Energy News Monitor | Volume XII; Issue 4

[India’s Energy Sector: About to Take-off?]

                             “Despite the speed of change, India accounted only for 4.9 percent of global energy consumption while China accounted for 23 percent. But India accounted for over 34 percent of global consumption increment which is more than half of China’s contribution of net increment in consumption in 2014. India did not score well in the production of hydrocarbons. India produced only 23.2 percent of its gross oil consumption in 2014, the lowest proportion ever according to BP. Natural gas production and consumption continued to decline with both much below their peak levels in 2011. In contrast fossil fuel consumption growth in China was led by natural gas at 8.6 percent…”

Energy News

[GOOD]

Subsidy delivery reform that has saved billions of rupees should be accelerated!                                      

                                                                                                    [BAD]

Congestion in transmission networks holding up flow of cheap power is unacceptable!  

[UGLY]

India’s solar push may end up as a perverse subsidy to the rich by the poor if it is going to create employment in China and USA! 

 

NEWS BRIEF

[NATIONAL: OIL & GAS]

July 7, 2015. Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi launched maiden drilling by ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) in the Satpayev oil block of Kazakhstan where the Indian firm is investing USD 400 million. OVL, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had bought 25 percent of Satpayev oil block in 2011. It paid USD 13 million as a signing amount to Kazakhstan. In addition, it paid USD 80 million as a one-time assignment fee to KazMunaiGas (KMG). OVL had committed a minimum exploration investment of USD 165 million and an additional optional expenditure of USD 235 million to the project. The company has already invested USD 150 million in Satpayev and will invest a total of USD 400 million in exploration. The Satpayev block, measuring 1,582 sq km, is located in the North Caspian Sea, in water depths of 6-8 m, and has two prospective areas that hold an estimated 256 million tonnes of oil and natural gas resources. It lies near four major discoveries. OVL estimates a peak output of 287,000 barrels per day from the Satpayev and Satpayev Vostochni (East) structures. Delays and cost overruns have dogged Kazakhstan's efforts to expand offshore production of oil and gas. OVL had planned to drill two exploration wells on Satpayev in 2014 and 2015 but delivery of a drill rig has been delayed and will start drilling next month. (www.business-standard.com)

July 3, 2015. Videocon Industries Ltd., an Indian maker of consumer electronics with ambitions to become a major energy producer, plans to invest as much as $2.5 billion over three years in Brazilian oilfields, Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said. The scope for oil from its blocks in the South American country is four times higher than the largest field in India and the company will pursue expanding its energy operations there, Dhoot said. Dhoot is seeking to reposition Videocon as an oil & gas (O&G) explorer with stakes in at least eight hydrocarbon blocks in countries including Indonesia and East Timor. It is exploring “more and more,” with mergers and acquisitions being one of the key opportunities, the company said. Dhoot said the Aurangabad, Maharashtra-based company will be known as an oil and gas firm. In the 18-month accounting period ended Dec. 31, consumer durables accounted for 90 percent of the ` 171 billion ($2.7 billion) in sales, according to the company. He plans to reverse this in the next three years, he said. Videocon owns stakes in 10 exploration blocks in Brazil through a joint venture with an upstream unit of Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp. Many of them are operated by Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), which is selling assets to reduce debt that stands at an industry-high of $125 billion. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 3, 2015. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will cut gas production from its biggest fields in the Arabian sea by about 40 percent as it carries out repair work on a pipeline that carries the gas to shore. ONGC produces 33 million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas from the Bassein field in the western offshore. The gas is carried to shore by two under-sea pipelines, a 42-inch line and a 32-inch line. The company plans to carry out repair work on the 42-inch pipeline that carries natural gas from the Bassein field to Hazira, from July 7 to 27. GAIL India Ltd, which sells gas produced from the ONGC fields to the customers, has been intimated of the shutdown. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2015. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has decided to relinquish two discoveries and carry out the controversial Drill Stem Test (DST) at three discoveries to confirm the viability of gas reserves following a cabinet decision that offered a way out of the logjam between the operators and the regulator. The government had offered RIL and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) the option to relinquish the block, conduct DST or develop the discovery without conducting DST in a ring-fenced manner. A disagreement between the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and the operators on the utility of DST for confirming the potential of reserves had held back development of associated gas reserves of about 90 billion cubic metres worth ` 1 lakh crore. RIL and its partners BP and Niko have informed the government that they would relinquish discoveries D-40 in NEC-25 block off the Odisha coast and D-31 in KG D6 block. The operator will, however, conduct DST on discoveries D-32 in NEC-25 block and D-29 and D-30 in KG D6 block. The contractor will undertake DST in one of the drilled appraisal wells related to the discoveries and separately submit budget estimates for DST. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 6, 2015. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has awarded a contract to build two football stadium-sized LNG storage tanks at its upcoming Ennore LNG import terminal in Tamil Nadu to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) of Japan. This is also the first LNG storage tank order that MHI has received from India. The high-capacity LNG storage tanks will have a capacity to hold 180,000 cubic meters of gas each and will be installed at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal that IOC will build near Ennore port, about 25 kilometers north of Chennai on the Bay of Bengal. IOC plans to build a terminal to import gas turned into liquid at minus 160 degrees Celcius (LNG) in ships at Ennore at a cost of ` 5,150 crore by 2019. Tamil Nadu government enterprise, TIDCO has 5 percent stake, while IOC has 45 percent holding in the project. The balance 50 percent will be for a strategic partner like LNG supplier. Till such a strategic partner is roped in, ICICI and IDFC have agreed to hold 50 percent interest. Ennore will be the third LNG terminal on the east coast with GAIL India Ltd building a facility at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Petronet LNG Ltd proposing a 5 million tonnes facility at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh. India currently has four LNG import terminals, all on the west coast -- Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat, Dabhol in Maharashtra and Kochi in Kerala. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 7, 2015. Indian Oil Corp (IOC)-Adani Gas combine has bid for a licence to retail CNG in five cities including Haridwar in the 5^th round of city gas bidding that saw no bids for as many as eight cities. Besides Haridwar, IOC Adani combine bid for Tumkur, Belgaum and Dharward districts in Karnataka and Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, according to information available from Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). GAIL India Ltd through its subsidiary GAIL Gas bid for Tumkur and Dharward and in consortia with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) for Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Belgaum. GSPC Gas bid for Banaskantha district in Gujarat while Maharashtra Natural Gas Ltd bid for rights for Ahmadnagar district in Maharashtra. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) in joint venture with Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corp Ltd bid for licence to retail CNG and piped cooking gas in East Godavari, Krishna and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh. Lesser known firm, Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd put in bids for East Godavari, Belgaum, Krishna, West Godavari, Tumkur and Dharward districts. PNGRB said no bids were received from Badaun, Aligarh and Bulandshahr district in Uttar Pradesh, Lathur and Osmanabad in Maharashtra, Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh and Bidar in Karnataka. Besides there were single bids for Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh and Dahod in Maharashtra and PNGRB has decided to retender them. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 7, 2015. GAIL India will offer foreign shipbuilders five years to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers in India, double the time allowed to deliver ships from their home shipyards — a concession it hopes will attract foreign firms to locally manufacture ships proposed to be chartered by the Indian gas company. As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, GAIL is insisting foreign shipbuilders to build in India at least a third of the 11 LNG carriers it plans to charter for about 20 years beginning 2017 to transport LNG from the US. GAIL plans to charter these carriers from one or more shipping lines, which will have to purchase LNG carriers from the shipbuilders that meet the local production criteria prescribed by the Indian firm. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 6, 2015. China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB), JSIW Infrastructure and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) have emerged front-runners in the race to lay pipelines in the first phase of the Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline project that has finally taken off after nearly eight years of uncertainty, induced by unavailability of gas as well as customers. Laying of the 2,050-km pipeline is closely linked to the revival of fertiliser units in Barauni in Bihar and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and is widely seen as an effort by the NDA government to portray itself as the harbinger of economic progress in poll-bound Bihar, where the BJP and allies are locked in a keen contest with the incumbent coalition of Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal. The pipeline will supply customers with imported liquefied natural gas. A shortage of locally produced gas, mainly due to a dramatic decline in the output from Reliance Industries' KG D6 field, was one of the main reasons delaying the setting up of the Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline. The two fertiliser units and Indian Oil Corp's refinery in Barauni will be the anchor customers, critical for the viability of any pipeline, especially at a time when less than half of India's existing gas pipeline network is being utilised, squeezing operators' profits. India plans to double its gas pipeline network to 30,000 km in five years, but scarcity of local cheaper gas and reluctance of consumers to pay for pricey imports have clouded prospects. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 5, 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forthcoming visit from July 6-13 to Russia as also five Central Asian countries is expected to boost strategic and economic ties with the region, India Inc said. Terming Modi's visit to Central Asia a "landmark" event to revitalise our ancient links with the region, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimated that trade with the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan can grow manifold from the small base of USD 1.4 billion currently. Stressing on the need to develop more transport corridors to connect India to the Central Asian region, the CII said priority must be given to the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Iran-Pakistan) pipeline project. It also recommended the energy sector be accorded high priority, as Kazakhstan is a significant oil producer while the other countries are estimated to have large reserves of natural gas. The CII said major areas of opportunity for India in Central Asia include oil and gas, minerals and metals, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, textiles and chemicals. India's exports to the five Central Asian countries at USD 604.32 million and its imports at USD 775.73 million. Kazakhstan is India's largest trading partner among the five countries, and trade has seen a rapid expansion as India is sourcing mineral fuels from the country. (www.deccanherald.com)

