•Supreme Automobiles Opp. Garware Nylons, Mumbai Pune Road, Pimpri


Tel : 27472456



•Kulkarni Automobiles Petrol Pump 554/1, Sadashiv Peth, Laxmi Road

Tel : 24452958, 24455540



•Shri Seva 1082, Ganeshkind Road,

Tel : 25655707



•Saraswati Auto Service Shankarsheth Road,

Tel: 24441238



•Scooter Service Station

Near PMT Bus Stop, Pul Gate

Tel : 26363541



•Bright Star Services

12/Am Sadhu Vaswani Chowk,

Oppst. Parmar Chambers

Tel : 26129666, 26125916



•Alpha Service Station Oppt. Wakdewadi Railway Crossing, Mumbai Pune Road,

Tel : 25510981, 25512677



•Ambika Petrol Depot 26122280



•Anand Service Station 25817980



•Bharat Petrol Depot 24334267



•Bright Star Petrol Pump 26125916



•Bright Travels 26129666



•Kakade Dhananjay B. 24473978



•Kirad Service Station 26135223



•M & D Sales and Services 26351410



•N M Service Station 26124853



•Rohini Service Station 26135535



•Shri Sai Service Station 25532118



•Vidhya Petrol Pump 26874200



•Yadav Service Station 27012370

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Ministries clash on oil subsidy issue





EGOM meet to mull raising diesel prices on Thursday . SERIOUS differences have emerged between the petroleum ministry and the finance ministry over the manner in which the expected subsidy bill of `70,000 crore on petroleum products is to be financed during the current fiscal.While the finance ministry is willing to foot only one-third of the total subsidy bill, the petroleum ministry is of the view that the oil companies are in no position to bear the crushing two-thirds burden, which would work out to around `47,000 crore.There is a lot of heartburn among officials of the petroleum ministry and the oil companies over the finance ministry’s view that the loss estimate has been inflated with notional costs and needs to be calculated afresh.



The oil firms are also of the view that since they are listed firms there is also the issue of corporate governance that needs to be kept in mind when the price issue is settled.The oil companies have been allowed to hike petrol prices as it is still largely considered to be a rich man’s fuel. However, they are incurring heavy losses on kerosene, LPG and diesel sales.While the petroleum ministry has backed the demand of the oil firms for a rise in the prices of cooking fuels and diesel, the government’s political compulsions have come in the way of implementing the decision.A Group of Ministers headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to look into the issue. The government will walk a tightrope on Thursday between raising diesel prices to reduce the burden of subsidies or holding them steady to keep a lid on inflation.A panel of ministers, empowered to decide fuel prices, is expected to meet on Thursday.



Asia’s third- largest economy, which is trying to cut its deficit, has been looking for new ways to reduce subsidies paid to staterun oil retailers and reflect global crude oil market realities.The oil firms are losing around ` 280 on each LPG cylinder sold to households and around ` 6 per litre on diesel sales.Given the political compulsions and the galloping inflation that is taking a toll on its image, the government cannot increase the price of LPG by more than ` 20- 30 per cylinder. Similarly, diesel is a politically sensitive fuel since it is used in farms and public transport sectors and any price rise beyond ` 2- 3 a litre is an extremely difficult proposition, a senior official said.With the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) cartel having refused to raise production to meet the increased winter demand for heating fuel in the US and Europe there seems to be no immediate respite in sight either as crude oil prices rose to around $ 94 a barrel on Tuesday.

….by….S. P. S. Pannu / Mail Today newspaper


Mail Today

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Centre likely to increase diesel price by `2 a litre


22 Dec 2010 PETROLEUM BAZAAR

New Delhi: The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) will meet by the end of this month to consider a hike in the price of diesel and LPG in view of a surge in the prices of international crude oil.“We are hopeful of an EGoM meeting soon. Hopefully, it will meet before month end,” said the petroleum secretary, Mr S. Sundareshan. The EGoM is headed by the Union finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee.



The petroleum secretary said that in view of a spurt in international crude oil prices, there was a need to review diesel and LPG prices in India. However, he refused to comment as to the quantum of price hike, which the EGoM will decide. “The agenda of the meeting will be finalised a day before the meeting,” he said.



While the loss on the sale of diesel has jumped to `6 per litre, the government is unlikely to pass the whole underrecovery to the subscribers. The government is likely to increase the price of diesel by `2 or `3 per litre.



In June, at the time of deregulating petrol prices, the government had said that it will be deregulating diesel prices in due course. Sources, however, said that in current situation deregulation of diesel prices is not possible.



Three state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) IOC, BPCL and HPCL incur a loss of `275 on every domestic 14.2 kg LPG cylinder. Due to the under recoveries, OMCs are likely to lose `65,000 crore in the current fiscal. Courtesy:DECCAN CHRONICLE


http://www.bharatpetroleum.in/YourCorner/PetroDailyDetails.aspx?Pnewsid=P000030453

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NEW DELHI: State-run ONGC and Russian conglomerate Sistema have decided to merge their oil & gas businesses in Russia under a joint venture in a no-cash deal where the Indian firm will have a 25% shareholding with a say in management.




The merger of three companies, Bashneft, RussNeft and Imperial Energy, will make ONGC a shareholder in the Russian firms’ annual oil production of 25 million tonne and in the output of their refineries which have a capacity of 20 million tonnes besides discovered oil fields, Trebs and Titov.



State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC), India’s largest refiner, will join ONGC in the venture, an oil ministry official said.



ONGC will merge its wholly-owned subsidiary Imperial Energy into the new company. ONGC Videsh, the foreign arm of the state-owned giant, India’s second-largest company by market capitalisation, had acquired Imperial in 2008 for $2.1 billion. Imperial produces about 1 million tonnes of crude oil annually and all its assets are in Russia.



Officials with direct knowledge of the matter said that ONGC would be practically managing oil and gas assets of the merged entity due to its experience. ONGC’s shares were down 0.26% at Rs 1,301.60 from the previous day’s close.



Sistema, a diversified group, had been scouting for a strategic partner with experience in oil and gas sector, ONGC’s chairman & managing director RS Sharma said in a statement. Sistema is a financial corporation that manages companies with a presence in telecommunication, high technology, energy, aerospace, banking, retail, tourism and healthcare services. The deal will be concluded by June 30, statements issued by ONGC said.



A Sistema statement said the prospective partners had agreed to jointly invest in future in “key” countries. The names of the key countries could not be ascertained.



“It is a frame-work agreement. We will soon negotiate specific terms of an agreement in this regard,” an ONGC official said. The frame-work agreement was signed on Tuesday by Sistema chairman Vladimir Evtushenkov and ONGC Videsh managing director RS Butola during Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s India visit.



State-run oil companies are also interested in joining the consortium, the official said requesting anonymity. The proposed consortium would be led by ONGC Videsh.



The new firm will also hold Trebs and Titov, the major discovered fields estimated to have 200 million tonne recoverable reserves, equivalent to 35% of ONGC’s total crude oil reserves. The fields were awarded to Bashneft in a recent auction where ONGC had also participated but was disqualified. The deal is significant for a country like India that imports over 70% its oil and gas consumption.



Sistema has a 75% direct stake in Bashneft that produces 13 million tonnes of oil from fields in Russia. It also owns refineries with a combined capacity of 20 million tonnes. It has a 49% stake in RussNeft that producing 12 million tonnes of oil. Sistema has a presence in Indian telecom sector through Sistema Shyam TeleServices.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/oil--gas/ongc-sistema-to-merge-russian-oil--gas-assets/articleshow/7141860.cms

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Oil in the veins…




Sometimes, competition — or the lack of it — can work in your favour. That’s what R K Singh, the new chairman & managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), discovered. With many of his peers — BPCL directors like S Radhakrishnan (marketing), S K Joshi (finance) and S Mohan (HR) scheduled to retire in 2011, there weren’t too many contenders for the top job.Sure, there were a couple of candidates from the oil industry, but Singh was the “most competent and serious contender”, say BPCL insiders. “He was the only internal candidate, and the only oil industry person to have exposure across three aspects of the value chain: refining, marketing and exploration,” said a BPCL official.



Singh led a team that negotiated with Encana of Canada and acquired assets in Brazil, where major oil discoveries have been announced. He was part of a core team that led BPCL’s upstream focus and acquired 27 exploration blocks (and discovered oil or gas in five of them — two in Brazil, two in Mozambique, and one in Indonesia).Analysts say BPCL’s upstream success is the reason why its stock quotes at a premium (Rs 702) to rival HPCL’s (Rs 418) -- asset-wise, four years ago both companies were at the same level. As director (refineries), Singh also played a key role in the Bharat Oman Refinery Project at Bina, which will go on stream in January.



