Essar CBM gas priced at $5.25


13 Apr 2011 PETROLEUM BAZAAR

 

Essar CBM gas priced at $5.25 The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry approved a provisional price of $5.25 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) of gas Essar Oil is producing from its Raniganj coal bed methane (CBM) block in West Bengal.










“We have received approval from the Ministry for a provisional gas sale price approval,” Essar Oil CEO and Managing Director Naresh Nayyar said here. The Ministry has approved a basic price of $5.25 per mBtu plus $1 per mBtu in transportation cost. At Raniganj, 33 wells are now producing about 35,000 standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of gas.



He said the company planned to drill 500 wells to help output reach plateau of 3.5 mscmd in three years. The company has completed a 48-km Raniganj-Durgapur pipeline, which will help bring gas from the field to the industrial customers in Durgapur. “The field development plan for the Raniganj block that will allow Essar Oil to drill a total of 500 wells has also been approved. Commercial sales from the block are scheduled to begin in a few months post some statutory approvals,” he added. The company is investing about $500 million for producing gas from below coal seams.



The company on Monday reported a 78 per cent jump in net profit in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, at Rs.321 crore on the back of record refinery throughput and higher margins. “This is a strong financial result driven by record refinery throughput of 14.76 million tonnes per annum and a healthy uplift of over 80 per cent in gross refinery margins (GRMs),” Mr. Nayyar said in a conference call.



For the whole of 2010-11, the net profit jumped to Rs.654 crore from Rs.29 crore in the previous year. “Demand for petroleum products in India is expected to continue to grow sharply and we remain focused on delivering our key projects, which in 2011 includes the first phase of our Vadinar refinery expansion,” he said. Courtesy: THE HINDU

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By Our Staff Reporter


Bhopal, Aug 19:

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has provided a block in the 609 sq-km Sohagpur Coalfield, in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol and Umaria districts, to France-based Geopetrol International Incorporated consortium Reliance Natural Limited and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd for prospecting coal-bed methane.

A petroleum exploration deed was inked here yesterday by the consortium's members and the state government in the presence of Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Resources Rajendra Shukl.

Director (Geology and Mining) R K Sharma, Geopetrol's J K Talukdar, Reliance Natural's Dr V K Rao and Reliance Infrastructure's Dr Daisy Gogoi were signatories. The block is estimated to have about 2.0 trillion cubic ft gas and in the wake of successful exploration the daily output will be to the tune of 30 lakh cubic m.

The gas possesses the potential to be used in power generation, small and medium industry, as cooking gas and in transport.

http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=45040

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It is reported that Indian government has signed contracts with different companies for 7 blocks awarded under fourth round of CBM Policy.




These include

1. 4 blocks to Essar Oil Limited

2. 1 block to Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited

3. 1 block to consortium of Arrow Energy Pte Ltd & Oil India Limited and

4. 1 block to consortium of Arrow Energy Pte Ltd & TATA Power Company Limited.



The reports added that these 7 blocks are in the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. With the conclusion of fourth round of CBM Government has signed a total of 33 CBM contracts till date. There is a resource potential of 330 billion cubic metres in these seven blocks which are expected to attract over USD 150 million investment.



Mr Murli Deora minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas said that increase in price of kerosene and LPG was inevitable considering the substantial burden of subsidy borne by the government. He mentioned about Government’s efforts towards providing affordable energy and congratulated the winning operators.



Mr Jitin Prasada MoS advised E&P companies to recognize the need of collective responsibility of all stakeholders to put concerted efforts for exploration and production in order to achieve energy security for the country. He also informed that out of a total estimated resource of 92 TCF in the country 8.9 TCF have been established so far.



Mr S Sundareshan secretary P&NG stressed to work for quick exploration of CBM and putting on production in order to cater the increased demand of gas in the country. He mentioned about efforts being made for putting in place the policy for simultaneous exploration of CBM & Coal.



Mr Alok Perti additional secretary ministry of coal referred to the issue of overlapping of block area between coal and CBM gas operator. The issue is likely to be resolved shortly by developing suitable policy framework.

Source: http://www.steelguru.com/raw_material_news/Indian_government_approves_contracts_for_7_CBM_blocks/158011.html

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