Energy News Monitor I Volume VIII, Issue 14

Integrated Transport Policy A vision which doesn’t work today – how to make it a reality

 

NEWS BRIEF

OIL & GAS

Reliance Industries' KG-D6 gas output dips below 45 mmscmd

September 20, 2011. Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG-D6 oil and gas fields have seen output further dipping to 44.5 million standard cubic metres per day. Reliance produced 44.5 mmscmd of natural gas September 5 as against 44.8 mmscmd production. The output comprised 37.1 mmscmd from Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) gas fields and 7.4 mmscmd from MA oil field in the KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block. D1 and D3 gas fields produced 37.7 mmscmd of gas in August, while output from MA field was 7.1 mmscmd. Out of the 22 wells to be drilled in the Phase-I of Dhirubhai-1 and 3 field development plan, 18 wells have been drilled and completed so far. Of these, 16 wells were put on production as two wells (B2 and B13) were kept closed due to high water cut. MA oilfield produced an average of 14,080 barrels of crude oil per day besides the 7.4 mmscmd of associated gas. Of the total 44.5 mmscmd, about 13.8 mmscmd of gas was sold to fertiliser plants and another 24.1 mmscmd to power plants. The remaining 6.6 mmscmd was consumed by other sectors like sponge iron plants, LPG, city gas distribution networks and petrochemical/refineries.

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas had informed Parliament that output from KG-D6 was short of 70.39 mmscmd envisaged by now as per the field development plan approved in 2006. Reliance has so far drilled only 20 out of the committed 22 wells on D1 and D3 as reservoir has not performed on expected lines. Of the 20 wells drilled, only 18 wells are under production.

Further in the FDP approved in 2006, Reliance had committed to drill 31 wells by the current fiscal-end. Reliance currently holds 90 per cent interest in KG-D6, while the rest is with Niko Resources of Canada. It is selling 30 per cent in the block and 22 others to UK's BP Plc for $7.2 billion. Reliance started natural gas production from KG-D6 fields from April 1, 2009. The present output is less than about 60 mmscmd production in the same period a year-ago.

BPCL exploration arm to drill 16 wells

September 18, 2011. Bharat PetroResources (BPRL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state-run oil marketer Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), expects to drill 16 wells by the end of this fiscal and is hopeful of further discoveries in its blocks in the country as well as overseas. The company has 27 blocks, out of which nine which were acquired by the company under different rounds of new exploration licensing policy (Nelp) are located in the country and 18 are abroad, spanning six countries. With 27 exploration blocks spread over seven countries, the strategy going forward will be to consolidate their position in these blocks and basins. Efforts will also be made to upgrade the portfolio with a view to mature the prospects to the drilling stage. Also, in an effort to rationalise investments, prioritising of the blocks from the point of view of exploration efforts will be initiated. In FY11, the company made discoveries in Brazil, Mozambique, and Indonesia. It has also discovered natural gas in four of the six wells drilled in Mozambique, besides discovering light hydrocarbons in offshore Brazil and oil and gas in Indonesia.

Oil Min to decide on RIL $1.52 bn plan for KG-D6 satellite fields

September 15, 2011. The oil ministry will shortly consider Reliance Industries' $1.52-billion plan to develop satellite fields in its KG-D6 block, which may deliver about 10 million metric standard cubic metres a day of natural gas in five years. The plan, if approved, will help Reliance reverse the decline in output from the deep-sea block and help consumers, particularly in the fertiliser and power sectors which are suffering as output from the D-6 block has fallen below 50 mmscmd instead of rising to 80 mmscmd because of technical problems. After detailed examination of Reliance's optimum field development plan for four satellite fields in KG-D6, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH) has sought approval of the oil ministry to convene a meeting of the block's management committee that will approve the budget. Each oil or gas block is managed by its management committee, which is represented by the energy firm and representatives from DGH and the government. Stung by recent CAG report pointing at slackness in its overseer role, DGH is being extremely cautious. Peak production from the four satellite discoveries is expected to be in the range of 8-9 million standard cubic meters per day and production from the new pool is expected in next two years. The present optimum field development plan is a modified version of RIL's July 2008 proposal for integrated development of nine satellite discoveries in the block to produce 2.2 tcf gas with an investment of $5.91 billion. After DGH found the proposal "non-viable" in March 2009, Reliance submitted the new proposal in December 2009 to develop four out of the nine satellite discoveries.

Reliance to shut 2 units at refinery for maintenance

September 20, 2011. Reliance Industries will shut a light cycle oil (LCO) hydrocracker and a vacuum gas oil (VGO) hydrotreater at its 580,000 barrels per day (bpd) export focussed refinery for about four weeks for maintenance. Reliance operates two refineries with a combined capacity to process 1.24 million bpd oil at Jamnagar in western Gujarat state. This will be the first ever shutdown of units at the refinery, commissioned in December 2008. Reliance said the LCO unit would be shut while VGO unit would remain offline. A VGO hydrotreater removes sulphur and nitrogen content from heavy feedstock to produce feed for units like fluid catalytic crackers, which produce value added products like liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline. The LCO hydrotreater converts LCO -- a low quality diesel fuel blending component -- into naphtha and lighter products.

BPCL sells Q3 naphtha to Matrix, Marubeni

September 19, 2011. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has sold a total of 210,000 tonnes of naphtha for third-quarter lifting from Mumbai to Matrix and Marubeni at premiums of around $19.50-$20.50 a tonne to Middle East quotes on a free-on-board basis. This was lower compared to the premiums it had fetched for cargoes lifting from the same port between May and August at $19.60-$31.50 a tonne. Out of the 210,000 tonnes, first-time buyer Matrix will lift 35,000 tonnes in October. Matrix is a joint-venture between BPCL and Germany's Mabanaft.

IOC buys Nigerian crude oil from Shell

September 16, 2011. India's largest state-run oil refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), bought around 2 million barrels of Nigerian crude oil from Shell in a tender for November loading. Shell will supply one cargo of Bonny Light crude and another of Forcados co-loaded on a very large crude carrier (VLCC). Traders had expected IOC to take up to four cargoes of West African crude in the tender. IOC previously bought 5 million barrels of West African crude for the month. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) was reported to have bought a cargo of Congolese Coco crude from independent trader Vitol and a cargo of ultra-light Nigerian Agbami crude oil from BP.

Reliance increases fuel exports in August

September 15, 2011. Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) increased exports from its plants on India’s west coast to at least 2.4 million metric tons of oil products. Reliance delivered the products from its Jamnagar facility in the state of Gujarat to destinations including the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East. The company’s oil-product exports in July were at least 1.3 million tons. Reliance exported at least 910,000 tons of gasoline in August, with shipments headed to destinations including the Middle East, Singapore and Europe. The company hired the vessel Khawr Aladid to transport 80,000 tons of gasoline to Europe from the port of Sikka near Jamnagar. The ship sailed from the Indian port in late August and was last tracked in the Mediterranean Sea after passing through the Suez Canal. Reliance’s gasoil, or diesel, shipments totaled at least 630,000 tons in August, with destinations including Brazil, Sri Lanka and Africa. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state- controlled oil company, hired the Swarna Kamal to transport 90,000 tons of the fuel to the Latin American nation. The ship left Sikka in early August and was last tracked near the coast of Brazil after sailing through the south of Africa. Reliance also shipped at least 140,000 tons of jet fuel and 220,000 tons of naphtha to destinations including Japan and Europe. Reliance runs two refineries in Gujarat state. They can process heavy grades of crude and have a throughput of as much as 1.24 million barrels a day, accounting for about 1.6 percent of global refining capacity. The company exports more products from its plants than state-owned rivals including Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp., which sell most of their fuels domestically.

Oil India hints at investment in HPCL project

September 15, 2011. Oil India is likely to invest in Hindustan Petroleum's (HPCL) refinery expansion project. OIL and HPCL had inked an MoU to explore possibilities in E&P activities for hydrocarbons, city gas distribution, pipeline projects, greenfield refineries, R&D and any other area of common interest. HPCL operates two refineries a 6.5-mt in Mumbai and a 7.5-mt in Vishakapatnam.

BPCL buys 3 million barrels of West African crude

September 14, 2011. India's second largest state-run refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), has bought about 3 million barrels of West African crude via tender. BPCL has bought Nigerian Escravos from trader Trafigura and Nigerian Qua Iboe and Angolan Nemba from U.S. major Chevron. In this tender, the company was seeking to buy October-November loading. But exact loading dates and price details did not emerge.

Gail charges fair amount for gas marketing activities

September 20, 2011. Gail India said that levying a marketing charge for supplying gas to customers is a legitimate expense that has been approved by the government even though customers are queuing up for scarce natural gas. The assertion from the state-run firm came at a time when the chief vigilance commissioner and the fertiliser ministry have questioned the oil ministry about the $0.135 per unit marketing margin charged by Reliance Industries for supplying its KG-D6 gas. Gail charges $0.17 per unit marketing margin from its customers for supplying imported gas and domestic gas supplied from the Panna-Mukta and Tapti fields. The government had also allowed the firm to levy $0.11 per unit marketing charge on administered price mechanism (APM) gas.