A BTech in mechanical engineering from Banaras Hindu University, Singh had a short stint in the private sector before joining BPCL in 1978 in the refining division. In a career span of over three decades, he has held various positions, including supply & distribution, consumer sales and LPG in the marketing division, and maintenance & inspection and process and R&D in the refining division. ‘He’s a very down-to-earth person, extremely intelligent and has very good people skills,’’ says a senior executive at BPCL. A director, who has worked with him, says he’s good task-master and is able to get things done. Given his experience, Singh was also tipped for the top post at Indian Oil Corporation. IOC’s loss was BPCL’s gain when he decided to stay back in Mumbai. The challenge for Singh would be to follow his more illustrious predecessors like U Sundararajan and Ashok Sinha and keep the fires burning.

by…Ranju Sarkar in the Business Standard newspaper…

Business Standard

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Rithwik Projects, a Hyderabad-based infrastructure company, has secured the mandate to implement a 5 MW solar power plant project in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, in the Design, Build, Finance, Own and Operate (DBFOO) mode, under the National Solar Mission initiative. In a statement, the company said that the plant will be commissioned within 12 months and that it will generate about 8 million units of power annually. The company has a 25-year power purchase agreement with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. According to the Chief Executive Officer, Mr C.S. Bansal, the company is on the brink of building a 24 MW, run-of-the-river hydel power project in Karnataka


http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/12/21/stories/2010122152020200.htm

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Lanco Infratech Ltd has announced that it has received letters of intent from NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) for setting up a 5 MW solar photo-voltaic (PV) unit and a 100 MW solar thermal project in Rajasthan under phase one of the National Solar Mission.




Part of the diversified Lanco group, the company had earlier set up its first 5 MW solar PV project at Patan in Gujarat, a hub for solar photo voltaic projects. It is currently developing 35 MW of solar PV capacity in Gujarat.



The Director of Business Development, Lanco Solar, Mr Sanjay Verghese, told Business Line that the company will play a role in solar power segment, as a generator, manufacturer of PV modules and turnkey EPC services provider to other solar project developers in the country.



“We expect to sign up for the power purchase agreement by January. Thereafter, we will have six months to achieve financial closure for the 5 MW project. This is likely to be operational by December 2011. However, for the 100 MW solar thermal plant, the company will have time till March 2013 for implementation,” he said.



SOLAR PV MODULE



Lanco is implementing a backward integration project for solar power generation and is establishing a 50 MW production facility for solar PV modules in the Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh. This project is expected to be operational by March 2011, he said.



One of the conditions for solar PV projects is to procure modules within the country. Therefore, the Chhattisgarh module unit will be useful not just for the company's projects but can also be offered to local companies.




http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/12/21/stories/2010122152010200.htm

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Moser Baer Clean Energy Limited (MBCEL), a subsidiary of Moser Baer Projects Private Limited (MBPPL) has commissioned the country’s largest and the first 5 MW solar farm at Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. The technical expertise for commissioning was provided by the EPC (Engineering Procurement Commissioning) arm of Moser Baer Solar Limited. The International Finance Corporation and the IDBI bank has provided debt for the project.



The solar farm has been commissioned using amorphous silicon Thin Film technology which is best suited for the Indian climatic conditions and is connected to the 110 KVA local grid. The project had been awarded by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) and is being implemented under the Generation Based Incentive scheme of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India. The project awarded on the basis of a global bid is the first of its kind in the solar farm category to be commissioned in India under the phase 1 of the National Solar Mission.



Speaking about this major achievement, Ratul Puri, Director, Moser Baer Projects Private Limited, said: “The successful commissioning of the first of its kind of solar farm at Sivaganga vindicates our deep rooted beliefs in our innate capabilities to commission large scale solar farms. As per official estimates, India receives solar radiation of about 5000 Trillion Kwh/Yr. This equates to 4-7 kWh/sqm/yr which is more than India’s total energy consumption (848 billion Kwhr – as projected by CEA). It is evident that India has immense potential and we need to ramp up rapidly in the right direction.”



Citing a report of CIBC Oppenheimer (a leading investment bank in Canada) Ratul stressed that around 85% of India's aggregate economic demand is domestically driven and to power this requirement many more large solar farms have to be commissioned on fast track. The panels installed at Sivaganga Project were procured from Moser Baer Solar Limited, which is today one of the top players in the global solar market. These panels were used as they are best suited in ramping up grid connected solar farms in high ambient temperature region like India.



According to Rajya Ghei, Country Head of MBCEL, “This successful commissioning by MBCEL reaffirms its position as the leading solar farm developer in the country. We have used our global experience to meet the local requirements according to the global standards.”


http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Moser-Baer-Clean-Energy-commissions-5-MW-solar-farm-in-TN/5025652940

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LPG cylinder may get costlier by up to Rs 100






New Delhi . The oil ministry plans to raise cooking gas prices by Rs 50-100 per cylinder as the international price of liquefied petroleum gas has jumped by almost 66% since August. The rise in global prices is hurting state-run oil firms as India imports 3 million tonnes of LPG a year. The government will, however, take a decision on Wednesday only after weighing the political implications of a hike against the need to shore up the finances of companies such as Indian Oil Corp , which plans to raise Rs 20,000 crore from a public issue in 2011. International price of LPG has soared due to winter demand, and consequently the subsidy on every cylinder is set to jump to Rs 367 per refill from January 1, which is more than the retail price of Rs 345.35 in the Capital, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said. The oil ministry will seek the approval of the empowered group of ministers (EGoM), which is also expected to consider higher diesel rates, when it meets on Wednesday, officials said.



“We can’t tell the quantum of price hikes (of cooking gas and diesel) as the EGoM is the deciding authority. We will merely place facts before it,” an oil ministry official said. The decisions of the EGoM are final and do not require the cabinet’s nod. India, the largest consumer of LPG in Southeast Asia, meets its domestic demand by importing about 3 million tonnes of cooking gas. The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell , an arm of the oil ministry, estimates domestic LPG demand at 14 million tonnes in 2010-11. The country’s dependence on LPG imports is increasing due to a 5-8% annual growth in consumption. State-run oil companies are selling cooking gas at Rs 345.35 per cylinder in New Delhi. Their losses on its sale, compared with international rates, will jump to about Rs 367 per cylinder from January 1 as the import price of LPG for the next month has soared, officials said. State-run oil companies declined to provide rates at which they are importing LPG cargoes next month, terming it a commercial secret. Global LPG price, which was less than $600 a tonne in August, has touched around $1,000 a tonne and is still rising, an expert at a state-owned oil firm said, requesting anonymity.



Oilcos losing Rs 5/litre on diesel



LPG is a mixture of propane and butane. The mixture is predominantly propane in winter and butane in summer. As per reports, Algerian firm Sonatrach’s December selling price for propane was $925 per tonne, while it was selling butane for $985 per tonne. Sonatrach is the world’s third-largest LPG exporter. Oil firms raised petrol prices by about Rs 3 per litre last week, but they do not have the freedom to raise prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene. State-run firms IOC, BPCL and HPCL are losing about Rs 5 on every litre of diesel.

…by….Rajeev Jayaswal / The Economic Times…newspaper.
The Economic Times

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One-day conference on natural gas


CII Andhra Pradesh, in partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, is organizing a one-day conference with the theme ‘Andhra Pradesh - Hub of Natural Gas in India' on December 22. The conference aims to deliberate on global trends in production and utilization of natural gas, future trends in the natural gas market, district gas distribution and pricing policies, besides others.

A greater focus will be on regulatory issues and users' perspective. The conference will have the participation of senior Government officials, representatives from across a cross section of the natural gas industry sector, consumers, distributors, logistics service providers and solution providers besides others. Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, and Mr L. Mansingh, Chairman, Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Government of India, are expected to take part in the event. The conference will have participants from some of the leading companies.

News & Views TODAY   (20th   December 2010)

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Whose wreck is it anyway?


Remember Black Rose, the Mongolian flag carrying cargo vessel that sank off Paradip port September last year, killing its chief engineer? The wreck has not been salvaged. Fortunately, it is not blocking the navigable channel of the port. But there were lots of problems. There was no insurance coverage for the vessel and the documents filed in this regard were found to be improper.

The vessel's owner could not be traced first. When traced, he declined to shoulder the responsibility of the salvaging operation, which entails huge cost. The shipping agent too filed a petition in Calcutta High Court pleading that it should not be pressurized to share the cost of salvaging. It was, therefore, presumed that the burden would ultimately fall on the port authorities.

Recently, Orissa High Court, responding to a PIL, ruled that the district administration will be the receiver of the wreck and will engage the salvage company. But the port authorities and the shipping ministry too must cooperate. This means the shipping ministry might be required to cough up funds.

News & Views TODAY   (20th   December 2010)

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No timeline for IOC FPO yet: Govt


NEW DELHI: The government has not yet fixed any timeline for the public offering of Indian Oil Corp (IOC), even as the share sale of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is likely by March 2011, Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said today. "There is no question of deferring or postponing (of the follow-on public offer of IOC) as no decision on timing of the FPO had ever been taken," he said. IOC had last month appointed six merchant bankers for the sale of 10 per cent equity shares in the FPO that its Chairman BM Bansal said was planned for 3rd or 4th week of January. "Approval for IOC divestment are not yet in place. The Cabinet has not yet approved the sale. Only after that can timing etc can be fixed," Sundareshan said. The timing of the IOC FPO would be decided in consultation with the Department of Disinvestment, he said.



IOC is planning a fresh equity issue of 10 per cent of existing paid-up capital to mop up Rs 9,000 crore for its expansion projects. Along with this, the government will sell 10 per cent of the pre-issue equity capital through follow-on or further public offers (FPO) in the domestic market. Industry sources said IOC public offering may have been pushed behind ONGC as rising global oil prices have made the nation's largest oil firm less attractive to investors. IOC sells diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at government control rates, which are way lower than market price. The Cabinet, on December 1, had approved sale of government's 5 per cent stake in ONGC, the nation's highest profit earning firm, to raise up to Rs 13,000 crore. The FPO of ONGC is planned for mid-February or early March, a month earlier than previously planned.