July 3, 2015. Worthwhile Gases Pvt Ltd, a Chandigarh-based LPG provider, will supply non-subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, my gas, to Tamil Nadu (TN) beginning August 15. The company buys LPG from Qatar. It has entered into a master franchise alliance with VM Agencies for this purpose. Torus Energy Company, the US based energy management solution provider, supports backend processes and procures regular supply of cylinders for Worthwhile Gases. The company offers 6 kg, 15 kg and 17 kg LPG cylinders at ₹ 392, ₹ 981 and ₹ 1112 for domestic and industrial purposes respectively. Worthwhile Gases said the LPG cylinders are sold at ₹ 62 per kg, five rupees less than the rate determined by the government. According to oil industry, bulk LPG requirement in Tamil Nadu is 1.2 million tonnes per annum while the availability is 0.4 million tonnes. Worthwhile Gases said ‘my gas’ will be able to meet about 2 percent of that demand. The company has tied up with an operational bottling plant with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes in Thiruvallur district. The company plans to set up franchisees in six Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi, Tiruppur and Salem with a focus on bulk, industrial and commercial sales. Worthwhile Gases said a plan to launch quantity based supply of gas to the consumers is in the pipeline. The company will invest ₹ 15 crore to set up LPG blending and bottling plant with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes in Tamil Nadu. (www.thehindubusinessline.com)

July 2, 2015. India's oil imports from Iran fell by about 23 percent over January-June as refiners curtailed shipments in the early months of the year to keep volumes within the limits allowed under an interim nuclear deal in place since the end of 2013. India shipped in 216,500 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in the first six months of 2015 compared with 281,000 bpd a year ago, according to preliminary data from trade sources and a report. In March, Indian refiners had halted imports from Iran for the first time in at least a decade to meet a fiscal year target of 220,000 bpd, dragging down the average daily purchases for the January-June period. India, the world's fourth biggest oil consumer and Iran's top client after China, received 283,900 bpd oil from the OPEC member in June, a decline of about 23 percent from May but up about 70 percent from the same month last year. For April-June, India's first fiscal quarter and the first three months of annual contracts with Iran, India shipped in nearly 50 percent more oil from Tehran at 306,000 bpd compared with the same period last year, the data showed. (in.reuters.com)