APM gas is produced from nominated fields operated by state-run explorers such as ONGC and Oil India. The company should not charge marketing margin on APM gas where Gail makes hardly any marketing efforts as customers are identified by the government. Marketing efforts also include supply management, contract negotiations, market tie-up, market surveys, dispute resolution, customer facilities, risk of take-or-pay clauses in contracts, expenses in the form of bad debts, inventory carrying costs and maintaining administrative infrastructure all over the country.

Gail had been asking the government to allow it to charge a marketing margin for APM gas, which constituted around 38% of its gas transportation volume. In May last year, while raising APM gas price at par with RIL's KG-D6 gas, the government had also allowed firms to charge marketing margin from customers for transporting gas produced by national oil companies. Gail had to seek the government's permission to levy marketing margin on APM gas as it is produced from nominated fields.

Reliance defends levy of marketing margin on KG-D6 gas

September 19, 2011. Reliance Industries has strongly defended its decision to impose a marketing margin over-and-above the government-approved sale price for KG-D6 gas, saying the levy was to cover for the risk and cost associated with marketing of gas. The $ 0.135 per million British thermal units marketing margin is a cost levied beyond the gas delivery flange and as such, is not regulated by the Production Sharing Contract (PSC). The PSC governs fixation of price of gas at the 'delivery point', the point at which an upstream operator transfers custody of gas to a marketing and transportation agency. That point for eastern offshore KG-D6 gas is Kakinada, in Andhra Pradesh, and the government had in 2007 approved a gas price of $ 4.205 per mmBtu at the delivery point. But the DGH wants the $ 0.135 per mmBtu levy added to the gas sale price and profits for RIL and the government to be calculated thereafter. Currently, profits are calculated by deducting capital and the operating cost from the gas sales price only. The PSC does not provide for such a move, as the marketing and transportation cost cannot be recovered from revenues earned from sale of oil or gas.

Finance ministry wants ONGC, others to give ` 567 bn fuel subsidy

September 19, 2011. The finance ministry wants Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) fuel subsidy outgo to increase almost double to ` 47,640 crore this fiscal so that diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene can be sold at below market prices to consumers. The finance ministry wants upstream oil and gas producers like ONGC to meet one-third of the ` 1,70,140 crore revenue loss that was projected prior to the June fuel price hike and duty cuts instead of about ` 1,14,084 crore actual loss the retailers may suffer on selling fuel below cost this fiscal. Upstream oil firms bear one-third of the revenue that retailers lose on selling diesel, domestic LPG and Kerosene at government-controlled rates. A similar amount is contributed by the government by way of cash subsidy while the rest is either absorbed by the retailers or passed on to consumers. The finance ministry wants upstream share to be fixed at ` 56,707 crore or one-third of the revenue loss estimated before the June price hike and cut in customs and excise duty. ONGC's share would be ` 47,640 crore and the rest would be split between Oil India and GAIL India. The government has taken a hit of ` 49,000 crore by way of cut in customs duty on crude oil and petroleum products, and reduction in excise duty on diesel. Post duty rejig and a ` 3 per litre hike in diesel, ` 2 per litre increase in kerosene and ` 50 per cylinder hike in domestic LPG rates, the revenue loss now is estimated at ` 114,084 crore. One-third of this comes to ` 38,024 crore, of which ONGC would have borne ` 31,943.5 crore. ONGC in 2010-11 provided ` 24,892 crore fuel subsidy.

Crude costs same in all nations: Government

September 19, 2011. The oil ministry said the price of crude was "mercilessly uniform across the nations, regardless of the purchasing power of their people". Refuting the purchasing power parity (PPP) methodology for comparing crude, petrol and diesel prices in India with rates in other countries, the ministry said the PPP approach helped in identifying the relative values of two currencies under conditions of no transaction costs and barriers.

Govt panel for slashing customs duty on imported LNG to zero

September 18, 2011. A high-level government panel has called for slashing customs duty on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) to zero, instead of cross-subsidising the high-priced imported fuel by making domestic natural gas users pay more. The import duty on liquefied natural gas (LNG) should be aligned with that of crude oil, on which customs duty was brought down to zero from 5 per cent in June. Also, the government should treat LNG/natural gas as a "declared good", so that they have a common concessional rate of VAT. The panel, which in its draft report a few months back had suggested averaging out the price of costlier imported LNG with cheaper domestic gas, did a complete u-turn in its final report by saying the proposal was not feasible. The averaging out of prices, called "pooling", would have resulted in users of cheaper domestic natural gas paying double the existing rates so that imported LNG could be sold at an equal rate.

Fuel price hikes hurt rich less than poor

September 18, 2011. The latest hike in petrol prices, the second major rise in four months, has not only created a significant skew in automobile demand but also pinched the less affluent and middle-class consumer who cannot afford to fork out more for a diesel vehicle. Although the government's logic in increasing petrol prices at the cost of diesel is that the former is a rich man's fuel, increasingly, it is the more expensive compact cars, not to mention sedans and SUVs, that are offering diesel variants in order to benefit from the more than ` 20 differential between the two fuels. Ironically, the lowest rung in the auto ladder - twowheelers and entry-level small cars - are the ones that now run only on petrol. So, the petrol hike has ended up hitting the middle and lower middle class consumer, say industry experts.

For petrol, Indians shell out the most in the world

September 18, 2011. For all those already reeling under a series of hikes in petrol prices on the back of zooming inflation, here is some news that will enrage you further. Data of retail prices in countries across the world shows that Indian prices are amongst the highest in the world at current exchange rates. And, if you even out the differences in purchasing power of different currencies then Indian petrol and diesel prices become the highest barring some tiny, remote countries. Even a simple comparison of retail prices in different countries by converting them to Indian rupee reveals that petrol in India is more expensive than 98 other countries. Among 157 countries for which data is available, those belonging to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have the lowest price. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are the ones that have huge oil reserves and are its main producers. So, petrol is cheapest in Venezuela at just ` 1.14 per litre. In Iran it sells for ` 4.8 per litre. The second group comprises of countries like the US, Iraq, Indonesia, etc, where minimal tax is levied on petroleum products. They also have lower prices than India. A litre of petrol costs ` 42.82 in the US. India tops the group of countries which have moderate to high tax regimes. Others in the group are the EU countries and others like Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand and Brazil. At ` 69.90 -the average price of petrol in 24 Indian cities -Indian prices are now comparable to price of petrol in EU. Romania has EU's cheapest petrol at ` 72.33 per litre.

Indian Oil Corporation to reduce prices if global crude rates dip

September 17, 2011. State-run Indian Oil Corp will use the first available opportunity to cut petrol rates if international crude rates dip, after widespread criticism of the ` 3 increase in petrol prices. Petrol prices were raised on rising international prices and depreciating rupee. International crude prices have risen in recent weeks because of the volatile situation in Libya. The average price of the Indian basket of crude oil has risen to $110.68 this month, up from an average of $107.24. Besides some disruption in crude output from the North Sea, the crisis in Libya had disrupted daily supply of at least 1 million barrels of sweet crude and oil producing nations are trying to augment their production to meet the shortfall. State oil firms have been criticised for not reducing petrol prices since January 2009 although crude oil has fluctuated. However, PSU oil firms acted in a "responsible manner" while using their freedom to pare retail prices of petrol with market rates. Despite 3.14 a litre hike, IOC is incurring a revenue loss of 62 paise.

Petrol price hike to further fuel inflation: RBI

September 16, 2011. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the ` 3.14 per litre hike in petrol price, announced, will further fuel inflation, which is nearing 10 per cent. Overall inflation in August rose to 9.78 per cent, which is much higher than the RBI's comfort level of 5-6 per cent. The central bank further said the current level of high inflation makes it imperative to continue with the anti-inflationary stance and tight monetary policy. The future monetary policy stance, would depend on the level of inflation. According to the RBI, its tight monetary policy regime has helped in containing inflation and anchoring inflationary expectations. It has raised interest rates 12 times in the past 18 months to check price rise. Though global oil prices have moderated, the pass-through to domestic prices remain incomplete, RBI said. Global oil prices are currently hovering around $110 per barrel. India imports 75 per cent of its oil and gas requirements from abroad and high international prices have impacted the profitability of the oil marketing companies.

Oil Cos. hike aviation turbine fuel price by 2.5 pc

September 15, 2011. After two consecutive price cuts, state-owned oil companies hiked jet fuel, or ATF, price by 2.5 per cent in line with firming of international oil rates. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price at Delhi's T3 airport was hiked by ` 1,429 per kilolitre (kl), or 2.5 per cent, to ` 57,689 per kl. IOC and its sister retailer, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum had in two rate cuts on August 16 and September 1 lowered jet fuel price by ` 1,585 per kl.