"Merchant bankers for the ONGC FPO will be appointed by January," a source said. Post offer, the government shareholding in ONGC would come down to 69.14 per cent from current 74.14 per cent.

Ahead of the share sale, ONGC is doing a share split, bonus share and issuing of special dividend. ONGC will split equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each into two shares of Rs 5 each. It will also issue a 1:1 bonus share -- one new share for every existing equity held by shareholders -- and will pay a special dividend out of its cash reserves of around Rs 15,000 crore. After the share split and bonus issue, the market value of ONGC's shares will dip to around Rs 335, as against today's closing price of Rs 1,344.45 on the Bombay Stock Exchange and it is expected this will be an attractive level for retail investors to subscribe to the company. The government plans to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment of its minority stake in public sector units in the current fiscal, up from around Rs 25,000 crore in 2009-10.


…report by Press Trust of India / Financial Chronicle newspaper.

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The Union ministry of new and renewable energy’s (MNRE) recent decision of 20% financial incentive on ex-factory price of electric cars and scooters sold in India will enable manufacturers to lower the prices and boost sales of green vehicles in India.



Higher incentives from the government in the form of free insurance, registration cost, 0% duty on import of components, rebate and subsidy to OEMs will boost penetration of electrical vehicles (EVs) in India, said Frost & Sullivan.



An executive analysis of the two-wheeler and four-wheeler EVs forecasts the market for electric passenger vehicles to reach 20,400 units by 2014-5 from a miniscule market of 810 units in 2009-10.



Similarly, the two-wheeler EVs market will grow from 1.4 lakh units in 2009-10 to 4.5 lakh units in 2015-16. Energy diversification, security and emission norms getting stringent would be the key drivers for the growth of EVs. However, infrastructure availability, component...

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Sops-costlier-fuel-to-push-up-electric-car-sales-FampS/726248/

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Jet fuel prices hiked by 3.6%


Oil PSUs has also hiked jet fuel prices by a huge 3.6 per cent to Rs 46,876.58 per kl in the midst of rising petrol prices. This time hike in jet fules marks the fifth straight increase in rates since October when international crude oil prices started climbing. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been raised by Rs 1,636.58 per kilolitre, or 3.6 per cent, with effect from 17th December, an official of Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said. The latest hike caused due to the 1.4 per cent raise on December 1 and a massive 5.5 per cent increase effected on November 16, in sync with the rise in global rates.

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ONGC Tripura Power Co a unit of state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp has signed an MoU with Dhaka to open up a new transport corridor through Bangladesh for transporting heavy equipment for its power plant at Tripura.




The MoU was signed by OPTC Director RK Madan and Azizur Rahman, Chief Engineer, Roads and Highways Dept, representing the Government of Bangladesh.



Pursuant to this MoU, the Bangladesh authorities will for the first time allow the use of the Ashuganj port on the mighty Meghna River and the connecting road network between Ashuganj-Sultanpur-Akhaura check post (around 48 km) for transportation of project equipment to the OTPC project at Palatana, in Tripura.



It said that "This will facilitate the transportation of two gas turbines, two steam turbines and about hundred ODC (Over Dimensional Cargo) items required for the OTPC's ambitious 726.”



(Sourced from Indian Express)

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IOC, Punj Lloyd among 37 cos chosen for solar power projects




Indian Oil Corporation, Mahindra Solar, Maharashtra Seamless, Lanco Infratech, Punj Lloyd Infrastructure, and Reliance Power's Rajasthan Sun Tenchnique are among the 37 companies selected to develop 620 MW of solar power projects under the Phase-1 of the National Solar Mission.

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), which has been designated as a nodal agency to procure solar power from the developers under the Mission, has issued letters of intent (LoI) to 37 project developers.

“The LoIs were issued on December 11. We have asked the project developers to sign the power purchase agreements (PPAs) on January 10, 2011,” a senior NVVN official told Business Line.

The other winners include Welspun Solar AP Pvt Ltd, CCCL Infrastructure Ltd, Oswal Woollen Mills Ltd, Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd, Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd, Karnataka Power Corporation, KVK Energy Ventures and Azure Power.

NVVN had invited bids for developing 150 MW of solar PV projects with a capacity of 5 MW each and 470 MW of solar thermal projects with a capacity minimum of 5 MW and maximum of 100 MW each.

The companies offering the best discount on Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's (CERC) notified tariff were selected.

The CERC rates for 2010-11 are Rs 17.91 (normal rate of depreciation)/ Rs 14.96 (accelerated rate of depreciation) per unit for PV and Rs 15.31 a unit for solar-thermal.

The average discount offered on CERC tariff for PV was Rs 5.75 a unit and Rs 3.82 a unit for thermal.

In solar PV, 21 projects with a total capacity of 105 MW will be developed in Rajasthan, three projects with a total capacity of 15 MW in Andhra Pradesh, and two projects having a total capacity of 10 MW in Karnataka. While Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa have got one project each having a capacity of 5 MW.

For solar thermal Rajasthan has got five projects - three for 100 MW and two of 50 MW each - totalling 400 MW. Andhra Pradesh has got one project for 50 MW, Gujarat one for 20 MW capacity.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) guidelines the letter of intents were expected to be issued end-December, but NVVN has completed the task ahead of schedule. Appreciating the work done by NVVN, the Secretary MNRE, Mr Deepak Gupta, said, "We expect all the selected developers to sign the PPA's before completion of a year (January 11) since the Mission was launched."

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Refiners get the jitters as Indian Oil follow-on offer is put off


Fear delay in compensation package for fuel losses.

________________________________________

From the oil major's viewpoint, this is a big blow since it would have helped finance its ambitious Paradip refinery scheduled for commissioning soon.

________________________________________




With Indian Oil Corporation's follow-on public offering (FPO) unlikely to go through this fiscal, its refining counterparts are now worried about getting a timely compensation package from the Centre for fuel losses.

Officials of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation told Business Line that it is now a ‘virtual certainty' that no money will come in till May when they are due to wrap up their accounts for this fiscal.



No clear-cut formula

“The delay in IOC's FPO sends a clear signal that the Government does not have a clue about either a compensation formula or a fuel price hike. In the process, our liquidity position will only get costlier and tighter,” an oil sector executive said.This lack of clarity has prompted the Centre to defer the IOC exercise instead of risking investor apathy to the Rs 20,000-crore issue. From the oil major's viewpoint, this is a big blow since it would have helped finance its ambitious Paradip refinery scheduled for commissioning soon. “It is not the most pleasant situation for a company whose turnover is Rs 3 lakh crore but still has to scrounge for money,” sources said.



The absence of a clear-cut compensation formula should also be an area of concern to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation whose FPO is going as scheduled in the fourth quarter of this fiscal. Though ONGC is perceived to be better off (since it gets international prices for its crude oil), it still ends up bearing a third of the refiners' subsidy burden. And with higher crude oil prices, the company will cough up more as in 2008-09 when its outgo was nearly Rs 30,000 crore.

Diesel, biggest concern



Diesel is the biggest worry for the refining trio with losses amounting to nearly Rs 4.80 a litre on the fuel. What is even more alarming is that its use extends to a whole lot of non-automotive applications. “Diesel consumption has been on the rise and every extra litre sold is pushing us even deeper into the red,” an oil industry official said.It now remains to be seen if the Centre will have the courage to hike diesel prices even marginally given its potential to stoke inflation. There is really no alternative now unless the Finance Ministry squares up a large chunk of the fuel losses, something that it is loathe contemplating.

IOC, HPCL and BPCL are losing nearly Rs 2 on petrol too which has been deemed a deregulated fuel. Despite this, they still have not initiated a price hike when logic demands that this is the need of the hour. “By the end of the day, we still need to get the go-ahead from the Government and have to grin and bear it till then,” the official added.






Murali Gopalan...from THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE newspser.

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Delhites will have to cough up Rs 55.87 for every litre of petrol while their other metropolitan counterparts i.e. Mumbaites will have to pay Rs 60.27per litre, Rs 59.77 per litre in Kolkata and Rs 60.40 in Chennai.
But the Silicon City Bangalore will see the maximum price rise as the city dwellers have to now pay the steepest amount of Rs 62.62 per litre of petrol.







Read more: http://www.ganpatinews.com/2010/12/14/petrol-dearer-rs296-litre-77394#ixzz186t0FtFo

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BPCL, the second largest fuel retailer in the country, took the lead to raise petrol prices by Rs 2.96 a litre to Rs 55.87 per litre in Delhi, sources



Read more: BPCL hikes petrol prices by Rs 2.96 per litre from midnight -
 
The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/BPCL-hikes-petrol-prices-by-Rs-296-per-litre-from-midnight/articleshow/7100204.cms#ixzz186rZ5A91

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PSU Oil companies in India will hike petrol prices by Rs 2.96/litre. The fuel price hike will come into effect from Tuesday midnight.


While Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will hike prices from Tuesday midnight, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) are expected to hike fuel prices from Thursday, according to sources.

The current trading price of international crude oil is around $90, which is one of the reasons for the fuel

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New Delhi : Four state-run enterprises led by Indian Oil Corp figure among top five companies in terms of revenue in Fortune magazine's first India list of 500 largest corporations released on Thursday.

Reliance Industries has been ranked second, followed by the State Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum -- all of which along with Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Tata Steel and Tata Motors and also figure in Fortune 500 list of global corporations.