July 1, 2015. Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) surged to the highest level in three years in Mumbai after India’s top court said the industry regulator doesn’t have the jurisdiction to set prices for transporting natural gas. IGL, a gas retailer in New Delhi, gained as much as 18 percent to ` 492, the most since June 1, 2012, and traded at ` 464. GAIL India Ltd reversed losses to climb as much as 2.3 percent. The regulator had appealed to the top court after the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of IGL in 2012. The city gas retailer had challenged the regulator in the high court after it cut pipeline transportation rates by 63 percent and gas-compression prices by 59 percent. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 7, 2015. India is looking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to meet its requirements. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Canadian Minister for Natural Resources Greg Rickford at the second India-Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue in Calgary to discuss enhancing energy cooperation between the two countries. The areas of cooperation discussed at the meeting included oil, natural gas, clean energy, power transmission and skill development. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has already taken a 10 percent stake in the Pacific NorthWest LNG, while real estate firm Hiranandani Group has announced plans to develop a 4.5 million tonnes per annum LNG export terminal in Melford, Nova Scotia at an estimated cost of $3.3 billion by 2020. Both the ministers highlighted Canada and India's growing energy partnership, by strengthening government and business relationships, to help create jobs and long-term economic prosperity for both countries. While India is fourth-largest energy consumer, Canada is a secure, reliable and responsible producer and supplier of energy to the world and has the resources and expertise needed to support India's growing energy needs. India, in 2009, had for the first time imported Canadian oil. In 2014, India imported 1,500 barrels of Canadian oil per day. In March 2014, IOC acquired 10 percent stake in an integrated LNG project -- Pacific Northwest LNG proposed at Lelu Island, British Columbia. Canada and India will also work together to enhance skill development and share knowledge to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies. The third India-Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue will be held in India in 2016. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 3, 2015. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Essar Oil are set to gain from a likely cut in prices for medium and heavy grades of crude oil sold by Saudi Arabia to Asia, according to industry watchers. Saudi Arabia, traditionally the top exporter of crude to India, is reported to be considering a cut in prices of the medium and heavy grades of crude used by complex refiners, while leaving price of its most popular export, light crude, unchanged. According to a survey of four refiners and traders, the Arab Heavy crude price could fall as much as 70 cents a barrel in August, while Arab Light could post a small drop of up to 20 cents. RIL, Essar Oil to gain from likely price cut in some Saudi crudes. Indian equity analysts said the price cut could benefit the crack spread, which is the difference between price of crude oil and petroleum products extracted from it, of these private sector refiners. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 3, 2015. Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) is looking at going upstream to develop marginal oilfields in the Northeast region and building a 450 km pipeline to Moreah in Manipur to help export diesel and petrol to Myanmar. The move is part of the Union petroleum and natural gas ministry's ambitious plan to bring down imports of petroleum to 67% of total demand by 2022 from 77% now. NRL is anchoring the ministry's project of preparing a hydrocarbon vision document for Northeast India. The firm plans to send a small quantity of petrol or diesel to Myanmar as a trial consignment to explore the possibility of exports. Numaligarh Refinery can export to north and central Myanmar where presently private parties are selling petrol and diesel. The NRL board has already cleared a project to increase its refining capacity to 9 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) from 3 mmtpa now. Bharat Petroleum's board will examine the proposal, which will require investment of ` 20,000 crore, on July 14. After the expansion, the refinery will process imported crude oil too, which is envisaged to be transported from a port in East India to Numaligarh through a new pipeline. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 2, 2015. India has saved $2 billion in the last one year by taking steps to reform fuel subsidiary delivery, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, insisting that the government is working to cut the leakages and not the subsidy. He said that this is what his ministry has successfully worked on in the last one year. Pradhan was visiting the US en route to attend an energy meeting in Canada. He said JAM - Jan Dhanprogramme, Aadhar (key to identity beneficiaries) and mobile for delivery – has reformed fuel subsidiary delivery in India. He explained that 'Pahal' programme is successfully delivering LPG subsidies to the people in India. Noting that $8 billion was spent on LPG subsidy previous year, Pradhan claimed the steps taken by the government has reduced LPG subsidy to $6 billion. He said that the benefits of the programme outweigh the cost – recurring savings in LPG will offset one time set up costs. Pradhan said so far more than seven lakhs people have volunteered to give up their LPG subsidiary benefits. When asked about expanding this to kerosene subsidies as well, Pradhan said this is maintained by the State Governments which varies from state to state. Pradhan said Andhra Pradesh recently offered that this pilot project be expanded to the entire state. (www.firstpost.com)

July 2, 2015. Sales of subsidised LPG cylinders under the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme (DBT) have come down by about 25 percent as most “ghost beneficiaries” have been eliminated, the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian said. Subramanian cautioned that the government should make sure genuine beneficiaries are not excluded. Under Pahal, earlier known as DBT, LPG cylinders are sold at market rates and consumers get the subsidy directly in their bank accounts. This is done either through an Aadhaar or a bank account linkage. Pahal looks to cut down diversion and eliminate duplicate or bogus LPG connections. The CEA said that because of schemes like Pahal, Jan Dhan and Aadhaar, institutional arrangement has improved and “things are now working”. (www.thehindu.com)

July 1, 2015. Fuel retailers have lowered petrol and diesel prices by ` 0.31 a litre and ` 0.71 a litre, respectively, after aligning them with international prices and adjusting for foreign exchange rates. In Delhi, petrol will cost ` 66.62 a litre, while diesel will be available at ` 50.22 a litre. In other places, there will be marginal variations due to local levies. During the last revision a fortnight ago, price of petrol was increased by ` 0.64 a litre and diesel was cut by ` 1.35 a litre. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said the combined impact of the movement of prices in international oil markets and the rupee-dollar exchange rate are reflected in price changes of petrol and diesel. The exchange rate is important as the country imports about 80% of the oil it consumes. Local petrol and diesel prices are reviewed every fortnight and adjustments made based on the global rates of the products. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

 [NATIONAL: POWER]

July 6, 2015. NHPC said it will set up 4 hydroelectric projects with a total generation capacity of 293 MW in the Teesta Basin of Darjeeling. The four projects are -- Teesta Low Dam-V, Teesta low dam I & II combined, Teesta Intermediate Stage and Rammam Stage-I, all located in District Darjeeling of West Bengal, it said. These projects shall be developed on build, own, operate and maintain basis by NHPC. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 6, 2015. Chhattisgarh has recorded 34 percent increase in thermal power generation in the year ending November 2014 thus taking overall generating capacity to 16,000 MW. With the commissioning of an additional 21,000 MW from 19 ongoing projects by March next year, Chhattisgarh alone would contribute 25 percent of the total generating capacity projected for the 12^th Plan period. Since the states creation in 2000, the power demand spurted from 900 MW to 3,550 MW with consumers increasing from 18.91 lakh to 41 lakh. The Chhattisgarh State Power Generating Company Ltd's output touched 2,424 MW last December and is likely to increase to 3,280 MW by the end of the 12^th Plan period. (news.webindia123.com)

July 5, 2015. NTPC Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station at Parawada will expand its capacity from 2,000 MW to 3,600 MW. The company will need 800 acres for the project. It will involve an investment of ` 5 crore to ` 6 crore for production of each megawatt. It will be developed with ultra super critical technology with higher efficiency and less coal consumption and emissions compared to existing technologies followed at various power plants. NTPC is also in talks with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant for a joint venture to set up a 250x2 MW power plant on the land belonging to the latter in the city at Ukkunagaram. (www.thehindu.com)

July 1, 2015. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) said it has commissioned Sudan's largest power plant. BHEL has executed this project on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. It has designed, manufactured, supplied and installed the complete power project (4 units of 125 MW each) including associated civil works. The company has also constructed a canal from the White Nile River to supply water for the project. The project is funded by the India's Line of Credit of USD 350 million. The Kosti plant is BHEL's largest oil-fired thermal power plant in the overseas market. It is also BHEL's first crude oil fired thermal power plant in Africa and comes on the heels of the successful completion of BHEL's 28 MW Nyaborango Hydro project in Rwanda. (www.business-standard.com)

July 1, 2015. The rehabilitation & resettlement (R&R) site for the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) being set up near Bhedabahal village in Sundargarh district is expected to be finalised soon. Non-finalisation of bidding terms by the central power ministry has delayed the implementation of the UMPP. In December last year, the Union power ministry decided to cancel the bidding process for Odisha and Tamil Nadu UMPPs. The bidding process was initiated in 2012. The ministry instead, decided to have a re-look at the standard bidding documents and constituted a committee for the purpose. The power ministry's decision to revise the standard bidding documents stemmed from the pull out of the private players from the bidding process. (www.business-standard.com)

July 7, 2015. Dependence on coal imports will reduce to up to 8 percent only if Coal India Ltd (CIL) meets the production of 1,000 million tonnes by 2020 and if auctioned coal mines are able to achieve their peak capacity in a timely manner, according to an ICRA survey. However, dependence on coal imports is likely to remain high in the near to medium term till FY19 and gradually moderate thereafter, given the overall challenges in coal mine development as well as risk of delays in ramp up of coal output by the allottees of Schedule II and III mines, according to ICRA. According to ICRA, the progress on tie-up of new long term power purchase agreements (PPAs) by state distributions companies, continues to remain slow with sizeable generation capacity having no long-term PPAs. (profit.ndtv.com)

