Energy News Monitor | Volume XII; Issue 32

[Oil Price: Certainty of Uncertainty?]

                             “China and India were thought to be completely different. Their demand was growing at a time when there are perceptions of scarcity in resource availability and constraints on resource use and was therefore seen to be ‘challenging’ rather than ‘driving’ the global market. China and India did not participate in systems such as the International Energy Agency that coordinated cooperation among oil importers. The perception of a new ‘energy silk-road’ between oil producers in the Middle East and oil consumers in Asia generated concerns over an ‘unwelcome nexus’ in the industrialized world…”

Energy News

[GOOD]

High efficiency coal plants with Japanese technology will reduce carbon emissions!                                   

                                                                                     [BAD]

Discoms must be bound by purchase terms but customers will pay the price! 

[UGLY]

Delhi government underwriting efficiency gains of Delhi discoms is not a bench mark for best practices!

 

NEWS BRIEF

[NATIONAL: OIL & GAS]

January 18, 2016. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)-operated KG-D6 gas block, once regarded as capable of transforming India’s energy sector, could cease to produce by 2020. The existing fields in the block are drying up faster than assumed earlier and the explorer may not spend on development of newer areas in the absence of ‘remunerative’ gas prices. Production from the block — officially called KG-DWN-98/3 — peaked in the last quarter of FY10, when it touched 60 million metric standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd), and has since plummeted to the current level of 9.5 mmscmd. In 2002, RIL struck gas in the D1-D3 fields of KG-D6 block and it has been producing gas from these fields since April 1, 2009. It has also been producing light crude oil from the D26 oil field in KG D6 block, since September 17, 2008. Both projects have been commissioned in a record time — the D1-D3 fields in about six and half years since the discovery, and the D26 field in just a little over two years since it was found. The price of domestic natural gas is currently decided based on a formula approved by the Modi government in October 2014, which is linked to select global indices. The rate fell to $3.82 per million British thermal units for the six month period till March 31, 2016 on gross calorific value (GCV) basis, against $4.66 per million British thermal units in the previous six months. (www.financialexpress.com)

January 14, 2016. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has cut its capital spending plan by about 15% for the current fiscal year following delays in some of its projects amid global oil collapse that is hurting producers. The company's board recently approved a cut in capital expenditure (capex) to ` 31,400 crore for 2015­16 from ` 36,200 crore. The expenditure will fall to about ` 29,300 crore for 2016­17 as the state explorer gains from the big fall in oilfield services rates accompanying the oil slump. The spending in the current year will fall as disputes around tendering have deferred award of contracts and physical activity in some projects, ONGC said. Falling cost of oilfield services and materials, which will have a limited impact this year, will significantly reduce costs for ONGC next year when several contracts come up for renewal, ONGC said. ONGC said a major impact of the lower costs could be seen only in 2017­18 as many services will be renewed then. Low oil prices have prompted most oil producers across the globe to slash capital spending and defer projects. In India, Cairn, which controls a quarter of the country's crude oil production, has cut its capital spending plan by about 75% for the current fiscal year and shelved some of its exploration plans. The two­thirds fall in oil and gas prices in less than two years has also forced ONGC to rework the capex for its key KG­DWN­98/2 field. The company is trying to reduce its cost estimates and is seeking government support to make the project work. ONGC has also embarked on cost­cutting measures, trying to reduce operational expenditure wherever possible. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

January 18, 2016. Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) latest refinery, the first in over a decade for the nation’s largest fuel major, started production of petrol from the ` 34,555 crore facility. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the 15 million metric tonnes per annum Paradip Refinery, which will primarily be producing BS-IV fuels and serving the eastern and southeastern markets apart from exports, to the nation on February 7. The commissioning of the refinery comes after 14 years, owing to many flip-flops by the Odisha government on incentives, withdrawal of its foreign partner Kuwait Petroleum and stiff frequent opposition from locals, state politicians and NGOs apart from two killer cyclones. The ` 34,555 crore project, which had incurred a cost overrun of over ` 3,500 crore due to delays that it had to face apart from two cyclones, is coming up at a 3,350 acre area adjoining the Paradip Port. (www.thehindu.com)

January 17, 2016. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) has received the environmental clearance (EC) to expand its refinery at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh from 8.33 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 15.0 mtpa. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) in its meeting cleared the ` 18,400 crore expansion plan, which was earlier rejected in 2013. HPCL's expansion plans could not move forward for the past several years due to environmental issues. Rejecting the proposal in 2013, the EAC had said that the project falls under 'critically polluted' area and as per the office memo of January 13, 2010, Ministry has imposed moratorium on further industrialisation in that particular area of Visakhapatnam. (www.business-standard.com)

January 13, 2016. Indian state oil refiners are drawing up a plan to build a major new refinery on the country's west coast to meet growing local demand and also to supply overseas markets, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said. India is seen as the most important driver of energy demand growth in the world in the years to come with its oil consumption seen rising by 6 million barrels per day (bpd) to about 10 million bpd by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA estimates India's refining capacity, the fourth biggest in the world, would lag local fuel demand going forward, necessitating investment in more plants.  The new refinery will be bigger than 300,000 bpd in crude throughput capacity and will be built in phases, IOC said. IOC said the project would also incorporate a petrochemical complex to make it profitable as refining alone was a relatively low-margin business. If it goes ahead it would be the first joint refinery project by the three competing state-controlled firms - IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). Currently BPCL and HPCL operate refineries in western Maharashtra state but they have limited space for expansion. In 2010 HPCL proposed building a 180,000 bpd refinery at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra but has not yet got environmental clearance for the scheme. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the new refinery could be sited in Maharashtra. (in.reuters.com)

January 19, 2016. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which reported its best-ever quarterly net income at ` 7,290 crore on better refining margins, said it will continue to scale down capital expenditure (capex) for its struggling shale gas business in the US. RIL's shale gas business in the US includes three upstream joint ventures with Chevron, Pioneer Natural Resource and Carrizo Oil and Gas. It had sold its midstream JV with Pioneer last June. So far, RIL has invested a whopping USD 8.1 billion into these three entities. RIL has not given a break-up of its oil and gas business for the quarter but said its total upstream revenue declined 38 percent to ` 1,765 crore in the October-December period. It spent ` 81,463 crore in the first three quarters of 2015-16, mainly on account of ongoing expansions projects in the petrochemicals and refining business at Jamnagar, Dahej and Hazira, Jio Infocomm and also in US shale gas. (www.business-standard.com)

January 15, 2016. Indian refiners boosted imports of African crude oil in 2015 to the highest in at least five years and slightly cut their intake from Latin America as refiners benefited from changing global oil flows caused by surplus supply. In 2015, India imported 787,700 barrels per day (bpd) of African oil with the continent accounting for about a fifth of the South Asian nation's overall imports from 16.7 percent a year ago, according to data. Middle Eastern grades accounted for about 57 percent of imports from 59 percent a year ago, remaining India's main source of oil. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has doubled its annual oil purchase deal with Nigeria for 2015/16 to 60,000 bpd. India, the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, raised its imports of African oil as the continent's mainly light, sweet crudes helped fill increasing demand for gasoline and diesel fuel. India's gasoline consumption rose 14.7 percent in 2015 while diesel climbed 5.3 percent. Falling African crude prices also spurred more interest from Indian refiners and a refinery expansion helped drive demand for light crude. India imports 80 percent of its crude needs and has traditionally relied on the Middle East for heavy, sour oil supplies and West Africa for lighter, sweet crude. India's imports of African oil also increased last year as IOC's new 300,000 bpd Paradip refinery mainly processed sweet oil. Global oil prices have tumbled in 2016 to their lowest level in 12 years, dropping below $30 a barrel. In 2015, Iran continued to be India's seventh-biggest source for crude oil although its share in the overall imports declined to 5.2 percent from 7.3 percent a year earlier. (in.reuters.com)