"The total revenue of the Fortune India 500 companies stands at Rs.38,16,239.40 crore (nearly $850 billion). That's more than 60 percent of India's total gross domestic product (GDP)," the magazine said.

The magazine also reveals that the largest company on the list is 266 times the size of the smallest -- much the same as in China, where the top company is 382 times the size of the 500th. The disparity in the US list is lower: The largest being 100 times bigger.

The rankings are based on the total revenues of the organisation. Other individual data points include year-on-year change in revenues, net operating income, profit, assets, net worth, dividend and total salaries.

The issue also ranks top players in 42 sectors including airlines, automobiles, banking, cement, consumer durables, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, infrastructure, media, oil and gas, power, real estate, retail and telecommunications.

The follwing are the top 20 rankings of the Fortune 500 India list:
1. Indian Oil Corporation, 2. Reliance Industries, 3. State Bank of India, 4. Bharat Petroleum, 5. Hindustan Petroleum, 6. Oil and Natural Gas Corp
7. Tata Steel, 8. Tata Motors, 9. Hindalco Industries, 10. ICICI Bank, 11. Coal India, 12. NTPC, 13. Larsen & Toubro, 14. Bharti Airtel, 15. SAIL,
16. Essar OiL, 17. Bharat Heavy Electricals, 18. Mangalore Refinery, 19. Mahindra & Mahindra, 20. Bharat Sanchar Nigam.

Courtesy:NDTV PROFIT

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The Directorate Of Technical Education has declared the Tamilnadu Diploma result 2010 for examination held in October. The TNDTE Diploma Results are now available online for download on the official website of the Directorate and a direct link to download the same in PDF format is provided below.


To download the TNDTE Diploma Results 2010: Click Here (PDF) http://www.tndte.com/resultsoct2010.pdf

The result has been published by the Tamilnadu Directorate Of Technical Education at www.tndte.com. Students are advised to visit the same for all other updates and result related notification.

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•American Auto Supply Co.


Victoria Road,

Opposite Rustum Baug,

Byculla

2372-5108

Phone: 2372-5108





•Autocare Centre

Junction of S V Road,

Turner Road,

Bandra (W)

Mumbai - 400050

Phone: 2642-4576





•IOSC COCO IV

Adarsh Nagar,

Oshiwara,

Andheri (W)

Mumbai - 400058

Phone: 2633-3051





•Lucky Auto

292, Comrade Harbansial Marg,

Sion

Mumbai - 400022

Phone: 2401-4952





•National Highway Truking Centre

Ghatkopar Mahul Road,

Chembur

Mumbai - 400071

Phone: 2523-3712





•Shree Siddhivinayak Station

Veer Savarkar Marg.,

Prabhadevi

Mumbai - 400025

Phone: 2431-6012





•Vashi Fuel Centre

Plot No. 2/2, Sector 14,

Vashi

Mumbai - 400703

Phone: 2780-0061











SHIL AUTO SERVICE & PETROLEUM



MUMBAI PUNE NATIONAL HIGHWAY4,NEAR SHILPHATA,



THANE-421204



Contact: 5352053,5352914





VASHI FUEL CENTRE



PLOT NO 2/2, SECTOR 14,



VASHI, NAVI MUMBAI-603.



Contact: 7800061

AMERICAN AUTO SUPPLY CO.



VICTORIA RD, MILLERS TIMBER COMP.,



BYCULLA, MUMBAI-27.



Phone: 3725108





AUTOCARE CENTRE PETROLS



JUNCTION OF S.V RD AND TURNER RD,



BANDRA (W), MUMBAI-50.



Contact: 6424576

CAR CARE CENTRE



45, NEPEANSEA ROAD,



CUMBALA HILL,



MUMBAI-26.



Phone: 3671649





CHAGAN MITHA



SION BUS DEPOT,



SION, MUMBAI-22.



Phone: 4072980

IOSC COCO IV



OSHIWARA PETROL PUMP,



OSHIWARA, MUMBAI-60.



Phone: 6333051





NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRUCKING CENT.



GHATKOPAR MAHUL ROAD,



CHEMBUR, MUMBAI-89.



Contact: 5221759

ROYAL AUTO SERVICES



VILLAGE MAROL,



KURLA ANDHERI ROAD,



MUMBAI 69.



Phone: 8377197





SERVO PETRO CARE CENTRE



VEER SAVARKAR MARG,



PRABHADEVI, MUMBAI-25.



Contact: 4221902, 4221984

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icc rankings, icc player rankings, icc, icc team rankings, icc cricket rankings



4 Dec 2010

Team Matches Points Rating

Australia 36 4595 128

India 37 4428 120

Sri Lanka 33 3892 118

South Africa 25 2873 115

England 28 3147 112

Pakistan 27 2704 100

New Zealand 27 2511 93

West Indies 18 1207 67

Bangladesh 30 1944 65

Zimbabwe 32 1241 39

Ireland 11 425 39

Netherlands 6 103 17

Kenya 8 1 0

http://www.espncricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211271.html

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Now you can check your application status for new issues here
http://mis.karvycomputershare.com/ipo/

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2 sites to Check your MOIL IPO Allotment Status


MOIL is a Mini – Ratna engaged in mining Manganese ore which is used for desulphurization and strengthening of steel, thus making it closely tied with the steel industry.




Of the total land based manganese ores in the world – South Africa accounts for a whopping 75% followed by Ukraine which has 10%, and then Australia and India which have 3% each.



The Indian manganese reserves are estimated at 378.6 million tonnes and Orissa has the bulk of them with 40% of the reserves, and Karnataka comes second at 22%.


MOIL IPO (Manganese Ore India Ltd) will be getting listed on NSE and BSE on 10th December, 2010. For those of you who have applied for MOIL and are curious to know how many you got, you can check MOIL IPO Allotment Status here http://mis.karvycomputershare.com/ipo/
or http://karisma.karvy.com/karisma/jsp/quickLinks.htm

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Oil firms hike ATF prices by 1.4 pc


01 Dec 2010 PETROLEUM BAZAAR

NEW DELHI: State-owned oil firms today hiked jet fuel prices by 1.4 per cent, the fourth increase in rates in two months. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been hiked by Rs 636.46 per kilolitre, or 1.4 per cent, to Rs 45,240 per kl with effect from midnight tonight, an official of Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation's largest fuel retailer, said.



The latest hike comes on the back of a massive 5.5 per cent increase in ATF prices effected on November 16, in sync with the rise in global rates.



With this hike, IOC and sister public sector retailers Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum have raised prices of jet fuel, or ATF, on four occasions since October. The ATF price in Delhi on October 1 was Rs 40,728.52 per kl. The rates were increased by over 11 per cent in four hikes since then, in tandem with a surge in global oil prices past the USD 80 per barrel mark.



Jet fuel, will cost Rs 45,379.62 per kl in Mumbai, home to the nation's busiest airport, from tomorrow, as against Rs 44,716.65 per kl currently. No comment could be immediately obtained from airline companies on the impact of the latest price increase. The three state-owned oil retailers revise jet fuel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding fortnight.



In Kolkata, the ATF price has been hiked by Rs 649 to Rs 52,452.14 per kl, while in Chennai, it will cost Rs 48,496.70 per kl as against Rs 47,812.51 per kl currently. Courtesy: ET

01 Dec 2010 PETROLEUM BAZAAR

http://www.bharatpetroleum.com/YourCorner/PetroDailyDetails.aspx?Pnewsid=P000030158

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Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Shri Murli Deora has said that the backlog of the LPG cylinders in the country would be over by 15th December. Shri Deora held a review meeting in Mumbai with representatives of IOC, BPCL and HPCL to discuss the ways to remove the shortage of LPG in the country. Addressing a press conference, the Union Minister said the shortage is due to due to the disruption in supply in select regions, strikes and shortage of the LPG in the international markets. Additional Secretary in the Ministry Shri Sudhir Bhargava said that the shortage is because of a sudden increase in demand and relative constant domestic production of LPG. “Due to a combination of festive season, unseasonal rains in many parts of the country, and onset of winter in north India, some States are experiencing a backlog in LPG supplies, raging from 4 to 10 days, Panic-booking by customers in some parts is adding to the burden’” he added.




LPG is currently a deficit product and is being partly imported from abroad. This is because, while indigenous availability has gone up from 7.6 million tones in 2005-06 to 10.2 million tones in 2010-11, the demand has grown at a much faster pace, and is projected to reach 13.96 million tones in the current year. Accordingly, the country will be importing 3.9 million tones, or 32% of its LPG requirements, in the current year.



The oil marketing companies are going all-out to clear the backlog and restore normalcy at the earliest through a multi-pronged action plan. For improved bulk product availability, apart from additional imports, several emergency measures, such as use of very large gas carriers (VLGC), on-board-blending of propane & butane and ship-to-ship transfer, are being resorted to. Several other measures have been put in place to normalize LPG availability across the country, such as stretched utilization of LPG pipelines, additional movement of bilk product by road to deficit markets, continuous operation of bulk receipt/loading sources and bottling plants even on Sundays and holidays, etc. In addition, inventories at the plants are also being fully utilized to clear the backlog in supply of domestic cylinder, and bottling too has been maximized at the plants. Courtesy: MOPNG
http://www.bharatpetroleum.com/YourCorner/PetroDailyDetails.aspx?Pnewsid=P000030108

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TAM Airlines together with Airbus have conducted the first Jatropha-based biofuel flight in Latin America, using an Airbus A320. The biofuel, processed by UOP LLC, a Honeywell group, was a 50 percent blend of locally-sourced Brazilian Japtropha-based bio-kerosene and conventional aviation kerosene. 20 people from TAM Airlines and Airbus were on board the A320 powered by CFM56 engines which took off from Galeão Antonio Carlos Jobim International airport in Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft performed a 45 minute flight before returning to its point of origin.