July 6, 2015. Uttar Pradesh (UP) government departments are among the top defaulters of the energy department and together account for a third of the power bill arrears of the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL). The total outstanding receivables of UPPCL till February 2015 were at a whopping ` 23,890 crore spanning both government and non-government departments. Of this, the government departments and agencies alone account for about ` 8,000 crore. Five of the top defaulters viz. irrigation, local bodies, Jal Sansthan, Jal Nigam and river pollution departments, alone account for ` 2,053 crore of total dues. Recently, UP power tariffs have been increased by over 10 percent amid vociferous protests by the opposition parties and consumer bodies. UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad president Avadhesh Kumar Verma lamented UPPCL had failed to realise its total bills and thus the outstanding was increasing every year. He claimed if the power companies had only managed to recover arrears from consumers, their cash position would have been much better. In the latest figures released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for the month of May 2015 regarding maximum and minimum energy demand and availability, UP clocked power shortage of 11.6 percent against all India average of power shortage at 2.3 percent. During May 2015, the maximum demand and availability of energy in UP stood at 14,696 MW and 12,991 MW respectively, which means shortage of 1,705 MW. CEA functions under the union power ministry. While, UP reported power shortage of 11.6 percent, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan have recorded balanced maximum energy demand and availability status. Bihar stood a distance second with 3 percent power shortage during May 2015, followed by Uttarakhand (2 percent), Gujarat (0.9 percent), Maharashtra (0.8 percent) and Andhra Pradesh (0.1 percent). (www.business-standard.com)

July 6, 2015. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) said its board has approved a ` 2,247.37 crore investment plan for the third part of the inter-state electricity transmission project. In April, PGCIL had said its board has approved investment for Green Energy Corridors: Inter-State Transmission Scheme-Part A and B at an estimated cost of ` 1,479.30 crore and ` 3,705.61 crore, respectively. The Green Energy Corridor project is aimed at transmission of renewable energy from generation points to the load centres by creating intra-state and inter-state transmission infrastructure. The intra-state transmission component is being implemented by respective states while PGCIL is executing the inter-state part. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 4, 2015. Transmission of 100 MW of power from Tripura to neighbouring Bangladesh will begin next year, Principal Secretary S K Rakesh said. As part of the commitment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Dhaka visit, the Ministry of Power has given its nod to sell 100 MW power to Bangladesh from Tripura, He said. He said this decision had been taken in the meeting of the ministry in Delhi. Sixty five transmission towers are being erected by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd for transmission of power from Sryamaninagar here to South Comilla in Bangladesh via Bishalgarh in Sipahijala district. The National Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd, a subsidiary of NTPC, will fix the tariff of power, he said. (www.deccanherald.com)

July 3, 2015. Power distribution companies in Delhi can save up to ` 889 crore annually if they purchase cheap electricity from exchanges instead of going for costly long-term purchase agreements with generating stations, Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) told Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission recently. IEX said that discoms can replace costlier long-term power by procuring from exchanges as prices were lower. It suggested that discoms can continue paying fixed charges under long term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and substitute where energy charge is higher than IEX prices. Long term PPAs have two charges capacity charges which are fixed and paid irrespective of whether discoms purchase or not while variable charges or energy charges are paid corresponding to the number of units purchased. IEX suggested discoms should start with replacing 50 MW power and then scale up by 100 MW after 4-5 days, assessing constraints, if any. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 3, 2015. Amidst the increasing transmission congestion in northern and southern regions, a high power panel appointed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has suggested a slew of recommendations, including putting in place a mechanism to monitor critical lines on a quarterly basis to mitigate short and medium term constraints, to accelerate transmission capacity enhancement through public and private sector routes and expedite transmission development, especially at state level. The panel emphasised the need to enhance transfer capability such as converting single circuit line to double circuit, upgrading 220 kV system to 400 kV, beefing up existing towers and re-conductoring. Indian Energy Exchange, one of the two power exchanges has said the congestion in transmission caused loss of 3.1 billion units of electricity on it in 2014-15. Association of Power Producers said generation segment is in high growth phase with 23,000 MW capacity added in this year and another about 50,000 MW expected in next 2 years. (www.business-standard.com)

July 2, 2015. India's coal imports in June were largely flat at 20.18 million tonnes from a year ago, provisional data from commodities trader mjunction showed, as state behemoth Coal India ramped up supplies under a sustained government push. Reviving output from India's nationalised coal industry has been one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's achievements, one he hopes will secure uninterrupted power to all and eat into an annual coal import bill of about $15 billion. Coal India's April-June output rose 12 percent to 121.3 million tonnes as it opened new mines and received environmental approvals to expand existing ones. The government wants to double its output to 1 billion tonnes by 2019/20, and stop imports of power-generating coal by then. Government data on coal imports into India, the third largest buyer in the world, generally lags and varies from data from private firms such as mjunction, which collects information from more ports and includes additional coal grades. (in.reuters.com)

July 2, 2015. Companies such as Tata Power, Adani Power, GMR Energy and Jindal India Thermal are unable to sell electricity due to a severe congestion in the transmission grid, preventing transfer of power from about 25,000 MW of capacity in surplus regions to northern India and leaving states like Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the dark. Grid managing agency Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) is curtailing transportation of power from the eastern region to the north for 20 days to prevent grid collapse, industry sources said. Because of this, power companies are unable to honour their short-term contracts and distribution companies are either load-shedding or buying costlier power from spot markets, they said. Transmission has for long been a neglected area in India. Globally, every rupee spent on generation is matched with an equal amount on transmission. India, however, spends only about a fourth on transmission in comparison to generation. Power transmission capacity has failed to grow in tandem with the growth of generation capacity. While installed power generation capacity has grown by 50% over the last five years, transmission capacity has grown only by 30%. Most power plants in eastern and western India have signed power purchase agreements with northern region utilities. But, there is no capacity in key power corridors to ship this power, making these plants idle. Power project developers are incurring losses due to cost overruns and their inability to utilise plants at full capacity is escalating the troubles. Power generating firms in surplus states like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh are facing losses. Some power developers have asked POSOCO to allow direct transfer of power from the eastern region to the north, saying some margin is available in the east-north corridor. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2015. Delhi High Court (HC) suggested to Coal India Ltd (CIL) to sell to Jindal Power Ltd (JPL) the coal it has started to mine from two Chhattisgarh mines if it did not have the space to store the mineral. It moved the application as the HC on May 27 had kept in abeyance a letter issued by CIL cancelling the e-auction in which JPL had won 49,000 metric tonnes of coal to be mined from the two mines. CIL put before the bench three options - selling the coal by way of a fresh e-auction, selling it to those companies with whom the public sector unit has a fuel supply agreement or sale to National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) - and asked the court which method should it go for. The counsel for CIL told the court that the problem was that after it had received environmental clearance, it had commenced mining and now the mineral was accumulating at the site with no space to store it. It also sought clarity on whether the court's May 27 order would prohibit it from selling the coal it was mining. The court only suggested that CIL can sell the coal it was mining to JPL or hold a fresh e-auction in which the power company can participate and did not pass any order. (www.moneycontrol.com)