January 19, 2016. Cairn India told Delhi High Court that a loss of ` 1400 crore has been caused to the government as the company was forced to sell its share of crude from its Rajasthan oil field to private players at prices 20 percent less than the global rates. Cairn, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta group, told the court that as per the production sharing contract (PSC) it has with the government, it gets 70 percent of crude produced from the well while the government gets 30 percent. Under the PSC, the government or its nominee can pick up the company's share of the crude and what was not picked up, could be sold to private players or exported, Cairn said. However, after the crude is sold, government gets 70 percent of the profits, the company told the court. It claimed that as a result of selling the excess crude to private domestic companies like Reliance and Essar, at rates lower than international prices, government was losing about ` 4.5 crore per day. (zeenews.india.com)

January 15, 2016. Government has set an ambitious target of opening 10,000 new LPG dealerships in 2016 on top of around 16,000 existing dealers in the country. On January 1, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced 2016 as the 'Year of LPG Consumers' and this is yet another step in the direction of making clean cooking fuel available to entire population of the country by 2018 particularly in rural areas. At present there are 27 crore LPG subscribers in the country, of which 16.5 crore are active subscribers. Oil marketing companies cover about 60 percent of the population. About the planned Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for kerosene in 33 districts across seven states from April 1, he said. On promoting use of clean fuel Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles, he said that he will talk to Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to adjust value added tax so that CNG prices remain uniform in the NCR region. He said that the oil marketing companies will procure 120 crore litres of ethanol which is 5 percent of country's petrol consumption. The minister said that Africa is the hot-spot for investments in oil and gas sector and country's oil imports from Nigeria will increase in future. During 2014-15, India imported 32 million tonnes of crude oil from African nations including 2.2 million tonnes from Nigeria. India imports about 189 million tonnes of crude oil annually. (zeenews.india.com)

January 15, 2016. Government hiked excise duty on petrol by ` 0.75 per litre and by ` 2 a litre on diesel, the second increase in duties in less than two weeks, to mop up over ` 3,700 crore in additional revenue. The excise duty hike took away most of the gain which should have accrued to consumers from international oil prices slumping to 12 year low. Because of the excise duty hike, the reduction was limited to 32 paise a litre in petrol and 85 paise in diesel. Basic excise duty on unbranded or normal petrol has been increased from ` 7.73 per litre to ` 8.48 and the same on unbranded diesel from ` 7.83 to ` 9.83 per litre, a notification of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said. The increase in excise duty will fetch the government over ` 3,700 crore during the remaining period of the current fiscal. This is the second hike in excise duty in less than two weeks as the government looks to make use of the slump in oil prices to shore up resources at a time when its disinvestment kitty is likely to fall way short of target. The government had hiked excise duty on petrol by ` 0.37 per litre and by ` 2 a litre on diesel to mop up a little less than ` 4,400 crore. On December 17, 2015, it had raised excise duty on petrol by ` 0.30 per litre and ` 1.17 a litre on diesel to garner ` 2,500 crore. Taken together with the November 7, 2015 increase in excise duty on petrol of ` 1.60 per litre and diesel by 30 paise to raise ` 3,200 crore, this is the fourth hike in levies this fiscal. In the four increases, the government is expected to mop up over ` 13,700 crore to meet its budgetary deficit. The four excise duty hikes during this period totalled ` 7.75 per litre on petrol and ` 6.50 a litre on diesel. It led to about ` 20,000 crore in additional revenue to the government, helping it meet its fiscal deficit target. If the government would not have raised these duties, consumer price of petrol and diesel should have been lower by 10.77 a litre and ` 11.80 per litre, respectively. Petrol currently costs ` 59.03 per litre in Delhi while diesel costs ` 44.18 a litre. After including additional and special excise duty, the total levy on unbranded petrol will be ` 20.48 per litre, as against ` 19.73 currently. Similarly, on unbranded or normal diesel, total excise duty after including special excise will be ` 15.66 per litre compared with the ` 13.83. The basic excise duty on branded petrol has been raised from ` 8.91 per litre to ` 9.66 and the same on branded diesel from ` 10.19 to ` 12.19 per litre, the CBEC notification said. The government had collected ` 99,184 crore in excise collections from the petroleum sector in 2014-15, which stood at ` 33,042 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal. (www.dnaindia.com)

January 14, 2016. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Gujarat government that seven districts in the state had been included in the pilot project of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of kerosene subsidy. Pradhan has held a review meeting to discuss the mechanism of DBT with the state civil supply department. These seven districts (out of the 33 districts in the country selected by the Centre for DBT in kerosene) are Banaskantha, Chotte Udepur, Ahmedabad Rural, Bharuch, Dang, Porbandar and Dwarka, the state government said. (www.financialexpress.com)

 [NATIONAL: POWER]

January 18, 2016. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned the second 660 MW supercritical unit of Lalitpur Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) in Uttar Pradesh. BHEL has successfully commissioned the first unit of 3x660 MW Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) at Bara in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh. The unit has been synchronised by BHEL four months ahead of the schedule agreed with the developer. The commencement of generation from the unit will result in a significant improvement of power availability. The main plant of the 3x660 MW Lalitpur STPP is being executed by BHEL. (www.thehindubusinessline.com)

January 16, 2016. Unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KNPP) that shut down in June last year for maintenance is to restart functioning very soon, while the second unit will be operational by March this year. Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said that Unit 2 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant will be operational by March this year. The first 1,000 MW unit at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelvelli district was shut down in June 2015 for 60 days for refuelling and maintenance work. The unit has not restarted till date as testing of various systems is on. Only after successful completion of the tests, will the unit restart power generation. The second 1,000 MW unit at Kudankulam is expected to go critical, or start the fission process, for the first time sometime this year. India will be signing the remaining agreements with Russia for the third and fourth units at Kudankulam, estimated to cost around ` 40,000 crore. The site work is expected to begin for these two units sometime this year. Negotiations are on with Russia for fifth and sixth units. (zeenews.india.com)

January 15, 2016. NTPC has cut average cost of generating electricity from coal by 13.6% in the last three months by slashing coal imports, saving consumers ` 300 crore a month. NTPC cut back on buying costlier imported coal as well as augmented domestic supplies to reduce fuel cost, chairman of the country's largest power generator A K Jha said. Energy charges are nothing but cost of fuel used by a power company to generate electricity. On top of this is added a fixed cost which is essentially the cost of building the system, to arrive at a final charge for buyer. NTPC has also rationalised coal supplies by moving coal from the nearest mine to a generation station rather than sourcing the fuel from the mine the unit is tied up with. This brought down freight charges, he said. Jha said the company this fiscal cut coal imports by 30% to 8.6 million tons from 12.3 million tons a year ago. Also coal procured from e-auction has also been cut by 64% to 0.865 million tons. Reserve price for e-auction was 20% above the notified price as compared to 40% above notified price in 2014, helping cut costs, he said. Average energy charges in September 2015 was ` 2.06 per unit which was brought down to ` 1.90 in October. This further fell by 10 paise in November and to ` 1.78 per unit in December, he said. NTPC has a total installed capacity of 45,548 MW, including 39,352 MW through directly owned units and 6,196 MW through subsidiaries and joint ventures. It has 18 coal fired, 7 gas based, eight solar renewable, one hydroelectric and seven subsidiaries/joint venture power stations. (wap.business-standard.com)

