Is the government on a suicide mission? Its move to hike diesel prices by 12% is a very steep hike in a sensitive fuel item, one which directly affects farmers, and has a cascading effect on a number of goods and services such as public transport, and food items.
Oil & Gas
Recent Posts
MRPL’s curtails refinery production due to water shortage
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Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, a subsidiary of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, has shut down two of its refinery units, as water supply to its plant has been cut off by the local authorities. The Nethravathi river supplies water to its refinery, and the river’s levels have dropped to very low levels, apparently due to hot weather conditions, according to this report in the Daily News and Analysis. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, MRPL, ONGC
L&T wins Rs 1,450 crore 2-yr GSPC offshore platform project
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Larsen & Toubro will build an offshore platform -process and living quarters- for Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. The platform will be commissioned at KG6 at the Deen Dayal Field from where GSPC intends to start gas production from July 2013. Earlier, L&T had got the contract to construct the wellhead platform for the development of this field. The gas field will be able to generate 6 million standard cubic metres of gas per day.
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Quick News, Gas, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, L&T
Reliance sells 30% stake in 23 oil & gas blocks to BP: what is the deal logic?
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Reliance Industries parted with a substantial stake in its oil & gas exploration and production business to BP, in return for cash and technology to develop this business. They will also set up a joint venture for sourcing and marketing gas in the country.
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, BP, Companies International, Gas, M&A, Mukesh Ambani
ONGC claims first right to Cairn India stake
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Vedanta Resources was in the news for being denied permission by the government to mine bauxite in Niyamgiri hills in Orissa. Just when the dust was settling on that episode, its proposed acquisition of a majority stake in Cairn India has come under a cloud. Government-owned oil company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has claimed pre-emptive rights over Cairn India and asked for documentation before giving a go-ahead to the transaction. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, Cairn India, Companies International, M&A, ONGC
Reliance Industries’ higher output offset by lower margins in the December 2009 quarter
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Reliance Industries results were largely in line with expectations. The petroleum major’s sales rose by 93% to Rs 58,848 crore in the December quarter, compared to the same period last year. Its net profit, however, rose by a more modest 16% to Rs 4,008 crore. There were a few reasons for the significantly higher growth in sales. The December 2008 quarter was a relatively bad one and RIL’s sales had fallen by 9%. Its refinery at Jamnagar had been commissioned in December 2008 and would have operated at much lower capacity, than in the current fiscal. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, December 2009, Petroleum, Reliance Industries, Results
Cairn India raises $1.6bn debt
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Cairn India, an oil exploration company, announced that it has raised $1.6bn of loans, or about Rs 7,500 crore, for its Rajasthan oil project. The debt is split between $750mn of foreign debt and $850mn of domestic debt. Standard Chartered Bank and International Finance Corporation have funded the foreign component to the tune of $500mn and $250mn respectively. The $850mn domestic debt has been underwritten by the State Bank of India. This would be a syndicated debt arrangement, it appears. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, Cairn India, Markets Debt & Forex Markets, Rahul Dhir
Reliance’s refining business drags down profits
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Reliance Industries chose to focus on margins rather than improve volumes during the June 2009 quarter. Its performance was affected by a mix of factors. Export volumes dipped during a period when the rupee depreciated, which would have normally added extra rupees to RIL’s bottom line. The Jamnagar refinery voluntarily gave up its export oriented tax status as it wanted to focus on the domestic market. Gas production from its KG basin started, contributing to sales and profits, but also upped its depreciation outgo. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, June 2009, Petroleum, Reliance Industries, Results
Oil PSUs get Rs 21,942 crore bonds
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The government yesterday issued bonds worth Rs 21,942 crore to the oil marketing companies to compensate for the losses incurred by them. IOC got about 54% of the total bonds while BPCL was issued nearly a fourth and HPCL the rest. These bonds have a coupon of 6.9% and mature in 2026. Since the oil marketing companies have little leeway in fixing prices of petroleum products resulting in losses, especially on the sale of kerosene and LPG.
Filed under: Companies, Oil & Gas, Top News, Bonds, Oil Marketing Companies, Subsidy
Oil PSUs to spend 2% of net profit on CSR
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The petroleum ministry announced that public sector units in the oil sector –like Gail, HPCL, ONGC, BPCL and IndianOil- have resolved to spend at least 2% of their net profits on corporate social responsibility projects. There was a joint meeting of the Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Murli Deora, chairmen of oil PSUs and the petroleum secretary, RS Pandey.