Today's hike has almost wiped away the reductions. ATF in Mumbai, home to the nation's busiest airport, will cost ` 1,475 per kl more at ` 58,452 per kl from as against the old price of ` 56,978 per kl. Jet fuel makes up for 40 per cent of an airlines' operating cost. ATF prices vary from airport to airport, depending on the local sales tax or VAT. The three fuel retailers revise jet fuel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding fortnight.

No cost recovery of underutilised facilities for RIL: Solicitor General of India

September 14, 2011. The Solicitor General of India has held that Reliance Industries should not be allowed to recover the cost of facilities that remain underutilised due to lower than anticipated output at its KG-D6 gas field. RIL has built facilities to handle up to 80 million cubic metres per day of gas but current production is less than 45 mmcmd, a phenomenon that oil regulator DGH blames on drilling of lesser number of wells than what the company had committed in 2006 when it won approval for investing $ 8.8 billion.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) had been pressurising RIL to drill the committed 22 wells by March 2011, so that Dhirubhai-1 and 3 fields can produce projected 61.88 mmcmd and MA field (also in the same block) another 8.1 mmcmd. But when RIL, which was not confident of the geology after pressure at current 18 wells fell and some showed water ingress, refused, DGH proposed to allow only proportionate recovery of cost. On DGH insistence, oil ministry sought a view from the second highest law officer of the country. The Production Sharing Contract (PSC), however, does not envisage such a move and if oil ministry is to order such a thing,

RIL is likely to challenge it and may initiate arbitration proceedings. No field development plan by any company anywhere in the world, including 40-50 put by state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), have gone exactly as per the plans put on paper because of uncertainty involved in behaviour of what lies several thousand feet below the earth. ONGC had on about a dozen occasions changed field development plan for its prime Mumbai High oil and gas fields.

RIL is waiting for BP Plc, who has global expertise in deepsea exploration, to come on board before recommencing drilling at KG-D6. According to the 2006 plan, RIL was to drill a further 11 wells by March 2012 to raise output to 80 mmscmd and sustain it at those levels for 9 years. RIL has so far spent $5.693 billion and has already recovered $5.258 billion from sale of gas.

Oil secretary says not considering change in diesel prices

September 14, 2011. India is not considering a change in diesel prices, the country's oil secretary said, ahead of a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers. The Indian government sets prices for diesel and cooking gas, but petrol is freely priced. Raising prices could help shore up the bottom line of state-run oil firms and help the government curb its huge subsidy burden, but would stoke already-high inflation and anger voters.

POWER

NTPC to invest ` 410 bn in 4 projects in MP, Chhattisgarh

September 18, 2011. NTPC has earmarked an investment of ` 41,000 crore for setting up four thermal projects in the coal-rich states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the next five years. NTPC has signed preliminary agreements with the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the execution of four coal-based power projects with a combined capacity of over 8,300 MW. The company would set up three projects -- 1,980 MW project at Barethi, 1,320 MW at Khargone and 2,640 MW at Gadarwara -- in Madhya Pradesh and a 2,400 MW Lara project in Chhattisgarh. The company is also executing 1,980 (3x660) MW Sipat power project in Chhattisgarh, the first 660 MW unit of which has been commissioned and the other two units would be commissioned by March, 2012. NTPC generates over 34,000 MW electricity with 15 coal- based and 7 gas-based power stations, besides 6 joint venture or subsidiary power projects across the country. It has set an ambitious target of taking overall power generation to 75,000 MW by 2017. The company is working on projects of about 40,000 MW at present. Projects with capacity of over 14,000 MW are under various stages of implementation. NTPC added capacity of about 2,500 MW during 2010-11 by commissioning Dadri (490 MW), Korba (500 MW), Farakka (500 MW), Simhadri (500 MW) and Jhajjar (500 MW) units.

Shanghai Electric to supply equipment for Haldia plant

September 14, 2011. China's leading equipment manufacturing company Shanghai Electric Group will supply boilers, turbines and generators (BTG) for power utility CESC's 600 MW thermal project at Haldia in West Bengal. Haldia Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CESC Limited, a group company of the ` 14,000 crore RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, signed the agreement with Shanghai Electric at an estimated cost of ` 1,000 crore. In the first phase, the total investment in the Haldia plant is ` 3,250 crore.

Areva T&D bags ` 2.2 bn contract to set up high voltage transmission substations

September 20, 2011. Areva T&D India has bagged ` 220 crore contract from Sterlite Technologies' arm to set up high voltage transmission substations in Maharashtra. Areva T&D India' s transmission business, part of Alstom Grid, has been awarded a contract by Bhopal Dhule Transmission Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Sterlite Technologies Ltd for the construction of two 765 kV extra high voltage substations at Bhopal and Dhule. Equipment for the substations would be delivered from Areva's factories at Padappai, Pallavaram, Hosur and Noida.

BSES Rajdhani ties up with US-based Lighting Science Group

September 19, 2011. Reliance Infrastructure-led BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd plans collaboration with US-based Lighting Science Group to offer LED bulbs to customers at discounted rates. BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd that distributes power in south and west Delhi has signed a preliminary agreement to explore avenues for distributing the energy efficient bulbs. Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs consume significantly less electricity than conventional incandescent bulbs and Compact Fluorescent Lamps. Average life span of a LED is around 50,000 hours against 8,000 hours of a CFL and 1,000 hours for an incandescent bulb.

CIL's import initiative hits a damp patch

September 19, 2011. Coal India's efforts to source coal at a discount from overseas producers and supply it to Indian consumers, including state-run utilities, have come a cropper. The coal major has not been able to find any taker abroad for its offer of a long-term contract at discounted prices. CIL is also not amenable to supplying coal at the doorsteps of its customers as demanded by power producer NTPC, which is keen to reduce transport costs. This has led NTPC to shelve plans of sourcing about 4 mt of coal a year from Coal India. NTPC said both price and the supply points remained sticking points in the deal. CIL had invited expression of interest from overseas coal producers to enter into long-term import contracts at a discount over international prices. It received bids from 11 firms, including Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Peabody, Massey Energy and Sinar Mas. But no overseas supplier agreed to sell coal at a discount.

Power bills can come down if big buyers are allowed to buy and negotiate price directly

September 15, 2011. Power bills for households can fall despite rising costs. If bulk buyers are allowed to purchase electricity directly from producers and negotiate rates with distribution companies the bills can come down. However, state utilities and regulators are obstructing the move. They said that regulatory bodies, often manned by retired bureaucrats, are not ready to surrender their power to fix tariffs for purchases from distribution companies, while state utilities want to hang on to the big consumers, which are charged higher tariffs than households, and are obstructing deals between power producers and big buyers. If big customers negotiate directly with power producers, distribution utilities will need to purchase lesser electricity from the market, reducing demand and consequently the price. Utilities often buy power at much higher rates than what they charge even industrial and commercial consumers. India Energy Exchange said average tariff for domestic consumers would come down substantially if large industrial consumers are allowed to purchase electricity on their own. About 40% of total power consumption of a state is by bulk consumers. However, distribution companies disagree and say that in large cities, demand is very steady from about 10 am to midnight as the growing use of air-conditioners and other appliances at homes ensures that demand doesn't fall sharply after office hours.

Coal ministry seeks GoM nod for Essar and Hindalco to mine in dense forests

September 20, 2011. The coal ministry will push for allowing mining in two densely forested coal areas. It has rejected environment ministry's decision to deny permission to Essar and Hindalco to mine the Mahan block and KSK Energy to mine the Morga II block in the Hasdeo Arand coal field in Chhattisgarh. Both these blocks are located in densely forested areas. The GoM will discuss the fate of all projects that have been allocated coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand area. The environment ministry has opposed the opening up of this area as it is densely forested. The coal ministry has argued that investments to the tune of ` 35,000 crore have been made in the 19 blocks of the coal field in Chhattisgarh. The ministry is of the view that mining should be permitted to prevent financial losses. The environment ministry on its part has made it clear that it will not entertain mining proposals in the dense forests of Hasdeo Arand. The GoM will also take up Adani Power's 3,300 MW project in Tiroda, which had been allocated the captive coal blocks of Lohara West and Lohara Extension. Permission to mine these blocks was denied as the block was located in the vicinity of the Tadoba Tiger Reserve.

NTPC plans mammoth expansion; targets 128 GW by 2032

September 20, 2011. India's largest power generation company NTPC has set an ambitious target of becoming a 1,28,000 MW capacity firm by 2032. NTPC has a total installed capacity of 34,854 MW and will add 4,980 MW, including Sipat 660 MW unit, during 2011-12. It has 14,088 MW capacity under construction and projects worth 18,471 MW are in the bidding process. Besides, it has approved feasibility reports for 14,666 MW.

The company is also preparing feasibility reports for an additional basket of 16,272 MW capacity. NTPC said that based on the demand growth and project plans, the Corporate Plan target of 1,28,000 MW capacity by the end of the 15th Five Year Plan, the year 2032, appears well within reach. During 2010-11, NTPC signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for an aggregate capacity of 49,000 MW for supply over the next decade. The company had appointed Mine-Developer- Cum-Operator (MDO) for its first coal mine at Pakri Barwadih with 15 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity during 2010-11.