January 14, 2016. NHPC has restored Unit-3 of its Chutak power station in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with effect from January 12, 2016.  The unit was shut down on account of certain technical reasons in October. Chutak power station is run-of-the-river scheme with an installed capacity of 44 MW (4X11 MW) and harnesses the Hydropower potential of river Suru in Kargil district of J&K. (money.livemint.com)

January 13, 2016. Japan agreed with India to support the introduction of high-efficiency coal-fired power generation and renewable energy technology in the fast-growing South Asian country. Motoo Hayashi, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Piyush Goyal, India’s minister for power, coal, new and renewable energy, said the two countries will start a joint study to help India decide on the best energy mix, or the proportion of electricity to be generated by various sources. Hayashi and Goyal also confirmed that Tokyo and New Delhi will explore joint procurement of natural gas. As India currently relies heavily on coal-fired thermal power, Japan will also cooperate with India on a study to reduce toxic emissions. Japan plans to pitch its power generation equipment and technologies to India, which is seeing sharp growth in power demand and plans to increase solar and other renewable energy power generation. (www.japantimes.co.jp)

January 19, 2016. TS Transco signed two agreements with NTPC and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) to purchase 2,800 MW power. On behalf of Discoms, TS Transco signed the MoU with SCCL to purchase 1,200 MW power to be generated by SCCL at Jaipur plant in Adilabad district. The SCCL will start commercial generation from Jaipur plant from April this year. The Singareni power will be purchased by Discoms as per the tariff to be fixed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Another MoU was also signed by Transco with NTPC to purchase 1,600 MW power to be generated by NTPC Ramagundam plant in Karimnagar district. The power from NTPC will be purchased by the Discoms as per the tariff fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. The Transco singed the MoU to purchase power from these two plants for the next 25 years. Though it is a government to government transaction, the signing of MoU with SCCL is significant as it would add 1,200 MW from April. This will give sufficient relief to the state power utilities, which are planning to supply nine-hour power to farmers during day time. SCCL produced 520 lakh tonnes coal in 2014-15 and set a target of 600 lakh tonnes for 2015-16. (www.newindianexpress.com)

January 19, 2016. A tough time seems to be staring at the three discoms who have been struggling to get their power allocation from state units surrendered. Responding to a petition filed by Tata Power Delhi in Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), the power ministry has stated that the move to terminate a power purchase agreement (PPA) would affect investment in the infrastructure. The discoms had filed the petition in December 2015 seeking to surrender this power. Tata Power Delhi was the first to file a petition with the CERC followed by Reliance discoms BSES Rajdhani and Yamuna. All three petitions were clubbed together for a common hearing. Since the north Delhi discom had filed the petition first, the power ministry responded to it. The ministry will also address the petitions filed by the BSES discoms by the next hearing scheduled in early February. The ministry said that very essence of the PPAs was that the procurer had a right to the allocated capacity at all times and the obligation to pay fixed charges continues even when power is not scheduled. The power ministry reiterated that reallocation was possible only if alternate buyers could be found. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

January 13, 2016. In around three years, India will see some 34,000 MW of power being transported over long distances, primarily to the northern and the southern regions. This will be made possible through setting up of large trunk transmission lines, which are technologically the most advanced in the world. Transmission of power over large distances is not very common across the world, except in China and Europe. Currently, only 5,900 MW of power travels to the southern grid from the northern, eastern and western grids, but the volume will jump to 17,000 MW by 2019-20. This increase of 11,100 MW will be made possible by the coming up of five new transmission lines at ` 42,950 crore. Similarly, the northern region which currently gets 8,050 MW from the western region, will see the number rising to 17,000 MW by 2018-19 through the coming up of three additional lines. The high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology made its debut in India, with Adani Power setting up the first such line from Mundra in Gujarat to Haryana. The 1,000-km-long 500-kv bi-pole HVDC line connects the western grid to the northern grid and was commissioned in 2012, transmitting power from Adani’s Mundra power plant. India’s first HVDC corridor, however, was built by the state-owned PowerGrid. The 800 kv, 6,000 MW line was built with an investment of ` 12,000 crore. The corridor connects Bishwanath Chariali in Assam to Agra in Uttar Pradesh through Alipurduar in West Bengal.

The HVDC corridor would facilitate transfer of 24,000 MW from future power generation projects in the northeastern region and Bhutan. The corridor, PowerGrid said, would help resolve the issue of congestion in the north and northeast regions. According to government regulations, all transmission corridors to be awarded through tariff-based competitive bidding from 2014-15 onwards would be based on HVDC technology. The “Perspective Transmission Plan for 20 Years” also emphasises on new technology such as HVDC and better load forecast. The plan is in sync with the general network access (GNA) for power transmission that is under discussion. GNA is a form of transmission network planning which aims at developing a transmission system in a manner that available power can be smoothly transmitted. (www.business-standard.com)

January 19, 2016. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) expects to add nearly 100 MW to the state’s power generation capability, enhance the distribution network and provide four lakh new service connections during 2016-17. The government-run power company has approved a plan outlay of ` 1,380 crore for the upcoming financial year, setting aside ` 50 crore for solar and wind projects and ` 2 crore for the Athirapally hydro-electric project. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had recently extended green clearance for the latter up to August 2017. The distribution sector has earmarked ` 705 crore, with plans to provide four lakh service connections and replace 14.16 lakh electricity meters. Transmission and system operations will see works to the tune of ` 260 crore and power generation, ` 390 crore. On the power generation side, the KSEB hopes to add 98.86 MW to the installed capacity. The KSEB hopes to commission two delayed small hydro-electric projects (SHEP) during the upcoming financial year. (www.newindianexpress.com)

January 19, 2016. The government will consider a new power tariff policy which aims at promoting clean energy, better regulation of discoms and faster rollout of investments. Power Minister Piyush Goyal said that he was hopeful that the government will be able to clear the new policy in this month or "at best first week of next month". Besides encouraging faster roll-out of investment, the new policy will reflect a concern for environment and encourage renewable energy. It will also look to strengthen regulatory mechanism so that discoms become more efficient and conscious towards their duties to consumers. In 2006, the central government had approved the National Tariff Policy under the provisions of Electricity Act, 2003. Under the policy, the power plants will have to use processed municipal waste water available in their vicinity (in 100 km radius). The proposed policy will bring in several unique aspects which have not been touched in the past. It will allow distribution companies to buy any amount of power produced from the waste. (www.ptinews.com)