“Airbus and TAM have taken an important step towards establishing an aviation biofuel solution that is both commercially viable and sustainable, with positive impact on the environment,” said Airbus’ President and CEO, Tom Enders. “This flight serves as evidence of the aviation industry’s commitment to advance on its self-imposed CO2 reduction targets: carbon neutral growth from 2020, and working towards a 50 percent net CO2 reduction by 2050.”



“This experimental flight materializes TAM’s participation in a vast project to develop a production chain for renewable biofuel, with the purpose of creating a Brazilian platform for sustainable aviation bio-kerosene,” said Libano Barroso, president of TAM Airlines.



Studies show that the use of biofuels made from Jatropha in aviation could reduce the sector’s overall carbon footprint by up to 80 percent, compared with conventional petroleum-based aviation kerosene. TAM Airlines and Airbus both support the study and assessment of the sustainability and economic viability of implementing the bio-kerosene value chain in Brazil.



The technical flight was approved by Airbus, the engine provider CFM International, and was authorized by aviation authorities in Europe (the European Aviation Safety Agency – EASA), and Brazil (National Civil Aviation Agency – ANAC).



“TAM’s young and modern Airbus fleet has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the region, leading the way for the rest of the industry to contribute to the cause,” Enders added.



As part of its ongoing commitment to ensure that air travel continues to be one of the most eco-efficient means of transportation, Airbus has developed a roadmap working towards making alternative fuel and biofuel technology a reality for aviation. In addition to its efforts with TAM Airlines, in February 2008, an Airbus A380 aircraft successfully completed the first ever flight by a commercial aircraft using Gas-to-Liquid (GTL), and in October 2009 Airbus and Qatar Airways undertook the first commercial flight of 50 percent blended GTL

http://www.bharatpetroleum.in/YourCorner/PetroDailyDetails.aspx?Pnewsid=P000030103

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Corporate World


B-495 New Friends Colony

New Delhi-110065

Phone: 011-26847053



Vijaya Service station

Gulabhi Bagh

Phone: 011-23677797



Bhasin Service station

Pusa Road



Link Road Petrol Filling Station

Karolbagh

Phone: 011-23559666



Siddhu Service station

Subzi Mandi

Phone: 011-27234846



Anand Super Service station

Malkaganj

Phone: 011-23913918



Aradhana Service Station .

Lawrence Rd,

Phone: 011-27197277



Deepak Motors

Surya Nagar

Phone: 011-22164766



Allied Motors

Preet Vihar

Phone: 011-22240156



Metha Auto Mobiles

Gajipur

Phone: 011-22047876



Mukal Diesels

Wazirabad Road, Gokulpuri

Phone: 011-27141052



Harichandan Co

Lony Road Border

Phone: 011-22282306



R.N Motors

Peeragarhi

Phone: 011-25575115



Ganpathi Filling Station

Mangolpuri Road

Phone: 011-27922401



New Haryana Service station

Rohtak Road

Phone: 011-25181852



High Way Service Station

Rohtak Road

Phone: 011-25455040



Anand Filling Station

Baba Kharak Sing Marg

Phone: 011-23361873



Ram Service Station

Pragati Maidan

Phone: 011-23371424



Bharath Filling Station

Delhi Palam Road

Phone: 011-25692954



Vinod Service station

Palam Airport

Phone: 011-25652815



Engineering Service Station

Aurobindo Marg

Phone: 011-24634646



Auto Yards Servce Station

Mathura Road

Phone: 011-26945135



Oberoi Service Station

Green Park Extn

Phone: 011-26813910



Auto Grid

Badarpur, Mehrauli Road

Phone: 011-26943738



Mulchand Shree Pal Jain

Sindhu Border

Phone: 011-27781268



Jai Narayan and Co.

Bawana Village

Phone: 011-27752483



Bedi Saxena Serivce Station

Mayapuri Phone: 011-25144054



CM Enterprises

distt Centre, Janakapuri Phone: 011-25618762

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INR/Ltr

Delhi 52.91


Kolkata 56.81

Mumbai 57.35

Chennai 57.44

Read More...

Applicable from: November 9, 2010 , Rs/ltr


Agartala 49.75

Ahmedabad 56.54

Aizwal 50.87

Ambala 53.02

Bengaluru 59.66

Bhopal 56.87

Bhubhaneswar 52.90

Chandigarh 53.50

Dehradun 54.92

Gangtok 52.49

Guwahati 55.66

Hyderabad 59.10

Imphal 51.84

Itanagar 52.00

Jaipur 56.10

Jammu 55.94

Jullunder 58.99

Kohima 52.45

Lucknow 56.39

Panjim 52.83

Patna 54.94

Pondicherry 51.28

Port Blair 45.76

Raipur 54.21

Ranchi 53.02

Shillong 52.28

Shimla 55.35

Srinagar 57.61

Trivandrum 55.86

Read More...

You can check your IPO

allotment status at
 http://karisma.karvy.com/karisma/jsp/quickLinks.htm



OR http://203.199.177.158/ipo/

Read More...

ONGC to spend Rs 500 cr for renewable energy R&D




The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), India’s largest state-run oil exploration company, is investing Rs 500 crore on research and development in the areas of non-conventional energy sources, a top official said.



“Achieving energy security for the country was a major challenge to sustain a high growth rate. India is having only 0.5 per cent of the world’s hydrocarbon reserves and it would be difficult to meet the growing energy demand unless alternative and renewable sources were tapped and utilized to minimise our dependency on non-renewable resources like fossil fuels,” R S Sharma, chairman and managing director, ONGC said.



Addressing India Inc at the National Quality Summit 2010 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, he said as part of its efforts to achieve energy security for the nation, ONGC has ventured into exploration of shale gas reserves. It is also engaged in tapping non-conventional energy sources like solar, thermal energy, LED (light emitting diode) and fuel cells, which results into less carbon emission.



Sharma said ONGC has also set up a 150 Mw wind power plant and the company’s board has recently approved setting up of another 100 Mw wind energy plant in the country. “We are looking at other natural sources to meet the growing energy needs of the country,” he added.



“As it will be difficult to meet the increasing energy demand from non-renewable resources such as hydrocarbons, there is an urgent need to shift generation and consumption patterns to renewable sources such as hydel, wind, solar and nuclear fuel,” Sharma noted.



Though India was about 70 per cent self-sufficient in exploring hydrocarbons and energy fuels during the mid-seventies, the phenomenal demand growth since then has resulted in the country importing a whopping 80 per cent of its energy needs as domestic production has declined to 20 per cent of the total demand, he observed.



He said India’s ability to sustain high growth rate would be determined by the pace of infrastructure development and stability in the country.



“Infrastructure development pace and social-political stability in the country will be key to sustain the high growth rate,” Sharma said.



If the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had to grow over nine per cent per annum, infrastructure bottlenecks should be removed forthwith.



“Our infrastructure growth has been tardy and rumbling on for years. Like an elephant, it can stumble also. Unless we fix the inherent problems such as land acquisition and time-consuming procedures, early execution of various projects will remain a challenge,” Sharma said in his address at the opening plenary of the three-day annual Quality Summit.



In this context, he recalled the negative publicity India had across the world over the inordinate delays in completing the infrastructure facilities for the 19th Commonwealth Games (CWG 2010) in New Delhi last month.



“Similarly, the Taj Expressway between New Delhi and Dehradun where our company is headquartered, is congested all the time, taking seven hours to travel 250km by road,” Sharma lamented.



Referring to the theme of the session: ‘India: An emerging brand in the world’, the ONGC chairman said though India emerged as an economy, a lot had to be done for the nation to emerge as a developed country in the world.



“As US President Barack Obama recently said, India has indeed emerged during the past decade to be a part of the G20, an expanded form of the G-8 and to have a greater say in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the world’s fourth largest economy with about $300 billion in foreign exchange and gold reserves,” Sharma asserted.
BS Reporter / Bangalore November 18, 2010, 14:08 IST


http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ongc-to-spend-rs-500-cr-for-non-conventional-energy-rd/116390/on

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IOC to spend Rs 2,500 cr on marketing, distribution





IndianOil has lined up a Rs 2,500-crore capital expenditure (capex) for its marketing and distribution expansion in the current fiscal, a top company official said.



IOC plans to use the funds to step-up its marketing initiatives, scale-up its distribution network by setting up new gas stations and expand its bottling capacity, its Director (Marketing), Mr. G. C. Daga, today said.



The company plans to add about 900 more new outlets in the current fiscal, of which 450 gas stations have already been installed, he said, adding that in this fiscal, the focus would be mainly on expanding rural network.


The Hindu Business Line, Mumbai, November 15, 2010

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NEW DELHI: State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) plans to invest Rs13,000 crore to almost double the capacity of its Vizag oil refinery in Andhra Pradesh to 15 million tonnes a year by 2013-14.




"We have asked for a detailed feasibility report (DFR) for raising capacity at the Vizag refinery," HPCL Chairman and managing director Subir Roychowdhary said here.



