstream sector in India. India imports more than 70 per cent of its crude requirement which is the single biggest item of foreign exchange outgo. But at the same time petroleum exports constitute the country’s single largest item of foreign exchange earner. Till about 12 years ago, the petroleum sector was almost totally controlled by national oil companies. Today, there are many players both in the upstream and downstream sectors. Indian oil scene looks vibrant.
July 30, 2010 : State-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has reported a 24% drop in net profit for the quarter ended June because of higher subsidy payments and foreign exchange loss on purchase of 
American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once famously said: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
An inversion of that nugget of wisdom would 
July 21, 2010 : Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) is known for its transparent business practices. Normally, bidders should be happy to deal with such a management. However, 
July 20, 2010: The state-owned, Oil India Limited (OIL), has asked the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to extend the current exploration period (Phase -I) of block 
July 15, 2010: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has estimated a whopping Rs 44.61 billion as its gross under–recoveries on 
June 28, 2010 : So Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has made yet another acquisition in the shale gas space in the United States. Following the earlier JV inked with Atlas for the development of the 
Dr A.K.Balyan, director (HR) of ONGC took over as Managing Director and CEO of Petronet LNG Ltd On July 16.
Petrotech Society unanimously elects Naresh Kumar as president fourth consecutive term