January 19, 2016. On a technical overhaul drive, domestic coal giant Coal India Ltd (CIL) will spend ` 200 crore initially on various areas including electronic fencing of mines on the lines of practices in advanced nations like US and Australia. The technical upgradation includes fitting all trucks meant for carrying coal with global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices within a month to check plunder of the dry­fuel. CIL said apart from fitting GPS to its trucks and electronic fencing of mines, the PSU will introduce ICT compliant machinery and parts of capex (capital expenditure) and opex (operational expenditure) will be utilised for it. Government said recently that a project for introduction of GPS on trucks carrying coal is underway to prevent theft and diversion besides installation of CCTVs at all vulnerable points like entry and exit gates, weigh bridges and sidings to keep a regular watch. The steps for upgradation also include Enterprise resource planning (ERP) to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities, CIL said. The move for technological upgradation of CIL also holds much significance in view of government planning to open commercial coal mining to private players for the first time in over four decades. This follows another decision taken last month to allow the state utilities to commercially mine coal and sell to the private companies. Coal meets around 52 percent of primary commercial energy needs in India as against 29 percent of the world and about 66 percent of country's power generation is coal based. India is the 3^rd largest coal producing country in the world after China and USA. The government has set a production target of 550 million tonnes for the PSU for the current fiscal. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

January 18, 2016. The three private power distribution companies (discoms) in the capital enjoyed funding of more than ` 5,000 crore from the Delhi government since their inception on July 1, 2002, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said while justifying its stand on auditing their accounts. The three discoms—Anil Ambani's ADAG-owned BRPL and BYPL and the Tata-owned NDPL—are joint ventures between these private companies and the Delhi government. In each of the discoms, the Delhi government has 49% stake while the private entities have 51% each. The federal auditor said that the Arvind Kejriwal government was not the first to order a CAG audit of discoms. The previous government headed by Congress's Sheila Dikshit too had asked the CAG to audit the three discoms. The government auditor also criticized the HC's proposal that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission was competent to handle the audit. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

January 17, 2016. Notwithstanding opposition from the Shiv Sena, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will join French President Francois Hollande to push for early deal on the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. Modi and Hollande, who will be on a visit to New Delhi to attend the Republic Day ceremony as chief guest, are likely to prod Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and French multinational AREVA to expeditiously negotiations for the six 1650 MWe power plants. Modi’s forthcoming visit to Washington at the end of March may also see the US nuclear giant Westinghouse Electric Company making a significant announcement on the progress of its negotiation with the NPCIL for the techno-commercial agreement for the proposed atomic power plant at Mithi Virdi in Gujarat. AREVA and NPCIL had signed pre-engineering agreement for the power plant at Jaitapur during Modi’s visit to Paris in April last. (www.deccanherald.com)

January 17, 2016. Increased output by Coal India Ltd (CIL) has resulted in savings of about ` 17,000 crore and the state-run miner is set for a record production of 550 million tonnes (mt) this fiscal year. CIL is the single largest producer of dry fuel in the world and the government has set a target of doubling its production to 1 billion tonnes by 2020. Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said coal imports, which fell down to about 132 mt in April-December period of the current fiscal year from about 155 mt in the corresponding period a year ago, are likely to fall further on the back of increased output. He said the coal behemoth, which could hardly manage an increase of 31 mt of coal between 2010 and 2014, recorded an increase of about 32 mt in the last fiscal and has an "incredible" growth rate of 9.8 percent. He said increased production has not only resulted in enhanced energy production but also made available coal stock for 24 days with power plants, from the earlier three to seven days. He said apart from increased production, increased offtake could also be possible with availability of higher number of rakes, which went to 204 per day in the current fiscal year as against 182 in the last fiscal year. The state-owned firm accounts for over 80 percent of the domestic coal production. Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said that coal shortages will be a thing of the past and India will not need to import dry fuel by 2017, except to meet requirements of power plants located near coastal areas. India had imported 212.103 mt of coal worth over ` 1 lakh crore last fiscal year. (profit.ndtv.com)

January 17, 2016. With signing of pacts envisaging investments worth ` 4.76 lakh crore in Andhra Pradesh (AP), Chief Minister (CM) N Chandrababu Naidu has instructed Energy Department and discoms to immediately chalk out a special mechanism to provide uninterrupted power supply to industries in the state. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) are a boon to the state, Naidu said and directed the officials of the Energy Department to put all out efforts to materialise the pacts signed during the CII Partnership Summit held recently at Visakhapatnam. Energy Secretary and AP State Energy Conservation Mission’s Vice Chairman Ajay Jain said that out of the total proposed investments of about ` 4.7 lakh crore (328 MoUs), an outlay of about ` 1.38 lakh crore is proposed in energy sector itself. Naidu directed that top priority should be given to interruption-free quality power supply for industrial zones like Sri City, Krishnapatnam, Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. AP has overcome the power-deficit situation of about 22 million units per day into a surplus situation within a span of one year. (www.financialexpress.com)

 [INTERNATIONAL: OIL & GAS]

January 19, 2016. Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, plans to trim output for the first time in more than a decade as it cuts spending to cope with oil’s plunge below $30 a barrel. The Beijing-based explorer will produce 470 million to 485 million barrels of oil equivalent this year, slipping from 495 million in 2015, it said. That would be the first decline since at least 1999. The company said it will spend a maximum 60 billion yuan ($9.1 billion), down from last year’s 67.2 billion yuan. Total spending last year missed the company’s original target, highlighting how producers have struggled with oil’s plunge to a 12-year low. The price collapse has delayed $380 billion worth of investments on 68 major upstream projects, according to industry consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Cnooc’s production won’t reach 2015 levels for at least two more years. It’s targeting output of 484 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2017 and 502 million in 2018. The company plans to start four new projects this year while drilling 115 exploration wells, it said. The lower-end of the company’s production target sets output this year at about 1.29 million barrels a day, a drop of more than 68,000 barrels a day. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 18, 2016. Oil-producing countries will sell $240 billion of international assets this year, mostly stocks and bonds, in an attempt to hold together budgets blown apart by the slump in oil prices, according to estimates from JP Morgan. These countries will sell holdings of U.S. Treasuries and other bonds worth about $110 billion plus $75 billion of equity investments, up from $45 billion and $10 billion last year. The remaining funds will come from liquidating other assets such as cash, real estate and private equity. These estimates are based on the price of Brent crude oil averaging $31 a barrel this year, sharply down from $53 from last year, which would see producer countries' oil revenues plummet by $300 billion to $440 billion. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, could face a budget deficit approaching 20 percent of gross domestic product, according to some estimates. (www.reuters.com)

January 17, 2016. Israeli oil and gas explorers Isramco Negev 2 LP and Modiin - LP said a consultant’s report on the Daniel licenses offshore Israel revealed potential for 8.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas. The size of the undersea reserves, according to the report by Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc., would make them the most significant Israeli discovery since the massive Leviathan field, the country’s largest, Modiin said. Natural gas discoveries off Israel’s coast include the 10 Tcf Tamar field and Leviathan, almost twice the size, which brought the nation closer to energy independence and to becoming an energy exporter. If gas is found at the Daniel licenses, it would help Israel become a regional energy hub and generate billions of dollars in revenues for the state, analysts said. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 14, 2016. Gas Plus Khalakan announced that it has flowed 65,000 barrels of oil, over a period of 180 days, from the Shewashan discovery, which is located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Increased water production at the site has since required the Shewashan-1 well to be shut-in pending a workover, or sidetrack, or conversion to a water disposal well if required, according to the company. GPK has already spud the Shewashan-2 development well and is planning to drill the Shewashan-3 development well immediately after the completion of Shewashan-2. (www.rigzone.com)