July 7, 2015. The Narendra Modi government would soon launch a 20-year plan for the sector to keep pace with growing generation and its poll promise of '24x7 power for all'. The plan, titled 'Perspective Transmission Plan for 20 Years' is being circulated to all states and sector stakeholders for their feedback. The total investment envisaged is ` 2.6 lakh crore during the 13<sup>th</sup> Plan (period). According to the current draft, ` 1.6 lakh crore investment in transmission would come from states and the balance ` 1 lakh crore from the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL). Power ministry said the project allotment would undergo changes, with PGCIL having overcapacity projects and the government pushing for more private investment in the sector. Transmission projects, totalling ` 1 lakh crore, would be outbid in the coming six months through a tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB), Minister for Coal, Power and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, said. The expected transmission network by the end of the 12^th Plan period in 2017 will be 3,60,000 circuit kilometres (Ckm) though the current status is 37,140 Ckm. The final draft of the transmission plan would be ready by September and projects would be outbid accordingly. The plan was prepared last year by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) along with the Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) and PGCIL. The government is planning to increase the size of projects and the scope of work in transmission to prevent congestion in the network. Interstate lines, with a capacity of around 56,000 MW, are being planned to be built by end of the 13^th Plan. The focus would be on new technology such as high voltage direct current (HVDC) and the load forecast would be improved. The ministry is also working on the plan of a general network access (GNA) for power transmission. (www.business-standard.com)

July 6, 2015. Hyderabad headquartered state-owned electronics firm Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) has handed over a critical homeland security system - radiological detection equipment (RDE) to India's largest container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Mumbai. The equipment helps monitor the transport of illicit nuclear material at entry and exit points of the country in the context of increasing nuclear terrorism. ECIL said its chairman and managing director P Sudhakar has handed over the equipment JNPT's chairman in-charge Neeraj Bansal in the presence of India's Atomic energy secretary and Atomic Energy Commission's Chairman RK Sinha. ECIL said RDE consists of vehicle monitors, pedestrian monitors, radiation survey meter and isotope identifiers. The equipment acts as detection device that provide a passive, non-intrusive means to screen containers and pedestrians for the presence of nuclear and radioactive materials. The Atomic Energy Secretary Sinha complimented ECIL for developing the critical homeland security system to the international standards and deploying them at all the major seaports of India, which strengthens the national security. JNPT's Chairman in-charge Bansal said the installation of this equipment promotes compliance to international agreements and enhances trade opportunities. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 4, 2015. Delhiites, already reeling under a recent power tariff increase, will have to brace themselves for another three-four percent rise in rates, as the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) will go for an annual tariff determination exercise soon. This has left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital in a spot. The party, which came to power on promises of cheap power and water, is already finding it tough to explain the rise in power rates last month. It is trying to put the blame on private power distribution companies. Though power minister Satyendra Jain assured citizens the government had urged the DERC to "roll back" last month's rate rise, not only will there be no rollback, power is set to become more expensive. Also, the promise of consumers being "compensated" for unscheduled power cuts will not materialise any time soon, as this isn't feasible in the current set-up. DERC had announced a power rate rise of four percent in New Delhi Municipal Corporation areas, four percent in areas under Tata Power and six percent in BSES Yamuna Power Ltd and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd areas. At that time, the power minister had lost no time in writing to DERC, urging for a "rollback". Despite the AAP government's assurances of compensating consumers to the tune of ` 50/hour for the first two hours of unscheduled power cuts, followed by ` 100 for every subsequent hour of power cuts, these aren't seen as materialising any time soon. Even as the government has written to DERC to penalise distribution companies for unscheduled power outages so that consumers can be compensated, sources say this is far removed from reality. (www.business-standard.com)

July 2, 2015. The CPI(M) demanded that the proposal for a nuclear power plant at Kovvada in the Ranasthalam area of Srikakulam district should be withdrawn immediately as the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has not given a site clearance certificate either to the State Government or the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The party released a copy of the letter purportedly written by the AERB stating that a lot of mandated conditions need to be met before finalizing the site. At a crucial meeting organised to chalk out an action plan to block the project, the party’s State Secretariat member Ch. Narasinga Rao, Srikakulam wing president Bhaviri Krishnamurthy, CITU General Secretary D. Govinda Rao and others said that the State Government had no business to begin land acquisition without first obtaining a site clearance certificate from the AERB. The meeting decided to take up a massive agitation in Visakhapatnam when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits that city shortly. Krishnamurthy alleged that the Government was harassing people by clamping a ban on land transactions and denying all welfare benefits to the people of Kovvada and surrounding villages. (www.thehindu.com)

July 1, 2015. The Madras High Court (HC) ordered an interim stay on opening the tenders for the ` 8,000 crore Udangudi super critical thermal power project in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu. The project will not be taken forward until the main case, filed by an Indo-Chinese consortium, is disposed of by the HC. The project consortium sought a direction to close/lodge the tender for the 2x660-MW Udangudi supercritical thermal power project published in the state bulletin and further sought to quash it. The Chinese firm outbid public sector BHEL by about ` 137 crore, with cumulative savings amounting to ` 1,400 crore, according to the original petition. (www.business-standard.com)

 [INTERNATIONAL: OIL & GAS]

July 6, 2015. China's crude oil output looks set to rise this year from a record in 2014 as new production from third largest producer China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) helps to counter reductions from its two bigger rivals. Output growth from China would add to a global glut even as exporters such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia produce at near record highs and U.S. shale producers keep ramping up output. With the global oversupply as much as 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd), international crude prices have been nearly cut in half over the past year. CNOOC spent 107 billion yuan ($17 billion) on capital expenditures in 2014. Despite recent cost cuts, CNOOC has said it has already added at least 40,000 bpd of crude output this year. And it aims to increase daily domestic oil and gas output in China by at least 135,000 barrels of oil equivalent by the end of 2015, according the company. China, the world's fourth biggest oil producer, raised its output in the first five months of this year by 1.8 percent from a year ago to 4.25 million bpd, compared with growth of just 0.1 percent over the same period in 2014. In 2014, China produced an annual record 4.2 million bpd. The bank expects China's production to rise 1.6 percent this year, although growth could stall or decline in 2016. (www.reuters.com)

July 3, 2015. Kazakhstan national oil and gas company KazMunaiGas plans to sell 50% of its 16.81% stake in the Kashagan oil field to the sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna to raise around US$4.7 bn and cut its US$17.92 bn debt. The Kashagan oil field is developed by the North Caspian Operating Company consortium (NCOC), a joint venture of KazMunaiGas, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, CNPC and Inpex. NCOC expects to restart production in the second half of 2016 at a pace of 90,000 bbl/d in the first few months. Production would soon be doubled to 180,000 bbl/d to eventually reach 370,000 bbl/d in late 2017. (www.enerdata.net)