The decision to expand the Vizag refinery follows steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal group and French oil firm Total SA walking out of a proposed USD 4 billion project to build a 15 million tonnes per annum refinery and a 2.5 million tonnes per annum petrochemicals plant near HPCL's 8.3 million tonnes per annum refinery at Visakhapatnam.



"That project is on freeze (since 2007 when Mittal walked out). We are now looking at raising our Vizag refinery capacity," he said.



The other partners in the five-way consortium were state-run explorer Oil India Ltd and state gas utility GAIL India Ltd.



HPCL does not intend to bring a partner onboard for the refinery expansion.



It may add a new 180,000 barrels per day (9 million tonnes per annum) crude distillation unit (CDU) and scrap the old 36,000 bpd (1.8 million tonnes per annum) unit at the Vizag refinery.



"We already have acquired land for the project," he said. "The project will take 3 years to complete."



HPCL currently operates three CDUs at the 8.3 million tonnes a year (166,000 bpd) Vizag refinery. It also runs a 6.5 million tonnes a year refinery in Mumbai.



Roychowdhary said HPCL and Mittal Energy, owned by billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, will mechanically complete the 9 million tonnes a year refinery at Bhatinda, in Punjab, by March, 2011, and the unit will be fully operational by September.



HPCL is also looking at investing Rs30,000 crore to set up an 18 million tonnes a year refinery.



The new refinery, to be set up in Maharashtra, was conceptualised to make up for space constraints at HPCL's existing Mumbai Refinery.



"We have been told that 1,800 acres of land is available with MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corp). We have asked for 1,000 acres more land," he said.



State-owned Engineers India has been engaged to carry out a feasibility study on the proposed refinery. The options under consideration are a single 18 million tonnes per annum unit or two units of 9 million tonnes per annum capacity each.



The DFR will be ready by December, Roychowdhary said. The land earmarked for the refinery is located between Ratnagiri and Raigad and the unit, called Maharashtra Refinery, would be completed within 48 months from the date of receipt of all approvals.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/oil--gas/HPCL-to-invest-Rs13000-cr-to-augment-Vizag-refinery-capacity/articleshow/6929315.cms

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Power Grid FPO subscribed 3.85 times, allotment by 24th


shares of Power Grid have been issued according to a 1:4 ratio.

 Retail Portion subscription of Power Grid FPO had exceeded by 3.85 Times. This is indicative of the fact that the investors who need a minimum of 65 Power Grid Corporation shares will receive a maximum of 18 shares.



Check the online allotment status of your application
http://karisma.karvy.com/karisma/jsp/quickLinks.htm,
http://203.199.177.158/ipo/


The investors might get their Power Grid shares credited to the demat accounts within 24th November.

The orders for refunding through electronic transfer will take place on 25th November.

The banks with NEFT or RTGS enabled accounts can be credited through e-transfer and the remaining will get through cheque sent to the given addresses.




http://topinews.com/mainstream/2010/11/15/power-grid-fpo-subscribed-3-85-times-allotment-by-24th/48359/

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Ahead of offer, ONGC shortlists three new independent directors






New Delhi: Gearing up for its follow-on public offer (FPO), state-run ONGC has commenced the process for appointing the requisite number of independent directors (IDs) as stipulated by market regulator Sebi's listing agreement. “We have appointed a search committee for selection of independent directors and it has shortlisted three new IDs and the process will be complete by February. Then the road will be clear for the company,” ONGC CMD RS Sharma told FE. “The ONGC's FPO aims to raise around Rs 10,000 crore from the capital market,” he added. The company has already appointed global consultants for the third-party certification of ONGC's reserves. DeGolyer & MacNaughton (D&M) and Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA) are the two auditors appointed for the purpose.



As per Sebi norms, 50% of directors on the board of a company wanting to list should be independent, if the chairman is a functional director. ONGC has only four independent directors out of the board of 12 members. Chances are that the government would defer the ONGC FPO to early next fiscal, as mega offers of the other two Maharatna companies, IOC and SAIL, would precede it.Apart from ONGC, the other companies that are not compliant include Manganese Ore (India) and SAIL. The government plans to sell 5% of its shares in ONGC through FPO. The company will ask the two reserve auditors to certify reserves in 15 key oil and gas fields out of about 150 discoveries it had made in the country. The company is going for a third party estimation of reserves about two years before it is due to arrive at correct valuation of the company before the follow-on public offer. ONGC normally goes for such estimation once in five years.Third-party reserve estimation is also a requirement before a public offer of any exploration and production (E&P) company.



ONGC has also urged the government for a stock-split prior to the proposed FPO. A Rs10 share (face value) could be split into two, especially since the market price is way above Rs1,300.The ONGC board will also consider a proposal for a bonus issue to the existing shareholders. The oil major had come out with a 1:2 bonus issue in 2006. Similarly, when it had come out with an IPO in 2004, the company had offered a 5% discount to retail investors. ONGC aims to make the FPO attractive for retail investors and employees by offering discounts.

Ronojoy Banerjee, Rajat Guha / The Financial Express

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Higher refining margin and the payment of reimbursement helped state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country's largest oil marketing company, report a net profit of Rs 5,294 crore for the quarter ended September 30, up manifold from Rs 284 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.





IOC beats Reliance to become nation's No.1 refiner





During the quarter, IOC received compensation of Rs 7,220 crore from the government for selling diesel, cooking gas and kerosene at government-controlled prices. The money was meant for the first half of 2010-11, but came all in the second quarter. Net sales for the quarter rose 14.72 per cent to Rs 69,746 crore.



IOC Chairman BM Bansal said the company incurred gross under-recovery (for selling diesel, cooking gas and kerosene at government-controlled prices; petrol prices were decontrolled on June 25) of Rs 6,407 crore during the quarter. The figure for the first quarter was Rs 11,014 crore. Currently, IOC incurs a loss of Rs 2.62 on every litre of diesel, Rs 15.71 on every litre of kerosene and Rs 210 on every cylinder of cooking gas.



IOC to speed up summer games dates ruling





Gross refining margin for the quarter was $6.63 per barrel, up over 83 per cent from $3.62 in the same quarter last year.
http://sify.com/finance/ioc-net-soars-to-rs-5-300-cr-on-subsidy-payment-news-business-kloaurdhjag.html


On the company's follow-on public offer that is expected to happen in the last quarter of 2010-11, Bansal said 18 merchant bankers are in the fray. The company is expected to draw up the final list of up to six merchant bankers by November 20. IOC will sell 10 per cent of its expanded equity to mobilise about Rs 9,000 crore from the market. Simultaneously, the government will also sell 10 per cent in the company. Bansal said the government was expected to bring clarity on compensation mechanism before the stake sale.





SEARCH

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Solar LED Lanterns launched in Chhattisgarh



Solar LED lanterns, manufactured by Moser Baer India Ltd., were launched in association with IndianOil in Chhattisgarh on November 10, 2010.

Solar LED lanterns will be marketed all across Chhattisgarh through IndianOil's retail network of rural and urban Retail Outlets, which will have the technical support of Moser Baer India Ltd. This lantern has remarkable features like 360 degree coverage area, illumination by LED lights, which has 10 times higher life than any ordinary illuminating device, charging

Read More...

IOC becomes No 1 refiner; beats RIL


Government-owned IndianOil (IOC) has surpassed Reliance Industries to regain its position as nation's biggest refiner after it completed expansion of its Panipat unit.



"We have this week completed expansion of our Panipat refinery (in Haryana) to 15 million tonnes (from 12 million tonnes)," IOC director (refineries) B N Bankapur said on Thursday.



Before the expansion, IOC's eight refineries had a total crude oil refining capacity of 51.2 million tonnes a year and together with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum (CPCL), it had a combined refining capacity of 62.7 million tonnes.



After Panipat expansion, IOC group's refining capacity has increased to 65.7 million tonnes, ahead of 62 million tonnes of refining capacity that Reliance Industries has at Jamnagar in Gujarat.



IOC was the largest oil refiner in the country before Reliance started its 29 million tonnes a year only-forexports unit adjacent to its 33 million tonnes a year plant at Jamnagar. "This year have raised Haldia refinery capacity by 1.5 million tonnes to 7.5 million tonnes," Bankapur said. IOC is mulling raising the capacity of its Koyali refinery in Gujarat to 16 or 18 million tonnes a year from current 13.7 million tonnes a year.


The Financial Chronicle, New Delhi, November 12, 2010

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India’s government may sell shares in the nation’s biggest explorer in April, Press Trust of India reported, citing V.P. Gupta, deputy secretary in the department of disinvestment. The shares rose 0.8 percent to 1,348.05 rupees on 11th nov 2010.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-11/essar-oil-dlf-hindalco-united-spirits-shipping-india-equity-preview.html

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With land acquisition and environmental clearances proving increasingly difficult for wind power projects, India is exploring the potential for offshore wind power generation.


Deepak Gupta, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, told FE that a study is being undertaken with the help of Chennai-based Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET) to ascertain the feasibility of setting up wind farms in India’s offshore areas.”We expect to complete the study in 2-3 years,” he said.


http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-explores-offshore-wind-farms/709467/




Apart from hurdles in acquiring 4-5 acres to generate one mega watt of wind power, environmental clearances are not easy to come by. Offshore wind power projects are in vogue in many countries, especially in Europe. Recently, offshore wind farms have cropped up in the US and China as well.