January 13, 2016. London-listed exploration and production firm Premier Oil has agreed to buy German utility E.ON's UK North Sea oil and gas assets for $120 million, the companies said. Energy experts are predicting an increase in mergers in the oil and gas sector this year as companies with weakened balance sheets look to sell assets and stronger players hunt for bargains, with oil prices close to 12-year lows. Premier Oil said the deal, which it will finance using existing cash, would add "significant" production and cashflow in 2016 and 2017, even at current oil and gas prices. The deal will add around 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to Premier's production and give it access to a hedging position worth around $80 million. The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2016, comprises E.ON's equity interests in 40 licenses in the UK North Sea, including a 5.2 percent stake in the Elgin-Franklin field and a 47 percent interest in the Babbage field. (www.reuters.com)

January 19, 2016. China boosted oil refining to a record last year as it became a net fuel exporter for the first time amid a global glut that’s driven crude prices to a 12-year low. The world’s second-largest consumer raised refining by 3.8 percent to 522 million metric tons in 2015, or about 10.48 million barrels a day, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Processing in December was also a record at 45.83 million tons, or about 10.8 million barrels a day. Refineries are sustaining high output to satisfy growing gasoline demand in the world’s largest automobile market, while boosting exports of other products as slowing economic expansion and industrial production damps diesel consumption. The nation’s gross domestic product rose 6.8 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said, below the median estimate of 6.9 percent in a survey. Oil product exports surged 53 percent to a record last month, capping a year of rising outbound shipments that resulted in the country exporting more products than it imported for the first time in data going back to 2004. Diesel shipments abroad surged more than 60 percent between January and November last year, hitting a monthly record of 1.11 million tons in September. China’s state-run refiners have been forced to make room. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia’s largest refiner by capacity, plans to lower its oil-processing target by 1.2 percent in 2016 because of weak diesel demand and competition from teapots, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. The company has increased refining every year since at least 2005. The nation may buy 8 percent more oil from overseas in 2016, taking average purchases to 7.2 million barrels a day, according to a survey. Its inbound shipments jumped to a record 6.7 million barrels a day last year. China’s crude output last year rose 1.7 percent to a record near 215 million tons (4.3 million barrels a day), the data show. Natural gas production climbed 2.9 percent to 127.1 billion cubic meters and coal output declined 3.5 percent to 3.68 billion tons. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 19, 2016. Congo's refining company Congolaise de raffinage (Coraf) is considering developing a 5 million tonnes (mt) per year (100,000 bbl/d) refinery between Brazzaville and Ouesso (northern Congo). A 1,300 km-long pipeline would also connect Ouesso to the existing 21,000 bbl/d refinery in Pointe-Noire, whose process capacity will be raised to 24,000 bbl/d in the first quarter of 2016. (www.enerdata.net)

January 13, 2016. Exxon Mobil will shut the smaller of two crude units at its 350,000 barrel-per-day Beaumont, Texas refinery in the second half of April for up to 90 days, according to a report. The planned maintenance will impact a 130,000 bpd crude distillation unit and related operations. The turnaround is slated to begin the week of April 17. (www.reuters.com)

January 19, 2016. Chevron Corporation's Australian subsidiaries signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) with ENN LNG Trading Company Limited (ENN) to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China from the company-operated Gorgon natural gas project offshore Western Australia. When the agreement is finalized, ENN will receive up to 0.5 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG over 10 years from the Gorgon project, with deliveries commencing in 2018 or the first half of 2019. The latest deal follows the recently announced non-binding LNG supply HoA with another Chinese company, China Huadian Green Energy Co., Ltd. ENN LNG Trading Company Limited is a subsidiary of ENN Energy Holdings Ltd., which is one of the largest natural gas distribution companies in China, with operations in 146 cities in 17 provinces and autonomous regions and supplying over 11.3 million residential and 52,000 industrial/commercial customers. ENN’s Zhoushan LNG receiving terminal is currently under construction and is expected to be in operation by 2018. (www.rigzone.com)

January 19, 2016. The world could find itself drowning in oil this year and prices could fall further as new Iranian output cancels out production cuts elsewhere, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). An increase in supply and weakening demand growth will ensure there is an overabundance of oil until late 2016 at the earliest, the IEA said. The agency said growth in global oil demand would be weaker in response to the slowing economy of China, whose manufacturing sector absorbs vast quantities of the world’s oil output. Production from non-OPEC countries will fall by 600,000 barrels a day this year, but Iran’s re-entry to the international market could fill the gap by the middle of 2016, putting further pressure on prices, the IEA said. The agency said it had expected demand growth to slow but the pace of the slowdown was a shock. It pointed to falling industrial usage in China, where demand for diesel plummeted in the fourth quarter. As storage space on land becomes scarce, it may become profitable to stockpile excess crude on tankers at sea to accommodate the oil glut, the IEA said. (www.theguardian.com)

January 18, 2015. Polish President Andrzej Duda said plans to build a new pipeline to pump Russian gas to Germany bypassing Ukraine is dictated by politics rather than economics and undermines the European Union's (EU) solidarity. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which opponents say will deepen dependence on Russian gas supplies from Gazprom, would undermine solidarity within the EU's push for an energy union, Duda said. (www.reuters.com)

January 14, 2016. The government of British Columbia has opposed Kinder Morgan's plans to expand the Trans Mountain crude oil pipeline, which stretches from Edmonton, Alberta, and Burnaby, British Columbia, considering that Kinder Morgan had not provided an adequate plan to prevent or respond to an oil spill and failed to meet any of the five conditions it had laid out in 2012. The C$6.8 bn (US$4.8 bn) expansion project aims at increasing the transportation capacity from approximately 300,000 bbl/d to 890,000 bbl/d by twinning the existing light crude oil and refined product pipeline. In July 2014, the National Energy Board (NEB), Canada's energy regulator, announced that it would delay its final decision on the project by seven months due to changes in the project's route, after Trans Mountain Pipeline asked to modify a 4 km section. The change postponed the NEB's decision from 2 July 2015 to 25 January 2016. The project is awaiting approval from the NEB, which expects to make a recommendation to the federal government by May 2016. (www.enerdata.net)     

January 14, 2016. Moscow was still ready to build undersea gas pipeline TurkStream to Turkey if European and Turkish partners showed their interest in the project, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. The talks on the project have been frozen since a Russian bomber was shot down by a Turkish jet near the Syrian-Turkish border last November. (af.reuters.com)

January 13, 2016. China imported a record amount of crude last year as oil’s lowest annual average price in more than a decade spurred stockpiling and boosted demand from independent refiners. The world’s largest energy consumer increased imports last year by 8.8 percent to a record 334 million metric tons, or about 6.7 million barrels a day, according to preliminary data released by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs. Inbound shipments in December jumped to 33.19 million tons, while oil product exports rose to 4.32 million metric tons, both also records. China may start four additional strategic petroleum reserves this year as part of a plan to stockpile enough oil to cover 100 days worth of net imports by 2020 and thirteen independent refiners have been granted import quotas totaling a combined 55 million tons, or 18 percent of the nation’s annual imports. The nation’s crude imports last month was equivalent to 7.85 million barrels a day, 6 percent higher than the previous record of 7.4 million in April, calculations show. Chinese refiners have been flooding regional markets with diesel as they raised crude processing to meet gasoline demand, leading to swelling stockpiles. Distillate exports surged 61 percent in the first 11 months in 2015 from a year ago, according to customs data. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 13, 2016. Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said it saw Russian crude oil exports falling six percent to 215.8 million tonnes in 2016. Transneft said Russia's top oil producer Rosneft would increase exports to China via the ESPO pipeline spur this year to 16.5 million tonnes from 16 million tonnes in 2015. (af.reuters.com)