Besides, it has laid down the roadmap for appointment of MDOs for other coal mines to be developed by it. NTPC has plans of fresh capacity addition at the existing stations, besides the nuclear and renewable capacity planned. It is also working on overseas projects. NTPC has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) of Sri Lanka with 50:50 equity participation for setting up the first overseas power project - scheduled to be commissioned by 2016. NTPC is also exploring the possibility of setting up a 1,320 MW coal based power project in Bangladesh through a 50:50 JV with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). It has been engaged in the techno-commercial feasibility study for the project. The JV agreement has been finalised and is likely to be signed once the feasibility of the proposed project at Khulna is established.

NTPC is preparing the detailed project report for the 540 MW Amochu Hydro Electric Power Project in Bhutan which is likely to be submitted in the near future. The trading arm NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) has been given the mandate to carry out cross border electricity trade with Bhutan and Bangladesh. NVVN is in the process of signing a Power Purchase Agreement with BPDB for export of 250 MW power to Bangladesh. It is expected to commence trading of power from Bhutan from the year 2013-14.

NTPC contemplating exit from International Coal Ventures Ltd

September 20, 2011. With nothing concrete to show for its investment in International Coal Ventures Ltd, state-run NTPC is mulling an exit from the special purpose vehicle, which was formed for acquiring coal properties overseas. International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) is a joint venture between SAIL, CIL, RINL, NMDC and NTPC that was conceptualised by the Steel Ministry for securing much-needed coking coal and thermal coal assets in overseas territories. The Power Ministry will take a call on the matter in a week's time and Cabinet approval for NTPC's exit will be sought. The key objective with which ICVL was set up was to secure at least 10 per cent of the coal requirements of SAIL and RINL, that is five million tonnes per annum, by acquiring or picking up a stake in overseas mining properties.

ICVL was also expected to meet the requirement of joint venture partners CIL, NTPC and NMDC by using their combined resources, domain knowledge and human capital for procuring high quality thermal coal. In this regard, it was hoped that ICVL would become an owner of about 500 million tonnes of coking coal reserves by 2019-20. However, the JV has made no breakthrough since its formation. NTPC requires thermal coal for firing its power plants and SAIL needs coking coal for steel-making. The availability of coking coal is more compared to thermal coal and therefore, more beneficial to steel companies. At the same time, NTPC is also sourcing coal on its own.

India seeks US investment in power sector

September 20, 2011. Indian Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde urged US entrepreneurs to invest in India's growing power sector. Shinde said India offered lucrative investment opportunities in power sector and the US investors should come forward to benefit from that opportunity. He said India targets at capacity addition of almost 100,000 MW during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) and half of it would be done by the private firms. Shinde said while the present installed generation capacity in India is nearly 1,81,000 MW, over 80,000 MW of new power capacity is under construction. He said the funding requirements in power sector during the current five year plan (2007-12) is estimated at $230 billion and similar investment would be required in the next five year plan period. The minister said the government has liberalised norms to attract private investment, especially foreign direct investments, in power sector. Almost one-third of investment in power sector during the 11th plan period came from private sector. The minister said the share of private investment in power sector is likely to go up to 50 percent in the 12th plan period. In the last five years, per capita consumption of electricity in India has gone up from 600 kwh to 785 kwh. Shinde, who is on a five-day visit to the US, is scheduled to meet chief executives of various organisations to make a strong pitch for investment in India's power sector. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah are also visiting the US to sell India's growth story and attract investment in the infrastructure sector.

PFC awaits govt approval for ` 50 bn tax-free bonds issue

September 18, 2011. Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is awaiting government approval to raise ` 5,000 crore through an issue of tax-free bonds to meet funding requirements of the power sector. A leading lender for the power sector, PFC, expects to raise as much as ` 30,000 crore this financial year (2011-12). PFC has raised around ` 13,000 crore rupee loans so far this fiscal. However, the Finance Ministry is believed to have reservations about allowing PFC and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) to raise money through tax-free bonds. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy had recommended that the Finance Ministry should allow REC and PFC to issue tax-free bonds for raising funds. Going by the Finance Ministry estimates, there is a revenue loss of about ` 24 crore annually for every ` 1,000 crore of tax-free bonds issue. Meanwhile, PFC is also looking at raising about ` 6,900 crore through issue of long-term infrastructure bonds in the current fiscal. The company has just completed a domestic issue of long term bonds worth Rs 2,000 crore. The issue, which was open from September 14-16, saw good response from investors.

BGR Energy Systems-Hitachi power equipment plants to go on stream in 2013

September 16, 2011. Chennai-based BGR Energy Systems will become an integrated power equipment manufacturer by 2013 as its two joint venture plants will start functioning. The first plant will make steam turbines and generators and the other super-critical boilers. To become an integrated power equipment maker, BGR Energy Systems inducted two firms of the Japanese Hitachi group as joint venture partners in the two subsidiaries. BGR Energy gave a 26 percent stake in BGR Turbines Company to Hitachi Japan to design, build and commission super-critical steam turbines and generators for coal-fired power plants.

The ` 4,747 crore Indian company divested a 30 percent stakes in BGR Boilers to Hitachi. The two plants are coming up near Madurantakam along the East Coast Road, around 80 km from here, and 90 percent of the land has been acquired. The orders for long lead machineries have been placed and boilers, turbines and generators will be shipped through Chennai or Ennore port. The turbine plant will make its debut supplying to NTPC Ltd. BGR Energy announced that it is the lowest bidder. According to BGR Energy, two units of steam turbine and generator would be imported and supplied to NTPC Ltd. The joint venture plant would supply components for the remaining three units.

OIL & GAS

EPA issues key permits to Shell for Alaska drilling

September 20, 2011. Royal Dutch Shell has won two critical permits it needs to drill in Arctic waters off Alaska in the next two years, federal officials said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it issued Shell final air-quality permits the company needs to operate a huge drill ship and associated vessels in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Loss of similar permits in a battle with environmentalists and Alaska native groups last winter forced Shell to abandon its plan to drill this year. A Shell representative said approval of the new permits puts the company on its way to drilling in the offshore Arctic. Shell plans to drill two wells a year in the Beaufort in 2012 and 2013 and up to three wells a year in the Chukchi during the same period.

The new permits include tightened standards for particulates and nitrogen oxides. Still, they allows Shell to emit more than 250 tons of pollutants a year. Shell plans to be operating in the Chukchi and Beaufort for up to 120 days a year, during the open-water seasons. Environmental and native groups are likely to challenge the new permits to the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, the panel that struck down the earlier permits. Since 2005, Shell has spent over $3.5 billion in its Alaska exploration program, mostly for leases in the lightly explored Chukchi, off northwestern Alaska, and the Beaufort, off the state's northern coast. But the company has yet to drill a single well on those properties because of adverse court rulings and offshore policy changes prompted by last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Canada names panel to study Shell oil sands plan

September 20, 2011. The Canadian and Alberta governments have formed a joint review panel to study the environmental impact of a proposal by Royal Dutch Shell to expand its oil sands project. The panel will study Shell's plan to expand its Jackpine mine by 100,000 barrels a day, bringing total output at the site to 300,000 bpd. The three-member joint review panel was appointed by federal Environment Minister Peter Kent and Dan McFadyen, chairman of Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board.

It will examine the environmental effects of the project, consider ways to lessen any adverse ones and take into account comments from the public and aboriginal people it receives during its assessment. The Jackpine mine, part of the Shell-led Athabasca Oil Sands Project, is located 70 km (44 miles) north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, on the east side of the Athabasca River. The company has also proposed a new mine nearby, called Pierre River, that would produce 200,000 bpd. The current Athabasca project produces 255,000 bpd.

OGX wins license for Waimea development

September 16, 2011. Brazilian environmental regulator IBAMA earlier this month issued license for OGX Petroleo e Gas on the test (EWT) and the development of production in the field of Waimea, Block BM-C-41, in the Campos Basin, coast of Rio de Janeiro. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the recoverable volume estimated for the discovery Waimea is approximately 14 million cubic meters of oil. Peak production will be about 40 000 barrels of oil per day and is expected to occur in 2012. The OSX-1, which will be used in the prospectus of Waimea has the capacity to process around 40 000 barrels / day and store 950,000 barrels. The company now seeks to fulfill the conditions stipulated in the previous license to justify a site license, which authorizes the commencement of field activities.

Iran offers to build oil refinery near Varna

September 20, 2011. Iran has offered to build a crude oil refinery near Bulgaria's city of Varna, on the Black Sea coast. During a meeting between Iran's ambassador to Bulgaria, Gholamreza Bagheri Moghadam, and Varna's governor Dancho Simeonov, the diplomat said that his country was willing to build the refinery on its own, through a partnership or a contract. The ambassador said that Iran had significant experience in the oil processing industry. The country currently has 10 refineries and more facilities are in the pipeline. In addition, Iran ranks second in terms of crude oil reserves globally and is the second-biggest oil exporter among OPEC members, the ambassador said. In turn, Simeonov said he would notify the Government about his talks with Iran's delegation and the proposed refinery construction. Earlier on September 20, Simeonov and Vahid Jalalzadeh, governor of the West Azerbaijan Province in Iran, signed a memorandum of co-operation between the two regions.