“Unit size is high for offshore wind projects. Offshore wind is the next big thing for India’s renewable energy. However, we need to map our wind intensity scientifically,” said Charu Datta Palekar, principal consultant, energy advisory services, PWC.

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power grid fpo, power grid share price, power grid fpo rating, power grid share price today, power grid corporation of india



The Rs 7,028-7,442 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) of state-run Power Grid Corporation of India was sold out on Tuesday, Day One of the issue, with institutions bidding for the shares. The issue was subscribed 1.08 times, according to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) website though the retail and the HNI quotas saw less than 10 per cent subscription.







This is the best response any FPO has received on the first day in this calendar year. The REC FPO had received 29 per cent subscription on Day One, while NTPC was subscribed to the extent of 77 per cent and NMDC received was subscribed by 17 per cent. Engineers India didn’t receive too much of a response on the first day. “The response received on the first day is an indication that the issue will do well,” said S Vishvanathan, MD and CEO, SBI Capital Markets.







The price of the Power Grid stock, after declining about 4 per cent on Monday, gained 5 per cent on Tuesday to close at Rs 103.25 on the NSE. Interestingly, the counter clocked huge volumes around of 21 million shares (55 per cent of which was market for delivery) compared with the daily average volume of 2.6 million seen in the past one month.



http://www.indianexpress.com/news/PowerGrid-FPO-sold-out-on-Day-I/708868

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India signs shale gas MoU with US


The Times of India, New Delhi, November 09, 2010



In line with efforts to expand ties with Washington into areas of unconventional and frontier technologies, India has signed an MoU with the US for cooperation in identifying and tapping gas trapped in layers of sedimentary rocks, commonly known as shale gas.



The two countries also sealed a deal on clean energy with an agreement on establishing a bilateral energy cooperation programme to promote clean and energy efficient businesses.



Oil minister Murli Deora called shale gas as the future mantra of the hydrocarbons industry. “We are trying to usher in a shale gas era. The MoU will help India identify shale gas resource in the country and frame policy regime for exploitation of the resource,” he said.



His ministry plans to include shale gas acreages in its auction of exploration blocks in 2011. The US is considered a pioneer in the area and has the only commercially viable market for the fuel. India is waking up to the prospect of the unconventional energy source, with Mukesh Ambani’s RIL recently buying stakes in companies in the US. Even ONGC has initiated a pilot project and started drilling in a Bengal village. But lack of technology and know-how remains a hurdle which the US will help overcome. Petroleum secretary S Sundareshan said the US Geological Survey will carry out studies on shale gas resources and will provide a report. Since shale gas production is a difficult process, a new fiscal regime would be needed and exploration laws changed.



The MoU was signed by Sudhir Bhargava, additional secretary in the oil ministry, and David Goldwyn, coordinator of international energy affairs in the US State Department.

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IOC hikes petrol prices by 32 paise per litre


The Financial Express, New Delhi, November 09, 2010



State-owned IndianOil (IOC), the nation’s largest-fuel retailer, on Monday hiked petrol prices by Rs 0.32 a litre with effect from Monday midnight in line with rise in cost of crude.



IOC follows sister concern, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), which has raised petrol price by Rs 0.31 a litre already effective from Monday. This is the fourth increase in petrol prices since June 25, when the government gave oil firms freedom to price the fuel in step with cost. “We are increasing petrol price because of sharp rise in price of crude oil,” IOC chairman BM Bansal told reporters here.



Petrol in Delhi currently costs Rs 52.59 a litre and will cost Rs 52.91 a litre from Monday midnight. In the previous three increases on September 8, September 21 and October 17, IOC had raised petrol price by a total of Rs 1.16 per litre.



“Monday’s hike is less than the Rs 1.1 per litre that we currently lose on selling petrol,” another company official said. “We are moderating the increase.” International crude oil, the raw material for petrol, have climbed to $87 per barrel from $81-82 a barrel at the time of last revision in October.



Petrol in Mumbai will cost Rs 57.35 per litre as against Rs 57.01 currently while in Kolkata rates have been increased by Rs 0.34 to Rs 56.81 a litre. In Chennai, the rates have been increased to Rs 57.44 per litre from Rs 57.09. Bharat Petroleum, the third state-owned firm, will also increase petrol price by an almost equal quantum from Monday midnight.

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Mumbai: Coal India shares surged as much as 39% in their $3.43 billion IPO debut on Thursday as investors snapped up a stock that is a proxy for surging growth and energy demand in Asia’s third-largest economy.




An attractive IPO valuation for India’s dominant coal miner spurred demand from investors who applied for more than 15 times the number of shares on offer in the country’s largest-ever IPO.



The rousing response to the state-controlled firm’s offer sets an upbeat tone for future share sales by a government looking to shed stakes in some 60 companies over the next few years. It also puts pressure on New Delhi to price future offerings at discounts to peers.



“Coal India is a bit expensive now. But, it is drawing a huge premium as it is a likely index candidate,” said Deven Choksey, managing director and CEO of KR Choksey Shares, who said the stock remains attractive for long-term investors.



Coal India shares opened at Rs. 295.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), compared with a Reuters poll forecast for the shares to rise to about Rs. 287 on their first day of trade. The stock rose as high as Rs. 340 for a gain of 38.8% and accounted for more than half the volume traded on India’s two main bourses.

http://www.livemint.com/2010/11/04092955/Coal-India-up-39-on-debut-bo.html

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Petroleum Ministry seeks Rs 5,000 cr more for oil cos



New Delhi, Oct 29 : : The Petroleum Ministry has sought from the Finance Ministry an additional Rs 5,000 crore for compensating the public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) for selling fuels below the market price during April-September 2010. The Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, met the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, here on Friday for this purpose. According to the Petroleum Ministry, the total under-recovery for April-September 2010, is estimated to be Rs 31,367 crore.



The Petroleum Ministry wants the Finance Ministry to shoulder at least 50 per cent of the total under-recovery. It had sought Rs 15,000 crore from the Finance Ministry to compensate the three public sector oil companies for the first half of the current fiscal. The Finance Ministry has paid only Rs 10,000 crore towards this. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, GAIL (India), and Oil India will shoulder a burden of Rs 10,456 crore of the Rs 31,367 crore.

… From Our Bureau…of HINDU Business Line..newspaper.

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IndianOil FPO in Jan-Mar, says oil secy






New Delhi: The government plans to sell more of its stake in state-owned Indian Oil Corp Ltd and via follow-on public offers in January-March, petroleum and natural gas secretary S Sundareshan said.



It is for the department of disinvestment in finance ministry to allocate slots for the FPO, Sundareshan said. The petroleum and natural gas secretary also said the government has no plan to deregulate retail price of diesel from its control for now, as it will lead to an unacceptable rise in price.



“(Diesel price deregulation)... Not possible with current prices (of global crude oil prices)... Diesel deregulation at this point will lead to price increase and it is unreasonable to accept it at this juncture,” Sundareshan said at the second day of the Economic Editors’ Conference.



International crude oil prices have risen to about $85 per barrel now from about $75 per barrel since the diesel price was hiked last time in June, he said. In June, the government allowed state-owned marketing companies to sell petrol at market-driven prices, leading to its price going up by Rs 3.5 per litre immediately.
TickerNews / The Financial Express

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No shortage of domestic cooking gas, say refiners


Our Bureau, Mumbai, Oct. 25 : from the pages of Hindu business line newspaper.

Public sector oil marketing companies have reiterated that there is adequate supply of LPG cylinders and that the shortage is being ‘artificially created' thanks to panic booking during festivals. “There is no shortage of domestic cooking gas in the country and temporary backlogs, largely due to logistic issues, will be wiped out by the month-end,” Mr Subir Roy Chaudhary, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, said here on Monday.

“We are confident that we will meet demand. However, we cannot cope with panic booking and it will be very difficult to maintain the distribution system,” he added. Demand during April-September increased by 10 per cent.

“We have increased supply to meet the demand which has increased by 15 per cent during the festive season. It may now come down to 11 per cent by the end of this month,” Mr Roy Chaudhary said.“We have got 12 crore customers and are covering 50 crore of the population. The LPG cylinders are normally delivered within 48 hours of booking,” he said.

Mr S. Sundareshan, Petroleum Secretary, had a review meeting with the chiefs of oil marketing companies in New Delhi to ensure constant LPG supply across the country. It was decided that the heads of IndianOil, HPCL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation would monitor the situation daily with regional offices checking the backlog. All the bottling plants, working on a single shift, are being converted to double shift and without weekly offs till this backlog is completely liquidated.

LPG losses

LPG losses for the three oil majors are at an average of Rs 180 per cylinder which works out to Rs 8,700 crore for this fiscal. With demand expected to increase, the companies are ramping up import facilities, Mr Mr Roy Chaudhary said. Mr B. Mukherjee, Director (Finance), said the total under-recoveries for HPCL in the first half totalled Rs 6,833 crore of which it has received Rs 2,278 crore from upstream companies and Rs 2,174 crore from the Centre as part-compensation.

“It is yet to be seen what the balance amount would be as the account books are still to be closed,” he said. The total fuel losses for the three oil majors in the first half of this fiscal are Rs 31,372 crore.

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IndianOil: One of ‘India’s Most Valuable Brands 2010’



An iconic, heritage and much-loved brand in the country, IndianOil has once again been recognized as one of the TOP 5 of India’s most valuable corporate brands.