January 18, 2016. Brazil's securities regulator CVM is investigating 10 complaints that state-led oil company Petrobras, its auditors, and former company executives misled investors, several of which could result in judgments this year, the CVM president said. The cases, which carry administrative but not criminal penalties, come after shares in Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, lost two-thirds of their value in three years. CVM punishments include fines or bans on corporate or market activity. Two complaints have moved to the sanctions phase, CVM President Leonardo Pereira said. The decisions, when they come, could influence investigations and lawsuits in the United States, where Petrobras may face record fines of $1.6 billion or more. Petrobras spent about 50 billion reais ($12.4 billion) subsidizing fuel through late 2014. Thanks to a stronger Brazilian currency at the time, the subsidies cost as much as $25 billion. At the same time, Petrobras was investing $40 billion or more a year with almost no increase in oil and gas output. As fuel prices fell to 12-year lows, the need to save cash to pay maturing debts forced Petrobras to cut investments needed to expand output and pay future obligations. (www.reuters.com)

January 18, 2016. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) investments in the Norway's oil and gas (O&G) industry will fall until 2019 when they will restart to grow. From a record investment level of nearly NOK180 bn (€22 bn) in 2013 and 2014, investments dropped by 16% to under NOK150 bn (€17 bn) in 2015. Investments are estimated to drop by another 10% in 2016 to NOK135 bn (€15 bn) with investments in fields currently in development representing 45% (NOK60 bn, €6.7 bn) of overall investments. The NPD is also expecting "a considerable drop in exploration costs from 2015 to 2016". From 56 in 2015, the number of exploration wells in 2016 should fall to around 30. (www.enerdata.net)           

January 17, 2016. Egypt will hold an international tender for 11 oil and natural gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean sea and Nile Delta during the second half of fiscal year 2015-2016, the oil ministry said. Egypt has been seeking to boost domestic production, as increased consumption and declines in production have transformed the country from a net exporter to an importer of energy. (af.reuters.com)

January 17, 2016. Iran is beginning efforts to boost oil production and exports amid a global supply glut after the removal of sanctions that shackled its economy and capped crude sales. The Persian Gulf country is targeting an immediate increase in shipments of 500,000 barrels a day, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, deputy oil minister for commerce and international affairs, said. Iran plans to add another half million barrels within months. Once the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iran is now fifth-biggest in the 13-member group. It produced 2.7 million barrels a day in December, data show. Oil exports fell to an average of 1.4 million barrels a day in 2014 from 2.6 million barrels daily in 2011, the year before the U.S. and European Union intensified sanctions, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Iran will probably start increasing exports by selling barrels it stockpiled on tankers in the Persian Gulf in anticipation of the deal. About 18 Iranian tankers are holding 12 million barrels of crude and 24 million barrels of condensates, according to the International Energy Agency. Iran’s longer-term challenge will be to restore oil production, and it hopes to attract more than $100 billion of investment to revitalize ageing fields. The country plans to raise output capacity to 5.7 million barrels a day by the end of 2020, helped by new production contributed by potential foreign partners, National Iranian Oil Co. said. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 15, 2016. China's state planning agency has granted a 2.2 million tonne (mt) per annum crude import quota to the independent Dongying Qirun Chemical refinery in Shandong province, it said. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said that the refinery had been granted the quota after it met requirements to eliminate outdated and polluting capacity. The regulator issued new rules last year to allow smaller independent refiners to gain access to imported crude oil provided they meet certain environmental conditions. (in.reuters.com)

January 14, 2016. Oil and gas projects worth $380 billion have been postponed or cancelled since 2014 as firms slash costs to survive the oil price crash, including $170 billion of projects planned between 2016 and 2020, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) said. Crude oil prices have fallen by 70 percent since mid-2014 to just over $30 per barrel as soaring global production leaves hundreds of thousands of barrels a day without a buyer, while demand - especially in once-booming Asia - is slowing markedly. Oil and gas firms were being forced into survival mode as oil prices fell to levels last seen in 2004, WoodMac said. The report comes the same week as Barclays bank said global oil and gas companies planned to cut spending on exploration and production by as much as 20 percent in 2016. WoodMac said a total of 68 major projects with combined reserves of around 27 billion barrels of oil equivalent had been deferred since 2014, with $170 billion of cuts falling between 2016 and 2020. In terms of production, a total 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of liquids production would be deferred into next decade, more than OPEC-member Venezuela produces, it said. The average break-even cost for delayed new projects was $62 per barrels of oil equivalent, WoodMac said. (www.reuters.com)

 [INTERNATIONAL: POWER]

January 19, 2016. China generated 5.618 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in 2015, falling 0.2 percent from the previous year, the first annual drop since 1968, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. As China struggles to fight pollution, coal-fired power sources have been affected disproportionately by the slowdown, with a huge capacity surplus allowing grids to give priority to cleaner sources of energy, including hydropower. Though demand usually peaks in the winter as temperatures fall, generation fell 3.7 percent in December to 491 billion kWh, data showed. (in.reuters.com)

January 18, 2016. Finnish power utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) has started testing the instrumentation and control (I&C) systems of the third unit currently under construction at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Finland. The 1,600 MW project, developed by Finnish utility TVO and built by Areva, has been under construction since 2005 and was expected to be commissioned in 2009. The project has been delayed to 2014 and then to 2018 and its cost has doubled from €3 bn to about €6.5 bn, raising tensions between TVO and Areva. (www.enerdata.net)

January 14, 2016. Ncondezi Energy has signed a binding Joint Development Agreement with Shanghai Electric Power (China) to jointly develop the 300 MW Ncondezi coal-fired power project in the province of Tete in western Mozambique. Shanghai Electric will invest up to US$25.5 mn in the project and will become the controlling shareholder with 60%.

The project will have a capacity of 300 MW in a first phase and may be expanded in further stages to 1,800 MW. Ncondezi Energy will retain full ownership of the coal mine, which it will finance and develop separately to the power project, and which will have a target production of 1.3 million tonnes (mt) per year. (www.enerdata.net)             

January 13, 2016. Saudi Aramco's power generation capacity will exceed 12,000 MW by 2019, roughly double the level it will reach this year. Saudi Aramco generates power both through third-party companies that operate and produce electricity and also through its own power assets. Saudi Arabia has total installed capacity of 70,000 MW. Aramco's power capacity will hit 6,500 MW this year when its co-generation projects in Shaybah, Wasit, Abqaiq, Shedgum, Uthmaniyah, Hawiyah, and Ras Tanura are completed.