Shell Anacortes refinery to shut crude unit-filing

September 18, 2011. Royal Dutch Shell Plc's 145,000 barrel per day (bpd) Anacortes, Washington, refinery plans to shut its crude unit on Friday, Sept. 23, for a planned overhaul expected to last until early November. The refinery's delayed coking unit, catalytic reforming unit, hydrotreating units No. 1 and 2 and amine regnerating unit will also be included in the overhaul. The crude unit, called the vacuum pipestill, does the initial refining of crude oil coming into the Anacortes refinery. It makes diesel and feedstocks for other units including the refinery's gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit. A delayed coking unit processes residual crude oil, increasing the amount of refinable material in a barrel of crude and producing petroleum coke, a coal substitute. A catalytic reformer converts low-octane naphtha into a high-octane gasoline component. A hydrotreater uses hydrogen to remove sulfur from feedstocks used to make motor fuels. An amine regeneration unit is part of the sulfur recovery system of a refinery.

Margins, maintenance hit Europe refinery runs

September 16, 2011. European refiners are cutting runs or conducting maintenance work to cope with deteriorating margins as high crude oil prices coupled with fears about economic growth have slashed profits in recent weeks. Independent Petroplus, Italy's ERG and Eni, as well as Ineos in France were all reported to be cutting production by 10-15 percent. Royal Dutch Shell's 412,000 barrels per day Pernis refinery, Europe's largest, is likely to run 20-25 percent below its capacity for maintenance from October to January. The reported production cuts suggest refinery utilization rates, which averaged 83.32 percent in August, will fall to match the 77-78 percent levels seen in March and April this year, when Brent futures hit the highest since late July 2008. European refining margins have been squeezed by the recent jump in crude oil prices. Most crude oils trading in Europe have been at premiums to benchmark Brent, including Russian Urals, which is of a lower quality than the North Sea benchmark. Even the most profitable gasoline margins have collapsed from almost $12 a barrel at the start of September to trade near the $2 a barrel. A German industry source said refiners in Germany were likely to lengthen refinery maintenance shutdowns rather than curb runs. Refineries with complex refining systems were also said to be taking additional measures to salvage profits, including switching to heavier, cheaper crudes. This is altering the composition of output with a resounding impact in Asia, where an abrupt drop in supply of lighter fuels from Europe has sent margins to a three-week high.  

Chevron, Kyushu sign Wheatstone LNG agreements

September 16, 2011. Chevron Corporation announced that its Australian subsidiaries have signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA)with Kyushu Electric Power Co. for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Wheatstone Project in Western Australia. Under the binding agreement, Chevron, together with Apache and Kufpec, will deliver up to 0.7 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG to Kyushu Electric for up to 20 years. Kyushu Electric will also acquire 1.83 percent of Chevron's equity share in the Wheatstone field licenses and a 1.46 percent interest in the Wheatstone natural gas processing facilities to be developed onshore near Onslow. Including the equity participation volume, Kyushu Electric will take delivery of 0.8 MTPA of LNG from the Wheatstone Project.

Indonesia's PT PLN urges BP Migas to complete gas swap agreement

September 15, 2011. Indonesia's state-owned electricity company PT PLN has requested that upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas swiftly complete a swap agreement to channel natural gas from BP Migas' Grissik field in South Sumatra to PT PLN's electrical power generating plants in Sumatra and West Java. According to a contract signed five years ago, PT PLN was to receive additional natural gas supplies of 65 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) from the Jambi Merang field but because no pipeline network currently connects the Jambi Merang field with the Grissik field, where the South Sumatra-West Java pipeline is located, the Jambi Merang field natural gas cannot be delivered to PT PLN's regional power plants. Accordingly, under the terms an interim arrangement was made for the swap agreement to provide PT PLN with 65 mmscfd natural gas supply from the Grissik field.

Netherlands gas trade beats peers as LNG arrives

September 15, 2011. The Netherlands’ natural-gas market is growing faster than its peers, fending off competition from Germany to be mainland Europe’s largest as the country starts importing liquefied fuel for the first time. Volumes at the Title Transfer Facility, the Dutch hub, jumped 42 percent from a year earlier in the first half of 2011, compared with a 21 percent increase in Germany and 9 percent in the U.K. The Netherlands handled more than 13 times as much month-ahead gas as Germany on September 13. European Union efforts to deregulate energy markets and encourage new pipelines between countries coupled with a glut that has driven buyers to favor spot markets instead of costlier oil-based contracts is boosting gas trading. The Netherlands has further enhanced its status as a hub after importing its first commercial liquefied natural gas cargo at Rotterdam’s new Gate terminal on Sept. 1.

Libya plans to resume partial oil exports within four days

September 15, 2011. Libya, holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves, will resume partial crude exports within three or four days. The North African nation will produce about 700,000 barrels a day by the end of this year and an estimated 1.6 million barrels a day by the end of 2012. Libyan oil exports plummeted amid fighting between rebel forces and troops loyal to leader Muammar Qaddafi. The country was pumping about 1.6 million barrels a day before popular protests in mid-February flared into military conflict, shipping most of its crude across the Mediterranean to Europe. It produced 45,000 barrels in August. Libya is Africa’s third-largest oil producer after Nigeria and Angola. Its 44.3 billion barrels account for 3.3 percent of the world’s total crude deposits.

Sasol teams up with Uzbekneftegaz, Petronas for GTL project

September 20, 2011. South African energy and chemicals group, Sasol, together with partners Uzbekneftegaz and PETRONAS, signed an investment agreement with the Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade for the Uzbekistan government, for the development and implementation of a Gas-to-liquids (GTL) project in Uzbekistan. Under the investment agreement, the investors and the GTL project will enjoy investment protection and fiscal benefits, to ensure the successful implementation and operation of the GTL facility. In the project Sasol and Uzbekneftegaz each hold 44.5% interest and PETRONAS an 11% interest. The GTL project will reduce Uzbekistan's dependence on the importation of crude oil and transportation fuels and will diversify the utilization of its domestic gas resources. The GTL project will also improve the quality of the fuel pool, reducing emissions, thereby securing the associated environmental benefits. Uzbekneftegaz will supply the feedstock, from the already developed Shurtan group of gas fields and will off-take the majority of the production, under long term arrangements.

The next phase will be the front end engineering and design of the GTL project which will commence before the end of the year 2011 and depending on the final investment decision, the plant will be operational in the second half of this decade. For over 60 years Sasol has used its proprietary technology to produce more than 1.6 billion barrels of liquid fuels and chemicals from coal and natural gas. GTL transportation fuel is cleaner burning than conventional diesel with a comparable, and potentially lower, greenhouse gas profile. GTL fuels are virtually free of sulfur and aromatic compounds and reduce emissions of particulates, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other pollutants and will improve air quality. A 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers study showed that GTL production offers substantial air quality benefits compared to an oil refinery due to its lower sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon emissions. In April 2009, Sasol Synfuels International (Pty) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of South African energy and chemicals group Sasol Limited, along with its partners the National Holding Company "Uzbekneftegaz" and PETRONAS signed a heads of agreement with regard to the possible development of a GTL plant in Uzbekistan. A joint-venture agreement was subsequently signed in July 2009 and the feasibility study commenced in December 2009 after all regulatory approvals were obtained for the formation of a joint venture company, Uzbekistan GTL LLC. The feasibility study has now been completed and based on results of this study it was determined that the establishment of a GTL plant in Uzbekistan, utilizing Sasol's proprietary SPD technology, with an estimated nominal capacity of 1,4 million tons per annum would be feasible. The GTL plant will produce high quality, environmentally friendly diesel, kerosene and naphtha.

New York fracking lawsuit could set drilling precedent

September 20, 2011. A lawsuit challenging a small town's ban on natural-gas drilling could have implications throughout New York, where state officials are poised to approve a controversial drilling method known as fracking. Anschutz Exploration Corporation filed suit on Friday against Dryden, a rural suburb of Ithaca with about 13,000 residents that last month amended its zoning laws to bar all gas drilling within its unincorporated borders. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation has recommended ending a year-long ban on drilling in New York, although a public comment period on the rules was extended this month following concerns that fracking contaminates underground wells and aquifers. The Anschutz suit, which asks the state Supreme Court in Tompkins County to invalidate the amendment, is the first to test the legal implications of the state's move. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves cracking open rocks deep underground with a blast of sand, water and chemicals to unleash natural gas and oil. Anschutz, which owns more than 22,000 acres of land in Dryden, said New York's Environmental Conservation Law bars local governments from any regulation of drilling. Dryden is not the first New York town to enact a drilling ban. At least a dozen local governments have passed some type of prohibition on gas drilling, but most are not likely drilling sites, so the industry chose not to litigate.