July 2, 2015. Shell has made a final investment decision (FID) on the development of the Appomattox deep-water development in the United States (US) Gulf of Mexico. The group will build a new platform to operate the Appomattox and Vicksburg fields, with an average peak production of about 175,000 boe/d. Production is expected to start by 2020. Shell discovered Appomattox in 2010 and Vicksburg in 2013. Their resources are estimated at 650 mboe. (www.enerdata.net)

July 1, 2015. Independent producer Tullow Oil reported that it had seen strong oil production from its West African operations during the first half as the company took action to "re-set" its business. During the first six months of 2015, Tullow's West Africa working-interest oil production averaged 66,500 barrels per day. The firm said that, as a result of strong performance from its Jubilee field offshore Ghana, it was increasing its production guidance for West Africa to between 66,000 and 70,000 bopd from 63,000-to-68,000 bopd Tullow reported that the TEN Project, also offshore Ghana, is continuing to make "excellent progress" and has remained within budget and on schedule for first oil in mid-2016. (www.rigzone.com)

July 1, 2015. Norway's Statoil has made a small oil and gas discovery near the Gina Krog field in the North Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate reported. Statoil, operator of the Gina Krog Unit, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 15/6-13 and appraisal wells 15/6-13A and 15/6-13B with the wells encountered oil and gas. The wells were drilled some 150 miles west of Stavanger and directly northeast of the Gina Krog field. (www.rigzone.com)

July 6, 2015. Thailand's IRPC PCL plans to cut the run rate at its refinery by 6 percent to 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the third quarter due to lower seasonal demand, the country's third largest oil refiner said. The lowered run rate is still 5 percent higher than the 173,000 bpd utility rate in the same period of 2014, the company said. Third quarter domestic demand for gasoline is expected to drop 1 percent from the second quarter due to lower travel demand during the rainy season, IRPC said. The second quarter typically sees higher demand for gasoline due to Thailand's public holidays falling in that period. IRPC, 38.5 percent owned by the country's top energy firm PTT PCL, operates a 215,000 bpd refinery, making oil products including gasoline, diesel, naphtha and LPG. (af.reuters.com)

July 3, 2015. Pertamina is reportedly planning to upgrade its four oil refineries in Indonesia with an investment of $25 bn, to meet increasing demand for crude oil. As part of the project, the company will upgrade refineries in Cilacap, Central Java; Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; Balongan, West Java; and Dumai, Riau. The upgrades are scheduled to be carried out until 2021. Japanese firm JX Nippon Oil and Energy and Saudi Aramco have expressed interest to participate in the project. The Balikpapan refinery upgrade is planned to be carried out in partnership with Japan's JX Nippon Oil and a deal will be finalized in November, reported Jakarta Post. The project is expected to increase the refinery's production capacity to 360,000 barrels per day from the current 260,000 barrels per day. Pertamina operates six refineries in Indonesia as well as in Kasim in West Papua and Plaju in South Sumatra. (refiningandpetrochemicals.energy-business-review.com)

July 2, 2015. One of the little mysteries this year in Asian oil markets has been the drop in China's diesel exports. Customs data show that China exported 1.303 million tonnes of diesel in the first five months of the year, a drop of 24 percent over the same period in 2014. This equates to about 64,700 barrels per day (bpd), which is a substantial drop on the 82,000 bpd China exported over the whole of 2014. It also means that Chinese refiners have come nowhere close to using their export quotas for diesel in the first half of 2015, even if the June data does show a substantial ramping up of diesel exports. Refiners are able to export as much fuel as they receive government quotas for, and the diesel allowance was 2.62 million tonnes for the first half of 2015, according to a report from pricing and news agency Platts. China's June exports of gasoil, the broad term for diesel fuels, to reach 210,000 tonnes, which would bring the first half total to about 1.5 million tonnes. This would be only 57 percent of the allowed quota for diesel exports. (www.reuters.com)

July 6, 2015. Gazprom has told pipeline makers to suspend deliveries of pipes for expanding Russia's network to be connected to the proposed Turkish Stream project. The delay is another snag in Moscow's plans to build a gas pipeline via the Black Sea to Turkey, and on to south Europe in order to bypass Ukraine. Gazprom is building the Southern Corridor, a 2.506-km (1,566 miles) long gas pipeline network on Russian territory, to allow it to boosting supplies to Turkey. The company said that the construction of the network was going according to a plan. Under Gazprom's plans, the Turkish Stream pipeline will be split into four lines with a total capacity of 63 billion cubic metres a year. The first line, due to be launched next year, is to supply just Turkey. However, Russia and Turkey have yet to agree on the price of the gas. Turkish energy company BOTAS has threatened Gazprom with international arbitration if a price deal is not reached. Russian companies Severstal, Chelpipe,, OMK and TMK are the leading suppliers of gas pipelines. (www.reuters.com)

July 6, 2015. U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly rose by almost 2.4 million barrels, breaking a run of eight consecutive weekly declines and sending oil prices sharply lower. Tanker arrivals create quite a bit of “noise” in the weekly inventory data which can easily be confused with shifts in the supply-demand balance over short periods. Reported crude stockpiles are driven by three factors: domestic crude production, crude imports, and refinery runs. Domestic output is fairly constant week to week, but imports and runs are highly variable. In 2014, U.S. refineries processed an average of 15.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Domestic crude production was around 8.7 million bpd in 2014 and the country imported around 7.3 million bpd of crude, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Almost 3 million bpd of imported oil arrived by pipeline or train from Canada, while most of the remaining 4.5 million bpd from other destinations came by tanker. The typical very large crude carrier (VLCC) or supertanker employed in long-distance voyages carries around 2 million barrels of oil. So, the United States receives the equivalent of two to three VLCC cargoes per day or around 15-16 per week. Imported crude is reported only once it has been cleared through U.S. Customs. But there is significant variability around these daily and weekly averages. The timing of individual tanker arrivals and completion of customs formalities therefore has a major impact on reported imports for a given week. From one week to the next, imports can vary by up to 2.5 million bpd or as much as 15-20 million barrels per week. The one-week change in imports has a standard deviation of almost 750,000 bpd or about 5.2 million barrels per week. Fluctuations in imports, as much as refinery runs, have a major impact on the one-week reported change in stock levels. The entire stock change seems to have come from a big boost in imports, which rose by almost 750,000 bpd or 5.2 million barrels per week. The increase in imports, and reported turnaround in stocks from a 5-million-barrel drawdown to a build of 2.4 million, was well within the normal variability for both the import series and reported inventories. (www.reuters.com)

July 2, 2015. French gas utility Engie signed a € 100 million ($110.77 million) deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China's Beijing Gas Group, the French government said. The deal for three cargoes of 150,000 cubic metres of LNG from Norway or Africa is for delivery this winter and was signed during a visit to France by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. It precedes the signature of a 10-year supply deal for which the price is still being negotiated. (af.reuters.com)