In Abqaiq, a joint venture cogeneration plant -- owned by Aramco and a consortium of Japanese and Saudi companies -- is expected to start commercial operation in the third quarter of 2016. It will provide 363 MW of power and 1.2 million pounds of steam per hour to support the critical oil supply operations at Abqaiq, Aramco's largest oil processing facility. (af.reuters.com)

January 13, 2016. China’s coal imports fell the most on record to the lowest in four years as a slowing economy and government efforts to curb pollution damped demand. Overseas shipments into the world’s largest energy consumer declined about 30 percent to 204.06 million metric tons last year, the least since 2011, according to preliminary data released by the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs.

Coal demand in China has slid as its economy slows and shifts toward consumer-led growth while the government seeks to cuts industrial overcapacity and curb pollution. China will cut coal’s share of its energy consumption to 62.6 percent this year, from 64.4 percent last year, and will suspend the approval of new mines starting this year. The country plans to ask companies to replace electricity generated from their own coal-fired plants with renewable energy, the National Development and Reform Commission said. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 18, 2016. China is working on a floating nuclear power plant that could sail to specific sites and anchor offshore to produce power for various needs. China General Nuclear expects to complete construction of this small modular offshore multi-purpose reactor by 2020, and demonstrate its utility for a variety of purposes. Construction of the first floating reactor is expected to start next year with electricity generation to begin in 2020. The Chinese government plans to invest over US$100 billion to construct about seven new reactors annually between now and 2030. By 2050, nuclear power should exceed 350 GW in that country, should include about 400 new nuclear reactors, and should result in over a trillion dollars in nuclear investment. But unlike the United States, China is experimenting with many types of reactors, this floating design being just one. China’s strategy to be the largest exporter of nuclear energy technology requires high levels of technological diversity so they can capture most of the nuclear market with reactors at all scales and of all types – small modular reactors, fast reactors, molten salt reactors, thorium reactors and large light water reactors. (www.forbes.com)

January 18, 2016. U.K. ambitions to build small modular nuclear plants may be realized as soon as 2025, according to Fluor Corp.’s NuScale unit, which is seeking to be a pioneer in the market. NuScale plans to submit its 50 MW reactor design for approval by U.S. nuclear authorities towards the end of 2016. That would leave it well-placed to seek the U.K. equivalent, called Generic Design Assessment, in 2017, the U.S. company said. Britain is trying to secure new baseload power as it closes down all its coal-fired plants by 2025. Conventional nuclear power is proving expensive and time consuming, while most companies don’t think it’s profitable to build new gas-fired stations. NuScale’s 50 MW reactors can be deployed in quantities of as many as 12 at a single power plant. That would give utilities the flexibility to spread capital spending over many years as they expand a plant. Electricite de France SA and China General Nuclear Power Corp. will spend about 18 billion pounds to build a 3.2 GW nuclear plant they’re planning at Hinkley Point in southwest England by 2025, the first atomic station in the country since 1995. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 15, 2016. The Obama administration will stop leasing federal land to coal developers for three years while it studies the fossil fuel’s environmental impact and considers bigger changes such as raising royalty rates paid by mining companies. The decision brings more bad news to a battered coal industry that’s reeling from dropping demand as environmental regulations and lower-priced natural gas lure power utilities away from the fossil fuel. But the moratorium is limited to new coal leases on federal and Indian land -- with exceptions for the metallurgical coal used in steel production -- so the immediate impact on the industry is modest. Companies that already hold federal coal leases, such as Peabody Energy Corp., can continue to mine those reserves during and after the moratorium. The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the program, also will be required to publicly post requests to lease coal or reduce royalties. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 14, 2016. The European Commission is continuing its investigation on the Paks nuclear power plant expansion project, considering that Hungary has so far failed to explain how the project did not conflict with state aid rules. Construction of the Paks expansion is expected to start in 2018, with commissioning scheduled in 2025-2026. (www.enerdata.net)

 [RENEWABLE ENERGY / CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS]

January 18, 2016. Suzlon Group, one of the leading global renewable energy solution providers, has won a third order from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for 50.40 MW capacity wind power project in India. The project comprises of 24 units of S97-120m hybrid towers with rated capacity of 2.1 MW each and is scheduled for completion by FY2017. The S97-120m turbine is the latest product introduced by Suzlon and belongs to the reliable and proven 2.1 MW product platform. The S97 -120 m hybrid tower is the worlds’ tallest All-Steel hybrid tower design which combines both lattice and tubular structures, designed indigenously to harness the potential from sub-optimal wind sites. Suzlon partnered HPCL’s maiden foray in the non-conventional energy space in the year 2007 and with this order, HPCL’s total wind portfolio will increase to 100.90 MW entirely powered by Suzlon. (money.livemint.com)

January 18, 2016. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed an agreement with the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh in India to set up a 750 MW solar PV power plant — expected to be among the first ultra mega solar power projects to be commissioned in India. The IFC will extend its global expertise to structure and implement the transaction to help attract private investments of about $750 million. IFC’s work on this project will be supported by its partnership with Australia’s Department of Foreign Trade. The government of Madhya Pradesh has already approved the project following which the process of land acquisition was initiated. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is expected to float tender for the project soon. The SECI is working on around 2 dozen ultra mega solar power projects which will have installed capacity of up to 4 GW each. (cleantechnica.com)

January 16, 2016. CESC Ltd, a fully integrated power utility company of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group has firmed up plans to invest over ` 2,500 crore in setting up solar and wind generation capacity. The company announced successful commissioning of an 18 mw solar power plant in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. With the addition of its fourth renewable energy power plant, the group has reinforced its thrust on energy diversification and expects the total renewable capacity to touch 113 MW by the end of this fiscal. It has entered into a 25-year power purchase agreement with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation. The project has been completed within six months including a 15 km transmission line. CESC's total thermal and renewable generation capacity currently stands at about 2,478 MW. The company has 86 MW wind power capacities in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and 27 MW solar capacities in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. (energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com)

January 16, 2016. The carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have declined by 22.72 lakh tonnes in Madhya Pradesh (MP) due to the generation of power from renewable energy sources. In order to promote green energy in MP, alternative energy sources including wind, solar, biomass and minor hydel projects are being promoted. Currently, Madhya Pradesh is generating 1795.90 MW renewable energy in the state. Out of this, the contribution of wind energy is 943.60 MW, solar energy 683.20 MW, biomass energy 82.55 MW and from minor hydel projects 86.55 MW. At present, 51 solar, 157 wind, six biomass energy and 49 minor hydel power projects are under process of implementation in the state. 9,188 MW green energy will be generated upon the completion of the projects. (www.business-standard.com)

January 14, 2016. Haryana's power distribution firms – Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd have made arrangements to produce 165 MW solar power during 2016-17. The firms are following solar power projects according to state's renewable purchase obligation as notified by Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission, informed sources. Haryana Power Purchase Centre on behalf of the distribution firms had invited bids to provide electricity produced from solar plants in the state. The centre finalised 165 MW of solar power from different solar power projects that will be installed in the state at a fixed tariff for a period of 25 years. Apart from these solar power projects, the distribution firms are also facilitating the proliferation of solar rooftop projects with net metering scheme. Presently, the state has installed capacity of 12.8 MW of solar power. (www.iamin.in)

January 13, 2016. Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha has inaugurated a 4,000 KW solar power project at its facility in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh. The company’s country arm India Yamaha Motor (IYM) had partnered with solar service provider Amplus Solar for installation, operation and maintenance of the project, the installation of which will be completed by April this year, IYM said. In the initial phase, roofs of the factory buildings will be utilised to install solar panels to fulfil the partial need of electrical energy required for manufacturing operation, the company said. (www.thehindu.com)