OPEC’s $1 trillion cash quiets poor on longest ever $100 oil

September 20, 2011. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members are poised to earn an unprecedented $1 trillion this year, according to the U.S. Energy Department, as the group’s benchmark oil measure exceeded $100 a barrel for the longest period ever. They are promising to plow record amounts into public and social programs after pro-democracy movements overthrew rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and spread to Yemen and Syria. Saudi Arabia will spend $43 billion on its poorer citizens and religious institutions. Kuwaitis are getting free food for a year. Civil servants in Algeria received a 34 percent pay rise. Desert cities in the United Arab Emirates may soon enjoy uninterrupted electricity.

OPEC’s basket of crudes, a weighted average of the group’s main export grades, has been trading at above $100 since Feb. 21. The basket price was $108.68 a barrel yesterday, while WTI on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $85.70. Of OPEC’s 12 members, nine increased 2011 budgets and of the remaining three, only Nigeria amended its budget lower, while the U.A.E. doesn’t disclose its public spending. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, set up a $1 billion wealth fund in May split into an infrastructure fund, a future generations fund and a stabilization fund. Algeria’s cabinet approved a 25 percent budget increase to pay for the salary raise and food subsidies amid protests that have ended 19 years of emergency rule and led to a review of the election law. OPEC decided against raising oil supplies at its June meeting even as Libya’s conflict curbed exports. Output of about 30 million barrels a day lags behind the 31.3 million barrels the world needs from the region in the third quarter, according to the International Energy Agency. Half of Saudi Arabia’s 8 percent increase in June production to 9.7 million barrels a day was used in its own power plants as domestic demand reached a record, data from the Paris-based IEA showed.

LNG surges as Japan vies with China, Exxon’s shipments grow

September 19, 2011. Liquefied natural gas prices are surging to a three-year high as demand from Japan, China and India outpaces supply increases, boosting sales for producers from BG Group Plc to Exxon Mobil Corp. Record Japanese imports to replace nuclear power after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi disaster, plus a 27 percent jump in China’s first-half purchases, may send prices to about $20 per million British thermal units this winter, up 71 percent from 2010 and the highest since 2008. The world’s spare production capacity shrank about 50 percent this year as consumption grew, and will continue to decline through 2014. Rising LNG prices are encouraging Exxon and BG, which got 27 percent of its operating profit from the fuel in the first half, to develop and transport more. That may spur North American exports by 2016 and help the world’s fastest-growing economies contain inflation from rising oil and coal costs. Global LNG demand grew 9 percent in the first half and 13 percent over the past 12 months. Spare production capacity is likely to shrink to 26 million metric tons a year in 2011 and to 2 million by 2014, stoking prices and benefiting BG, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and PetroChina Co.

India’s LNG imports increased 26 percent in the first half. The country’s gas use may double to as much as 400 million cubic meters a day by 2016, while domestic supply may be about 200 million cubic meters. While their LNG needs increase, the economies of Asia are struggling to damp rising prices, including the costs of coal and oil. China has raised interest rates five times since October to contain inflation, which has been above the government’s 2011 target of 4 percent every month this year. Indian inflation has held above 9 percent throughout 2011 even after six rate increases. The U.S. may export enough LNG within five years to push down global gas prices if the cost disparity between domestic supplies and those in Europe and Asia remains about the same. Asia’s purchases of term LNG, or contractual supplies, are typically priced off a basket of imported Japanese crude oil, known as the Japan Crude Cocktail. Spot LNG is usually linked to the U.K.’s National Balancing Point, with Asia paying a premium to divert cargoes away from Europe. Natural gas in the U.S. trades at about $4 per million Btu, while Asia pays at least $14. North American LNG could be delivered at about $9 per million Btu, encouraging utilities in Asia to seek a new pricing regime linked to the U.S. benchmark, he said. Term supplies of LNG to Asia have been linked to oil prices since Japan first started buying the fuel more than four decades ago. Australia may produce an additional 60 million tons of LNG from projects in western Australia and coal seam gas ventures in Queensland by 2016. That includes the Gorgon project, developed by Chevron Corp. (CVX), Exxon and Shell. Short-term demand will be affected by temperatures in the coming Northern Hemisphere winter, when heating requirements increase.

Poland may start shale gas production in 2014: PM

September 18, 2011. Poland may begin commercial shale gas production as soon as 2014, helping to reduce its energy reliance on Russia, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. Poland is seen as a prospective market for unconventional gas production, with 90 exploration licenses awarded and the likes of Chevron and ExxonMobil among interested parties. He added that by 2035, Poland, which relies almost entirely on gas from Russia, may be able to mainly use its own source.

Decreasing Poland's energy dependence on its eastern neighbour has been a goal for its governments and often an issue in election campaigns. Poland, the European Union's largest ex-communist member, also hopes to capitalize on some of the income from shale gas production through taxes and licenses. According to a recent study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Poland's technically recoverable reserves of shale gas are the biggest in Europe, at an estimated 5.3 trillion cubic meters.

 

POWER

South Africa plans to construct nuclear power plants

September 20, 2011. The South African energy minister Dipuo Peters has drafted a proposal to build six nuclear plants in a bid to meet the nation’s growing energy demand and to reduce its heavy carbon footprint. The proposal will be submitted to the cabinet for approval which is expected later this year. Bidding process for the multi-billion projects, slated to provide a total of 9,600MW of power, will begin in 2012. The projects are expected to start supplying electricity to the nation's grid by 2024 or 2025. According to the proposal, private companies would undertake the construction of the plants but the state-run utility Eskom will run and manage the plants on completion. Currently, coal-fired plants produce 90% of the country's power. The nation operates the continent's only nuclear power plant on the west coast near Cape Town.

Power generation rises to 4 GW

September 20, 2011. Federal Government said that the country now generates 4,242.7 MW of electricity which is the highest quantum of power ever generated in its history. This is just as the Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a consortium of Swiss and European investors for the investment of N240bn ($1.6bn) in the power, petroleum and housing sectors of the Nigerian economy. Ministry of Trade and Investment would work with Ministries of Power and Petroleum to facilitate the investments. About 3,982.7 MW which is now produced in the country go into the national grid, with 260 MW maintained as spinning reserve, which is used for system stability.

PTT seeks to invest in 3 GW coal-fired power plant

September 19, 2011. PTT seeks to co-invest in a 3,000 MW coal-fired power plant supplying Burma's Dawei deep-sea port and industrial estate, with Italian-Thai Development (ITD)., said PTT source. The value of investment is likely to be around US$4 billion. Negotiations on a Power Purchase Agreement for the coal-fired plant is been carried out by ITD and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat). PTT anticipates the project being divided into three phases. Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding and Electricity Generating Plc are some of the other power-plant operators interested to invest the project. PTT investment is likely to be in a related coal-mining project, as yearly the plant will require millions of tonnes of coal for producing electricity. The electricity genereated at the coal-fired power plant will be further sold to the Dawei's industrial estate and deep-sea port, and to Egat.

Guinea asks China to build 340 MW power plant

September 18, 2011. Guinea has asked state-owned China Power Investment (CPI) to build a 340 MW coal-fired power plant in the electricity-starved west African state. The project is part of ongoing negotiations between Guinea and CPI over the potential development of a bauxite mine in Boffa and construction of an alumina refinery and deepwater port. CPI has three bauxite exploration permits in Guinea and has said it has found 900 million tonnes of reserves. Guinea is the world's largest exporter of the aluminium ore, and has vast deposits of iron ore that have drawn billions of dollars in planned investments by companies such as Rio Tinto and Vale. CPI is negotiating with the Guinean government to open a bauxite mine to develop the Boffa reserves, build an alumina refinery to process it and a deepwater port for exports for a total $5.8 billion. Despite its vast mineral wealth, Guinea's 10 million people face routine blackouts and a power generation capacity shortage is seen slowing mining investment.

Transmission from Guddu power plant China to provide Rs 4.8 bn

September 20, 2011. China will provide relief to Pakistan by extending financial facility of Rs 4.842 billion for materializing the project of a paramount important to disperse the 747 MW of the electricity from Guddu Power Plant. The location of the project is in the District Kashmore of Sindh province which will be accomplished and commissioned with the cost of Rs 7.855 billion which include the local component of Rs 3.013 billion and foreign exchange comment of Rs 4.842 billion. The China Development Bank will provide the financing for the project. The main objective of the project is dispersal of power from 747 MW additional combined cycle power plant at Guddu by construction of 500 kv transmission lines from Guddu to Muzaffargarh along with extension at 500 kv Muzaffargarh substation. The proposed project will improve voltage profile, system profile, system reliability of network and reduction in the loading of power transformers. The proposed scheme will also result in overall power system efficiency and stability to deliver adequate and quality power to the consumers.