July 2, 2015. Russia has suspended gas supply to Ukraine after Ukraine announced that it would stop buying gas from Russia from 1 July 2015 until new supply conditions are agreed. European Union-mediated negotiations over gas prices and gas supplies for the next three to six months have just been halted and will resume in September 2015. Russian gas giant Gazprom will continue to transit gas through Ukraine for western European customers. (www.enerdata.net)       

July 2, 2015. Azerbaijan's SOCAR shipped 678,046 tonnes of oil via Russia in the first half of 2015, up from 508,222 tonnes in the same period last year, the state energy company said. SOCAR said that it had signed a one-year contract with Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft to transport 1.7 million tonnes of oil through the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline, up from 1.02 million tonnes in 2014. SOCAR had planned to halt oil exports via Russia in February 2014, opting instead to send the bulk of its crude through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and retaining some to cover rising domestic demand for oil products. The company reversed its plans later that month. Oil exports via Russia for the whole of 2013 totalled 1.75 million tonnes, down from 2.06 million in 2012. (af.reuters.com)

July 2, 2015. Wood Group plc disclosed that it has secured a $1 million contract with Origin Energy to provide detailed design engineering for the onshore pipelines related to the Halladale, Black Watch & Speculant (HBWS) Natural Gas Project in South West Victoria, Australia. The scope of work will see Wood Group Kenny (WGK) perform the detailed design of onshore raw gas and Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) pipelines from the well pad to the gas plant. Construction of the pipelines is anticipated to commence in 3Q/4Q 2015. (www.rigzone.com)

July 1, 2015. Ukraine halted natural gas imports from Russia after energy officials from the two countries failed to agree on quarterly prices, state transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said. Talks in Vienna between Russia and Ukraine on gas supplies fell apart. Russia has proposed keeping prices unchanged from the second quarter at $247 per 1,000 cubic meters with a discount of around $40 per 1,000 cubic meters. Kiev wants better terms. Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz said after talks that it would stop buying gas from Russia until new terms had been agreed. Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said Ukraine would buy gas from other sources and there would be another round of talks with Russia in September. On June 30, Ukraine received 22.9 million cubic meters of gas from Slovakia, 11.0 million from Russia and 2.7 million from Hungary. Ukraine expects to receive 13.6 million cubic meters of gas from Slovakia, Ukrtransgaz said. Ukraine, whose relations with Russia are at rock-bottom following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its backing for Ukrainian separatists, began large imports of gas from Europe in 2013 in a bid to reduce its energy dependence on Russian supplies. (www.reuters.com)

July 1, 2015. Russia is set to strengthen its position as the biggest oil supplier to China in the coming decade with a planned second pipeline link to Chinese refineries, according to a unit of Fitch Group Inc. A construction contract was signed between two units of state-run China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) for a domestic pipeline carrying Russian crude. The 955 kilometer (594 mile) facility from Mohe to Daqing in northeast China will have an annual capacity of 15 million metric tons, it said. Russia in May surpassed Saudi Arabia as China’s leading crude supplier for the first time in almost a decade as a global fight for market share intensified. The Asian nation’s increasing reliance on oil from its northern neighbour also benefits a Russian economy weakened by American and European sanctions over Ukraine and a collapse in the ruble. China, which trails only the U.S. in world oil demand, imported a record 3.92 million tons of crude from Russia, a 24 percent surge from April, customs data from Beijing showed June 23. Saudi Arabia was also overtaken by Angola after the Middle East producer’s sales slumped 42 percent to 3.05 million tons. China is poised to become Russia’s top destination for crude sales by 2018 after OAO Rosneft agreed to deliver at least 37 million tons annually, or about 743,000 barrels a day, to CNPC starting that year. China’s net oil imports will rise from 6.2 million barrels a day in 2014 to 8.4 million in 2024 amid falling production from mature domestic fields and increased strategic stockpiling, BMI predicted. The nation started filling emergency oil reserves in Qingdao in mid-June, with supplies including two Russian ESPO cargoes, according to ICIS China. Storage tanks at Huizhou, Jinzhou and Zhoushan are expected to begin operations this year, the Shanghai-based consultant said. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2015. US energy group Cheniere Energy Partners has made a positive Final Investment Decision on the development of a fifth train at the Sabine Pass gas liquefaction project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana (United States) and has issued a notice to proceed with construction to Bechtel. The Sabine Pass LNG project will consist of six liquefaction trains of 4.5 Mt/year each (total capacity of 27 Mt/year). The first four trains are already under construction and the first unit is expected to be commissioned in late 2015. Three other trains should follow by 2017. The fifth train is expected as early as 2018 and the sixth train in 2019. (www.enerdata.net)  

July 1, 2015. Italian energy group Eni has signed Sale & Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with Indonesian energy group Pertamina to sell Pertamina 1.4 Mt/year of LNG from 2017. Eni will source the gas from the Jangkrik Fields Development Project consisting of Jangkrik and Jangkrik North-East fields discovered in 2009 and 2011, in the Makassar strait. The gas will be processed in a Floating Production Unit and then transported through a subsea pipeline to the Bontang liquefaction plant. Production is expected to start in 2017. (www.enerdata.net)

July 7, 2015. China is offering six oil and gas blocks in the resource-rich province of Xinjiang to non-state companies, extending the bids beyond state-owned explorers. Qualified private companies, registered in China and majority-controlled by a Chinese citizen, can bid for a three-year exploration tenure, the Ministry of Land and Resources said. The bidders should have net assets of more than 1 billion yuan ($161 million) to qualify for the tender. China is spurring competition in oil and gas exploration, which has long been dominated by state-owned companies such as China National Petroleum Corp and China Petrochemical Corp. The ministry will give detailed information about the blocks to interested bidders from July 20 to July 22 in Beijing. The bidding deadline is Oct. 20. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 7, 2015. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari denied that the oil savings account will be depleted to pay government debts, including civil servants’ salaries. The government will use a $2.1 billion dividend paid into the Treasury by Nigeria LNG Ltd., Africa’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, to pay wages. Nigeria’s 36 states and local arms of the government will also be able to draw “soft loans” from the central bank and have some debt restructured, he said. The comments seek to clarify statements made by Nigeria’s Accountant General Ahmed Idris that the Excess Crude Account, which holds the nation’s oil savings and has a balance of about $2 billion, will be drawn down by $1.7 billion. The funds will be shared by the federal, state and local governments to meet their financial obligations, Idris said. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and crude makes up about 70 percent of government revenue. The West African nation also has the continent’s biggest gas reserves estimated at 184 trillion cubic feet. Nigeria LNG, which has a plant for cooling natural gas into liquids for export on the country’s Atlantic coast, is 49 percent owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., 26 percent by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, 15 percent by Total SA and 10 percent by Eni SpA. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 6, 2015. Canadian capital spending will decline this year for the first time since the 2009 recession, led by a plunge in the oil and gas (O&G) industry. Planned expenditures by companies and governments on non-residential construction and machinery and equipment will drop 4.9 percent from 2014 to C$251.8 billion ($199.4 billion), Statistics Canada said from Ottawa, based on a survey of 25,000 businesses and organizations. Investment plans by oil and gas, mining and quarrying businesses will drop 18.7 percent to C$67.9 billion. Canada’s economy has been shrinking as a plunge in energy prices led companies such as Suncor Energy Inc. to scale back investment projects. Falling capital spending led output to contract in the first quarter, and Statistics Canada reported the economy shrank again in April. In Alberta, the hub of Canada’s energy industry, investment plans fell 11.0 percent to C$82 billion. The report showed private industry investment plans falling 7.0 percent and public sector plans down 0.2 percent. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 5, 2015. Tanzania's parliament approved a legal and regulatory framework for developing its nascent hydrocarbons industry, after days of contentious debate. East Africa has become a new oil and gas frontier after a string of discoveries that producers hope to exploit to supply energy-hungry Asian markets. Tanzania estimates it has more than 55 trillion cubic feet of natural gas but has yet to make oil discoveries. Under the terms of the bill, energy companies will pay a 12.5 percent royalty for oil and gas production in onshore or shelf areas and 7.5 percent for offshore output. The state's share of profit on natural gas production would range from a minimum of 60 to 85 percent, pegged on specific daily gas output. (www.reuters.com)