January 13, 2016. A total of 92 percent Indians polled by independent market research company Ipsos view global warming and climate change as major threats. India ranks seventh among the 24 countries surveyed, Ipsos said. These include emission checks, encouraging use of public transportation and moving towards alternative clean renewable energy sources. Close on the heels of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Paris, Ipsos polled citizens around the world to gauge their opinion on climate change issues. One of the highlights of the Paris climate change agreement is the commitment of all countries to reduce carbon emissions. However, nearly 60 percent polled globally disagree that it is practical and feasible to almost completely eliminate the use of oil and gas in the next ten years. India and Latin America are still more optimistic than North America, Europe, Middle East Africa and rest of Asia Pacific countries in its resolve to reducing carbon emissions. Only 43 percent Indians disagree that it is possible for India to eliminate the use of oil and gas and to bring down emissions, with Japan disagreeing the most at 79 percent, Ipsos said. Compared to Latin America, India and other BRICS countries have seen much lower evidence of global warming, it said. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

January 18, 2016. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC announced that it will invest $10 billion in green projects over the next decade. The funds will be focused on projects in the area stretching from West Africa to East Asia, the bank said. The commitment was calculated from internal research which identified a funding gap of $48 trillion over the next 20 years to meet global energy demand. The United Arab Emirates generates almost all of its power from oil and gas, according to data. The country has announced ambitious plans for renewables. Dubai said that it plans to source 25 percent of its power from solar plants by 2030. (www.bloomberg.com)

January 18, 2016. Denmark produced 42% of its electricity from wind turbines last year according to data, the highest figure yet recorded worldwide. The new year-end figures showed a 3% rise on 2014, which was itself a record year for Danish wind energy generation. Two Western Danish regions – Jutland and Funen – supplied more electricity than the area’s inhabitants consumed for the equivalent of 60 days of the year. One of the main reasons for the record-breaking year was that 2015 was a particularly windy year. If two large onshore windfarms at Anholt and Horns Rev 2 had not been out of action, wind would have made up 43.5% of total power, Energinet, Denmark’s transmissions systems operator, said. As it was, wind turbines provided 55% of the electricity in Denmark’s west, and 23% in its east. The Scandinavian country’s surplus wind energy is mostly sold to consumers in Norway, Sweden and Germany, while it imports hydroelectric power from Norway and solar energy from Germany. The Danish government looks to be well on the way to meeting its goal of producing half of all electricity from wind by 2050, despite mooting a scale back of ambitions over the summer. Reacting to the new figures, the European Wind Energy Association called for a renewed focus on how large amounts of electricity could be integrated into Europe’s power systems. (www.theguardian.com)

January 18, 2016. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has short-listed 22 large-scale solar projects to take part to the next stage of its A$100 mn (US$69 mn) large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) competitive round. The projects are located in all mainland states and have a total capacity of 766 MW. Project range from 10 MW to 107 MW. ARENA’s A$100 mn competitive round was announced and is designed to bring down costs through the deployment of 200 MW of large-scale solar PV. Full application stage is due 15 June 2016. (www.enerdata.net)

January 18, 2016. According to preliminary data released by the Canadian Wind Energy Association, more than 1.5 GW of wind capacity were installed in Canada in 2015, raising the installed wind capacity in the country to 11.2 GW. Canada holds the sixth largest installed wind capacity worldwide and wind supplied about 5% of the Canadian energy demand in 2015. Thirty-six projects were installed during the year, including 23 involving Aboriginal Peoples, municipal or local ownership. Ontario added 871 MW of wind capacity, reaching 4,361 MW. Between contracts signed and planned new purchases through the province’s new Large Renewable Procurement process, there remains more than 2,000 MW of wind slated to be built in Ontario in the next few years. Nova Scotia, which currently has 552 MW, commissioned 186 MW in 2015, including one of the largest municipal-owned wind projects in Canada. Alberta, which is Canada’s third largest wind energy market at 1,500 MW, added 29 MW in 2015. (www.enerdata.net)   

January 14, 2016. A catastrophe caused by climate change is seen as the biggest potential threat to the global economy in 2016, according to a survey of 750 experts conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The annual assessment of risks conducted by the WEF before its annual meeting in Davos on 20-23 January showed that global warming had catapulted its way to the top of the list of concerns. The report, prepared by the WEF in collaboration with risk specialists Marsh & McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, comes a month after the deal signed in Paris to reduce carbon emissions. The WEF said evidence was mounting that inter-connections between risks were becoming stronger. The WEF said the broad range of risks – from environmental to geopolitical and economic – was unprecedented. (www.theguardian.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may have received complimentary copies of the ORF Energy News Monitor. Our objective in bringing out the newsletter is to provide a platform for focused debate on India’s energy future. You could be a partner in this effort by becoming a subscriber. You could also contribute recommendations for India’s energy future in the form of brief insightful articles.

We look forward to receiving your patronage and support.

ORF Centre for Resources Management

 

This is a weekly publication of the ORF Centre for Resources Management that covers analysis articles as well as national and international news on energy categorised in a more useful manner. The year 2015 is the 12^th continuous year of publication of the Newsletter.

ORF objective

in bringing out the newsletter is to

provide a platform for focused debate on

India’s energy future

Subscription rate (for soft copy):  ` 1000 per annum 

To subscribe please visit here       OR

 

SMS <ENERGY> <Your Name> <Organisation> <Mobile No.> <Email Id> to 9871417327

 

Registered with the Registrar of News Paper for India under No. DELENG / 2004 / 13485

Published on behalf of Observer Research Foundation, 20 Rouse Avenue, New Delhi–110 002.

Disclaimer: Information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and has been compiled, adapted and edited from reliable sources. ORF does not accept any liability for errors therein. News material belongs to respective owners and is provided here for wider dissemination only. Sources will be provided on request. 

 

Publisher: Baljit Kapoor	Editorial Adviser: Lydia Powell
Contact: Vinod Kumar Tomar ORF Centre for Resources Management, 20 Rouse Avenue, New Delhi - 110 002, Phone +91.11.4352 0020, Extn 2120, Fax: +91.11.4352 0003, E-mail: [email protected]	Editor: Akhilesh Sati                                            Content Development:                                                                        Ashish Gupta,                                                                                        Dinesh Kumar Madhrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Observer Research Foundation was established on September 5, 1990 as non-profit public policy think-tank. It provides informed and viable inputs for the policy and decision-makers in the government and to the political and business leadership of the country by providing informed and productive inputs, in-depth research and stimulating discussions.

 

ORF Objectives:

 

·        Aid and impact formulation of policies and evolve policy alternatives.

·        Create a climate conducive to effective implementation of these policies.

·        Strengthen India’s democratic institutions to enable coherent, reasoned and      consistent policy-making.

·        Provide reasoned and consensual inputs representing a broad section of opinion to improve governance, accelerate economic development, and ensure a better quality of life for all Indians.

·        Monitor strategic environment

·        Work towards achieving international peace, harmony, and co-operation.

Give direction to India’s long-range foreign policy objectives.   

 

• Energy
• China
• India
• coal
• crude price
• electricity
• Energy News Monitor
• MONITORS
• Oil
• power

The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.