BPA transmission line will move wind power to load centers

September 19, 2011. Construction of a 500 kV transmission line is set to start which will move energy from east of the Cascade Mountains to homes and businesses in population centers west of the Cascades in the northwestern U.S. The Big Eddy-Knight line, which will help provide transmission service for more than 4 GW of wind energy, will run 28 miles from Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Big Eddy Substation near The Dalles, Ore., to a new substation located four miles northwest of Goldendale, Wash. The first 14 miles of the line will use double-circuit towers that will carry the new line and an existing BPA transmission line on mostly existing rights of way. The remaining 14 miles of the line will use a newly acquired right of way. BPA will also build a new substation about four miles northwest of Goldendale.

Turkey would consider US proposal for nuclear power plant

September 19, 2011. Turkey's energy minister said Ankara would consider a proposal from the United States to build a nuclear power plant in the country's north. Turkey reached an agreement with Russia in May 2010 to build Turkey's first nuclear plant in Akkuyu in Mersin province, in the south. In December, Turkey and Japan also signed a memorandum on civil nuclear cooperation, a step towards a possible $20-billion deal for Japanese companies to build a nuclear plant at Sinop, on Turkey's Black Sea coast.

Iran preparing to build more nuclear power plants

September 19, 2011. A senior Iranian lawmaker said Iran is preparing to build more nuclear power plants after it launched the operation of its first such plant in the Southern port city of Bushehr. Rapporteur of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazzem Jalali said after Bushehr started operation with the help of Iranian experts, the way has now been paved for the construction of more nuclear power plants across the country. Jalali further stated that Iran, as a country which has mastered nuclear technology, is now ready to provide other countries with nuclear cooperation. The Bushehr nuclear power plant officially kicked off work on September 13 and joined Iran's national grid with an initial 40% of power generation capacity. The power plant will gradually reach its utmost power for the generation of 1,000 MW of electricity.

Siemens stops building nuclear reactors as Germany pulls atomic-power plug

September 19, 2011. Siemens AG (SIE) abandoned a planned return to the nuclear-power industry, following the German government in its retreat from atomic energy in the wake of the reactor catastrophe in Japan earlier this year. The German engineering company will drop plans to cooperate with Russian nuclear-power company Rosatom Corp. in the field of reactors There are no financial implications linked to retreat. Siemens has gradually scaled back its atomic-power operations over the years, after helping build some of the world’s largest reactors in the latter part of the last century. The company no longer makes components specifically for nuclear plants, and Siemens has sold its stake in a venture with Areva SA, the world’s largest maker of nuclear stations. While Siemens is pushing renewable-energy sources such as wind turbines and solar power, the company will continue to build steam turbines that can be used both in conventional as well as nuclear facilities. The entire energy division is Siemens’s second-largest by revenue, generating 6.77 billion euros ($9.34 billion) in the most recent quarter. Siemens had been active in nuclear power for decades, for the most part under the name of Kraftwerk Union AG, which Siemens partly moved into a joint venture in 2001 with France’s Areva. Siemens used an option to exit the business in 2009. It was forced to pay a 648 million-euro penalty to Areva this year after failing to meet some contractual obligations.

Nuclear bans build case for EU energy cooperation

September 19, 2011. Plans by Germany and other EU states to abandon nuclear power because of fears stirred by the disaster in Japan reinforce the need for joint action and magnify the bloc's problems over security of energy supply, a discussion paper said. The document is the latest text from the European Commission to urge all 27 member nations to put collective energy needs above domestic agendas. It could rile countries such as Germany, which has unilaterally decided to phase out all its atomic plants by 2022. In addition, Italy has voted to ban nuclear power for decades. Nuclear-generated electricity is carbon-free and many governments have viewed as it as crucial to reducing planet-warming emissions while maintaining reliable supplies. The European Union's reaction to Japan's series of tsunamis and the resulting nuclear disaster early this year has been to order stress tests to determine the safety of nuclear reactors.

HSBC eyes 5 bids for DEWA’s $1.5 bn power plant

September 18, 2011. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority may get four to five bids from companies to build the emirate’s first power plant with private investment, said HSBC Holdings Plc, an adviser on the $1.5bn project. HSBC expects bids by the end of November. The monopoly state utility plans to build a 1,500-megawatt power station and water-desalination facility, to begin operations in 2015 at Hassyan on Dubai’s border with Abu Dhabi. Dubai, the second-largest sheikhdom in the UAE after Abu Dhabi, is seeking to ensure its long-term energy supply by encouraging investment and diversifying sources of electricity to include clean coal, solar and nuclear power. While the UAE is the fourth-largest crude producer in OPEC, Dubai produces less than four percent of the country’s oil. DEWA, considered one of Dubai's strongest assets, has sole responsibility for transmission and distribution of power and water supply in the emirate. The UAE is one of the highest per capita consumers of water and electricity in the world. Dubai's Supreme Council of Energy said in August it planned to launch a gas strategy in 2012 aimed at cutting energy demand in Dubai. The emirate’s top energy council also said it would freeze electricity and water tariffs in the emirate over the coming years.

South Africa delays bids for nuclear plants on safety concerns

September 15, 2011. South Africa postponed the opening of bids for its nuclear power-plant build program to next year because of safety concerns following the meltdown of reactors in Fukushima, Japan. Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the state-owned South African power utility, will be the main driver of the country’s nuclear power plants and will invite partners.

 

Suzlon to export China-made wind turbines next year

September 15, 2011. Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon could begin exporting Chinese-assembled turbines to third countries as early as next year. With the company expecting a 40-percent increase in global revenue this fiscal year, Suzlon is also seeking a Chinese joint-venture partner to produce large turbines in China for the Chinese market. Suzlon, the world's fifth-largest wind turbine manufacturer, builds 2-megawatt wind turbines in Tianjin and exports components from China for their assembly at the company's facilities in India, the United States and Germany.

Luminous Power Technologies launched LED based solar lighting for rural India

September 14, 2011. Luminous Power Technologies Limited, provider of power backup solutions for home, commercial, telecom towers & renewable energy systems has launched LED (light emitting diode) based Solar Lighting Solution, a low cost solution for rural home lighting requirements. The low cost solution is the first in the series of new offerings from the house of Luminous Power Technologies in the renewable energy genre. The energy efficient LED based design of this new product with a single light output is at par with 11 watts CFL. The equipment can provide light output ranging between 11 to 102 hrs. As per National Sample Survey Organisation statistics, about 39% of households in rural India still use kerosene to meet their lighting requirements. Kerosene lamps generally provide poor quality light; produce greenhouse gas emissions and most importantly, have significant health and safety hazards associated with them. Thus the need for an alternative solution for rural lighting arises. In India around 95,000 villages are still not connected to the power grid. Out of these, approximately 18,000 villages are unlikely to ever have access to the national grid due to their remote location. Around 62 million rural households depend upon kerosene to meet their day-to-day lighting needs.

Lanka’s 1^st Dendro power plant commissioning soon

September 20, 2011. Sri Lanka’s first dendro based power project will be commissioned soon at the hamlet of Kattimuruchchana in Thirappane Divisional Secretariat division in Anuradhapura district. The Labunoruwa, Kattamurichchana Dendro power plant is expected to provide 2.5 MW of green electricity to the national grid by using gliricidia (Albesia) wood fuel. The plant was initiated and processed during the past three years by the Human and Community Youth Organization (HCDYO) at Labunoruwa in Thirappane under the patronage of Helios Thirappane Biopower Project Pvt Ltd incorporated with the Helios Renewable Energy Pvt and Emergent Venture India (EIV).

The initial investment is Rs 380 million. This project will be upgraded to a capacity of 2.5 MW by April next year to provide 2,500 KW to the National grid. Around 1,000,000 Gliricidia saplings have been planted in Thirappane area with 3,000 farmer families participating in the cultivation process. The Kattamarichchan plant requires 110 tons of Gliricidia wood fuel per day. The annual wood fuel requirement is nearly 33,000 tons valued at Rs 110 million. The farmer families involved in the project will get an additional income of Rs 10,000 monthly per family through wood fuel sales. Organic fertilizer processing project and a plant based on Gliricidia leaf is being established with the assistance of the Agrarian Services Development Authorities.

PV solar installations up on utility-scale projects in US

September 20, 2011. Second-quarter U.S. installations of photovoltaic solar panels rose 17 percent from the previous quarter as increases in non-residential and utility-scale projects offset a weakened residential solar market. Installations were also up 69 percent from the same period the previous year at 314 megawatts, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm GTM Research. Installations are poised to double this year, though SEIA said it revised its outlook for the residential and utility segments while raising its non-residential market forecast.

Solar module prices fell 12 percent in the United States during the quarter -- bringing the decline for the year to about 30 percent, the report said, adding that without that decline, U.S. installations may have been flat this year. Residential installations fell slightly during the quarter, but SEIA said the drop is not indicative of a long-term trend because availability of financing programs is growing. In the nation's top solar market, California, both residential and non-residential installations fell, with the non-residential market dropping 19 percent.