In a detailed study conducted by Economic Times in association with Brand Finance, ‘India’s Most Valuable Brands 2010’, IndianOil was ranked 5th with a current value of $ 4,304 million. Besides IndianOil, other corporates in the top 5 list include Tata Motors (1), RIL (2), SBI (3) and TCS (4).






Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy, which provides consultancy on the ways and means to maximise brand value for the benefit of a company. During the study ‘India’s Most Valuable Brands 2010’, only firms listed on BSE were taken into account. Besides, firms comprising a number of stand-alone brands were eliminated. In order to ascertain the five years of historic revenues and current market value of the firms, Bloomberg and other publicly-available sources were considered, wherein public data encompassing broker reports, annual reports and market research were used. Brand Finance uses the ‘Relief from Royalty’ — a simple approach that assumes that a company does not own its own brand and calculates how much it would need to pay to license it from a third party. The present value of that stream of (hypothetical) royalty payments represents the value of the brand.



Brand Finance started its annual report on the world’s most valuable brands in 2006 and has valued leading global brands like Wal Mart, Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft and Google to name few among the list of 500. This interpretation is not only directed towards highlighting the country’s most powerful brands, but also at initiating a discussion on what is exactly valuable for Indian firms.

(Source: The Economic Times), New Delhi, October 25, 2010

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‘R-LNG is the answer as natural gas output could stagnate in 5-6 years’ says Chairman in an exclusive interview with FE




The Financial Express, New Delhi, October 25, 2010



B M Bansal

Chairman

India’s largest commercial enterprise IndianOil (IOC) is rapidly diversifying into all sources of energy generation seeking to meet the needs of the second fastest growing major economy in the world. For Brij Mohan Bansal, the man at the helm, this is the journey towards making IOC, “the energy company” of the nation. This chemical engineer from Delhi IIT with more than 35 years of experience in the hydrocarbon sector, is now presiding over IOC’s consolidation of traditional business of refining and marketing crude oil derivatives, while at the same time, spreading its wings over new sources of energy such as solar, wind, nuclear and gas hydrates. Bansal spoke to FE’s Gireesh Chandra Prasad and KG Narendranath about IOC’s journey forward. Excerpts from an interview:



How do you plan to use the proceeds of your follow-on public offer, which is expected by the end of this fiscal?

We will use a part of the proceeds to lower our debt burden, which is about $10 billion at present. Right now, our debt equity ratio is 0.9%. We would like to bring it down so that even after new projects, our debt equity ratio would stay at a maximum of 1. We have many new projects. A naphtha cracker unit and a polymer unit in Panipat have already been commissioned. It produces paraxylene using captive naphtha from our refineries, which is subsequently converted to purified trephthalic acid or PTA. In addition to that, some new petrochemical projects are in the approval stage.



How do you assess the scope for capacity creation in the PTA business, considering the huge capacity that private sector player Reliance, already has?



The proposed plant in Gujarat has a 600,000-tonne capacity. It will help bridge the gap between our capacity and those of private players.



The potential for growth is quite good in this segment. PTA is the raw material for synthetic textiles. The sector is growing at 10-12% a year, a rate higher than the growth in cotton textiles, even as India’s cotton production has increased substantially in recent years. China has a big presence in the global synthetic textiles market. Increasingly, synthetics are replacing cotton, even as cotton textiles are becoming a niche market. Earlier, cotton was the poor man’s cloth and synthetic was the choice of the well off. Now, this has reversed.

Once our new plants get commissioned, our total PTA capacity would be roughly 1.1 million tonne a year.



Also, because of our lack of strength in synthetics, are we not doing as well as China in export markets?



Yes, China and Indonesia have large PTA capacities which help them in texitle business also.



How do you compare your refining margins with those of your competitors?



Our refining margin is better compared to that of other public sector oil marketing companies (HPCL and BPCL). But if you compare our plants with those of the private refiners (like Reliance), they have the advantage of size and state of the art technology and hence, their refining margin is slightly better than ours. But our large refineries in Panipat and Mathura are competing with them. Our new refineries are going to be larger in size.



Do you have plans of setting up refineries abroad with a focus on the export market?



Earlier, we studied the option of setting up refineries in a few countries, including Nigeria and Turkey. But suddenly in 2008, crude oil price went up sharply and under-recovery became very high, straining our finances and halting our expansion plans. We cannot make huge investments abroad unless we are sure of our cash flow. Even now, (after petrol-price deregulation), we are not certain about our cash flow due to the high under-recovery in diesel, LPG and kerosene.



If diesel is also de-regulated, will you revive your overseas expansion plans?



Unless the under-recovery is taken care of in the Union Budget or there is certainty on how it would be compensated, OMCs cannot make investments that have long-term implications.



So your overseas expansion is contingent on further deregulation of fuel pricing?



Yes. There should be some kind of certainty to oil marketing companies on how they would be compensated for their under-recovery. We are not therefore, making new capital expenditure in downstream sectors abroad.



This, however, does not apply to our upstream expansion abroad. Our global projects in hydrocarbon exploration are on. If we make a discovery there, we will surely spend on developing and putting that field on production.



There is an intense global competition for acquiring producing blocks. Don’t you also focus on such fields? What is your budget for E&P ventures abroad?



We are also looking at a number of producing blocks. We have not been able to agree on the price being asked for some of these blocks. We do not want to acquire blocks at any price. We are ready to spend up to $1 billion (for E&P ventures abroad). But if it comes to paying up to $1.2-1.3, we would still consider it if the block is so promising. In Venezuela, we have (along with ONGC Videsh, Oil India Ltd) acquired a block recently with hydrocarbon discovery.



Currently, we are in negotiations for a couple of blocks but it is too early to discuss them. Going forward, we see IOC not only as an integrated company, but also as “the energy company” of the country. We are now present in alternative sources of energy as well, including bio-diesel, wind power and solar power. Some projects such as the one on wind power is already commissioned, while some others are in the approval stage. A solar power project is in the approval stage, which will be implemented now. We are also getting into nuclear energy with 26% equity with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.



What about shale gas (unconventional gas from fine grained sedimentary rocks) and gas hydrates (an ice like formation in which a gas molecule is caged by water molecules around it)?



Shale gas is a new area. The available technology is few and the return may not be as high because the cost of production itself is high. But in India, interest in shale gas is growing with the government planning to come out with a bidding round next year.



On gas hydrates, we are doing the research and development work. India has vast potential in gas hydrates (with abundant reserves found in Krishna Godavari basin and near Andaman Islands) and we are one of the pioneers in this area. Gas hydrates can potentially reduce our over-dependence on coal. It would, however, take some time for the technology to fructify in the commercial arena.



In conventional gas too, we have our presence. We have made discoveries in a few blocks, for example, in Mahanadi, where IOC’s share is 20% with ONGC as the partner. We have also made a small discovery in the Assam region. Besides, we are already marketing 10 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of re-gassified liquefied natural gas (RLNG). Now, they (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO) are building an LNG terminal at Ennore. (IOC and TIDCO signed a deal this August to set up a-2.5 million tonne a year LNG import and re-gasification terminal and a gas fired power plant that is expected to benefit Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducheri.)



Do you think that considering the volatility in RLNG prices, the likely re-configuration of the fuel mix and the requirement of infrastructure facilities for re-gasification, it will be a viable business for the future?



Indeed it will be. Natural gas production in the country is expected to stagnate after five-six years, while demand for it will be high. In that case, RLNG is the answer. (Now the country produces a little less than 150 mmscmd of gas and imports about 25-30 mmscmd of RLNG).



Do you expect any policy change before your follow on public offer later this fiscal, which could help the scrip reflect the company’s intrinsic strengths?



We expect clarity on the sharing of under-recovery (losses arising from selling fuel below cost). We also understand from the media about the government’s intention to let natural gas producers discover the sale price of gas from the market, which will be approved by the government while allocating the fuel to various consumers.

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 Coal India IPO over  subscribed by 15 times


India's biggest initial public offering (IPO) has been billed a game-changer and it is living up to all the hype. The Coal India issue witnessed unprecedented demand, with the qualified institutional book, which includes the foreign institutional investors, mutual funds and insurance firms, seeing subscriptions of over 24 times.


The non-institutional quotas too have seen robust demand of 25 times. The retail book too has been fully subscribed taking the overall subscription for the issue to over 15 times. The government is clearly overjoyed by the blockbuster response to the issue.

Excerpts from After the Bell on CNBC-TV18 Watch the full show »

Giving a thumbs up to the issue, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee says, “This is a premier public sector organisation. It speaks that how much confidence the PSUs and private sector units enjoy with the prospective investors.”



Divestment secretary Sumit Bose too says the government is very happy particularly with the phenomenal response that the IPO has received from the retail segment.



Both, employees and retail investors are being given a 5% discount to the issue price. “We will continue to have an employee quota in all issues. The idea is to give employees an opportunity to partake of these shares. We hope they more employees will participate,” Bose says.



Talking about other issues in the pipeline, he says, Power Grid is the next public sector issue that will hit the markets. “Manganese Ore, SCI and Hind Copper issues will happen this year, while, IOC, SAIL and ONGC issues are scheduled for the next fiscal. This gives us the confident that we will achieve Rs 40,000 crore divestment target.”

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/ipo-issues-open/govt-cheers-response-to-coal-india-ipo_493136.html

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