SEIA blamed the decline on the state's solar incentive program, the California Solar Initiative, being frozen in two major utility territories due to an oversubscription of incentives. Several U.S. solar markets face difficulties ahead, the report said, including California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In manufacturing, U.S. panel production fell 11 percent from the first quarter due to a slowdown in demand from top European markets Italy and Germany.

Siemens hops on renewables wave with power lines

September 20, 2011. German industrial group Siemens AG aims to benefit from the global push into renewable energy by installing power lines to get electricity from sun-drenched and wind-swept sites to customers. It also wants to deliver the natural gas-fired power stations that can fill the gap left when neither wind nor sun is powering the green facilities. The lightbulbs-to-locos conglomerate is in particular banking on Germany exiting nuclear power in the next 10 years and the ensuing demand for new facilities. The changes in energy policies in Germany and the growing demand for electricity worldwide offer big opportunities for the company. Siemens estimates the global market for power transmission will at least double in the next five years from the current 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion, $1 = 0.735 Euros)

Obama $8 bn solar ‘Betamax’ undercut as China backs rival technology

September 20, 2011. The U.S. government’s $8 billion bet on solar energy that would pave the deserts with mirrors risks following the Betamax into the technological wilderness because of Chinese backing for a cheaper system. The Department of Energy guaranteed loans to six plants that will reflect sunlight to boil water for making electricity, aiming to kick-start commercial projects. Four of those, and a third of $26 billion pipeline encouraged by U.S. aid, may switch to standard photovoltaic panels that generate a charge directly from the sun. The cost of generating power with panels plunged about 37 percent in the past year as Chinese factories cut prices, pushing three U.S. makers including Solyndra LLC into bankruptcy protection in the past quarter. Germany’s Solar Millennium AG (S2M) walked away from a $2.1 billion U.S. loan guarantee last month and ditched thermal devices for a cheaper photovoltaic system. While the developers of some of the U.S. guaranteed projects said they are sticking with mirror-based devices, a switch by others will drain momentum for the technology and shift engineering jobs President Barack Obama aims to create in the southwestern U.S. to the panel plants of eastern China.

Renewables stir growth, create jobs: EU adviser

September 19, 2011. A major expansion of renewable energy could create millions of jobs worldwide, stir economic growth in heavily indebted countries and help fight climate change at the same time, an American adviser to the German leader Angela Merkel said. Jeremy Rifkin, a best-selling author and an adviser to the European Union on climate change and energy security, said Germany has been leading the way by creating some 250,000 jobs in renewable energy in just a few years, but could do more.

He said, investing more in renewable energy and the accompanying internet technology to link homes and buildings with green energy networks could help economies weighed down by the euro zone debt crisis to start growing again. He said Greece and Portugal, for instance, could relatively quickly create thousands of new businesses and many more jobs with the right incentives for renewable energy that could trigger a boom in public-private partnerships. Germany gets 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar, and is on track for 35 percent by 2020. If that push for a mid-21st century goal of 100 percent carbon-free economies could be duplicated elsewhere, many millions of jobs could be created across the EU, in the United States and in Asia, he said.

Global climate deal should wait another 4 years

September 19, 2011. A binding global pact to limit global emissions should not be finalized until 2015, according to a U.N. submission by Australia and Norway.

The two countries reckon it will take four years to agree a legally-binding deal that includes emission targets for developed and developing countries. Such a pact would expand the current Kyoto pact that only applies to rich nations.

A stepwise approach from Durban to 2015 will provide time and space for countries to build confidence and capacity, and ensure a robust outcome over time, said the submission by the countries, which both signed the 1997 Kyoto treaty.

At the year-end U.N. climate summit in Durban, South Africa, countries should launch a process to negotiate a new treaty and begin evaluating and scaling up emission pledges made last year, according to the document posted on the UNFCCC website. The submission said the world's poorest countries are not expected to take on any legally binding obligations.

The statement is another indication of a major shift in ambition since 2009, when countries spoke of the urgent need to strike a legally-binding pact at that year's climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the 2010 summit in Cancun, Mexico, developed and developing nations brought voluntary emission pledges to the U.N., targets that collectively amount to far less than the cuts of 25-40 percent under 1990 levels by 2020 that U.N. scientists say is needed to fend off runaway climate change.

China raises bar for fuel-saving car subsidies

September 16, 2011. China has made qualifications more stringent for fuel-saving vehicle subsidies, part of efforts to cut emissions in the world's biggest auto market. Cars will be eligible for the 3,000-yuan ($470) subsidies only if they consume 6.3 liters of gas or less per 100 kilometers, compared with the previous level of 6.9 liters, the Ministry of Finance said.

Fuel consumption standards for other cars have all been raised according to their technical specifications, it said. Beijing started to hand out subsidies for fuel-saving cars in June 2010. It has also been subsidizing hybrid and electric car buyers in select cities, with a maximum amount of 60,000 yuan each. ($1 = 6.392 yuan)

GE to double capacity at Brazil’s biggest solar energy project

September 16, 2011. General Electric Co. (GE), the world’s biggest maker of electricity-generating equipment, will add 1 megawatt of power capacity to Brazil’s largest solar plant, and may eventually expand the facility to 50 megawatts.

GE will erect panels next to MPX Energia SA (MPXE3)’s facility in the northeastern city of Taua. MPX’s existing 1-megawatt plant comprises of 4,680 panels, enough to power about 1,500 households. MPX has secured federal and state licenses to expand the project up to 5 megawatts.

BP-backed energy group starts carbon-capture simulation project

September 15, 2011. The Energy Technologies Institute, backed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, started a 3 million- pound ($4.7 million) project that uses software to show power companies how to develop carbon-capture sites economically.

The program will simulate the operation of carbon capture and storage, or CCS, a technology that gathers carbon dioxide released in power generation for underground storage, the Loughborough, England-based institute said.

Britain, due to shut more than 11,000 megawatts of coal and oil-fed power capacity by the end of 2015, is examining ways to meet energy demand while reducing emissions, including an initiative to fund the first CCS demonstration project.

Building a CCS plant adds about 500 million euros ($690 million) to the 1 billion-euro cost of a coal-fired power station. EDF Energy Plc, Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and Petrofac Ltd. are involved in the institute’s software project, which will simulate all aspects of the “complex” CCS chain, helping power-plant developers and operators, as well as policy makers, understand the technology.

It will take more than two years to develop the CCS modeling program. Process System Enterprise Ltd., a modeling technology company, and energy consultants E4tech Ltd. are also participating.

The institute, a partnership between BP, Shell, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), EDF Energy, EON AG, Rolls-Royce and the U.K. government, has already announced 29 million pounds of CCS projects, including a capture trial led by Costain Group Plc.

Greece pushes $1.4 bn in solar projects to aid economy

September 14, 2011. Greece, which pays Europe’s highest premium for solar power, said it will fast-track three solar photovoltaic projects with a total investment of 1 billion euros ($1.37 billion) to help revive its shrinking economy.

They include the 200-megawatt Kozani plant, to be developed by Public Power Corp. SA, the country’s biggest electricity producer. Solar Cells Hellas Group is planning a 131-megawatt plant and Silcio SA has one that would generate 127 megawatts under the program.

Greece’s relatively strong solar radiation and high price paid by utilities and consumers for power from the sun might turn the nation into Germany’s rival as Europe’s biggest solar market. Developers applied for licenses to generate 9.5 gigawatts of power in Greece.

Germany by comparison added 7.4 gigawatts of solar capacity last year, making it the world’s biggest market for the cells. Greece may add as much as 600 megawatts of solar capacity this year, four times the level in 2010.

More than 200 megawatts were installed through August. Greece pays 35 to 40 euro cents per kilowatt-hour for photovoltaic electricity. Germany’s premium varies from 21 to 29 cents.

Dear Reader,   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

 

ORF ENERGY                        NEWS MONITOR   Sponsorship Form Please fill in BLOCK LETTERS

·    Commercial Sponsorship: Rs 15, 000 per annum    1 hard copy (52 issues) + soft copies by email as per list provided by  sponsor ·    Non Commercial/ Academic Sponsorship: Rs 2, 500 per annum               1 hard copy (52 issues) + soft copies by email as per list provided by  sponsor ·    Individual Sponsorship: Rs 1, 000 per annum        Soft copy only

Yes! I/we would like to receive copies of the weekly ORF Energy News Monitor for a period of ______year(s).  I/we shall be entitled to one hard copy along with the option of soft copies to a list of e-mail addresses provided by me/us for the period specified.  Name……………………………Address…………….………………………Telephone……………………Fax………………….E-mail………………… Please find enclosed cheque/Bank Draft No.........................dated …………………drawn at New Delhi for Rs.........……….favouring ‘Observer Research Foundation’ Please fill in this form and mail it with your remittance to   Mr. Vinod Kumar Tomar   ORF Centre for Resources Management  OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION 20 Rouse Avenue, New Delhi - 110 002 Phone +91.11.4352 0020 extn 2120 Mobile: 9871417327 Fax: +91.11.4352 0003 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

 

• Energy
• India
• Transport Policy

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.