July 2, 2015. BP Plc will pay up to $18.7 billion in penalties to the U.S. government and five states to resolve nearly all claims from its deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago in the largest corporate settlement in U.S. history. The agreement adds to the $43.8 billion that BP had previously set aside for criminal and civil penalties and cleanup costs. The company said its total pre-tax charge for the spill now stands at $53.8 billion. Under the agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the states, BP will pay at least $12.8 billion for Clean Water Act fines and natural resource damages, plus $4.9 billion to states. The payouts will be staggered over as many as 18 years. The preliminary settlement, subject to all sorts of variables, avoids a substantial amount of further litigation. The rig explosion on April 20, 2010, the worst offshore oil disaster in U.S. history, killed 11 workers and spewed millions of barrels of oil onto the shorelines of several states for nearly three months. The agreement, which still needs to be approved by courts, covers Clean Water Act fines and natural resources damages, along with claims by Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas as well as 400 local government entities. The size of the settlement was slightly more than the $17.6 billion that investors had initially feared BP would be fined for gross negligence under the Clean Water Act alone. U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier, who has overseen the case, was expected to rule on that issue later this year. Even then, BP would have faced years of lawsuits to address claims by states and by the federal government under a natural resource damage assessment. The settlement announced closes off those remaining liabilities. It was not immediately clear how BP will fund the settlement. BP has shed billions in assets to pay for the spill, eroding about one-fifth of the earnings base it had before 2010. BP's smaller size among the bigger oil majors has made it vulnerable to potential takeovers, especially with the sharp drop in oil prices. BP said the government and the states could jointly demand an acceleration of payments if the company were acquired. Previous settlements also included an uncapped fund originally set at $7.8 billion to compensate individuals claiming economic harm from the spill. BP also settled with Transocean Ltd, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and Halliburton Co, which worked on the Macondo well. (www.reuters.com)

July 2, 2015. Mexico plans to auction 244 onshore and offshore oil fields in the next five years as the historic opening of the country’s energy industry aims to add 1 million barrels of production by 2025. The fields contain 68.2 million barrels of oil equivalent in a 178,554 kilometer area, according to a five-year plan posted on the Energy Ministry’s website. Of the fields, 182 will be located onshore, with 45 in shallow waters, 13 in heavy oil, and four in deep waters, according to the plan. The auction details provide a blueprint for the breadth of Mexico’s plans to open the previously state-run oil industry to increase crude production that has fallen for 10 straight years. Mexico finalized legislation last year to end Petroleos Mexicanos state-run monopoly and to open the oil industry to private investment in an attempt to increase output and generate as much as $62.5 billion in investment by 2018. The bulk of the estimated oil and gas production is forecast to come from the Chicontepec basin, which holds an estimated 42.1 million barrels of oil equivalent in 12 fields, according to the Energy Ministry. (www.bloomberg.co)

July 1, 2015. Uganda short-listed 17 companies including units of Tullow Oil Plc, Sasol Ltd. and PTT Pcl that want to bid for exploration licenses in the Albertine Graben, where an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of oil resources have been found. The list was selected from 19 companies that sought to qualify for the country’s first competitive licensing round, according to the ministry from the capital, Kampala. The East African nation will announce the list of companies that qualify by Aug 10 and expects to issue a request for bids from applicants on Aug 20. Uganda expects to begin producing crude in 2018, 12 years after it was first discovered in the country. London-based Tullow has drilled at least 79 wells in the nation and is developing its prospects in partnership with China National Offshore Oil Corp. and France’s Total SA. Other companies shortlisted include Oil & Natural Gas Corp of India, Petoil Ltd of Turkey, Oranto Petroleum International Ltd of Nigeria and Swala Energy Ltd of Australia. (www.bloomberg.co)

 [INTERNATIONAL: POWER]

July 7, 2015. Pipe-maker JAKS Resources Bhd will partner China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co Ltd (CPECC) in a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to build a power plant in Hai Duong province in Vietnam for US$1.87 bn (RM7.05 bn). The project, which will be facilitated via JAKS unit – JAKS Power Holding Ltd – will see the JV company (JV co) called JAKS Hai Duong Power Company Ltd constructing two 600 MW power-generation units that will begin construction in the first half of next year, with completion planned for 2020. The concession will be for over 25 years on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, and after the expiry of the term, the JV co will transfer the power facility with the attached assets to the Vietnamese government at no charge. The JV co has also entered into a power purchase agreement with Vietnam Electricity and a coal supply agreement with the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group for the duration of the BOT period. (www.thestar.com.my)

July 7, 2015. Russian power company Inter RAO has launched the investment project to complete the construction of the 440 MW Zatonskaya gas-fired CCGT power plant in Ufa (Bashkiria). The project is developed by Bashkir Generation Company. Construction had started in late 2008 but was suspended in 2010. In December 2012, a resolution by the Russian government included the project (two 220 MW units) in the amended list of facilities supporting the capacity delivery program. The Zatonskaya power project is expected to be completed and commissioned in December 2016. (www.enerdata.net)  

July 3, 2015. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) is planning to expand its power generation capacity by 2018 with an investment of $1.57 bn. The project is part of the company's plan to serve a quarter of Nigeria's power requirements. The African country currently generates around 7,000 MW. As part of the latest plan, the company intends to acquire power assets as well as develop new projects, which are expected to commence operations in three years. The expansion will help Transcorp to increase its existing capacity by a factor of four to 2,500 MW. By the end of the year, Transcorp plans to boost its power capacity to 850 MW. In 2013, Transcorp' gas-powered generating subsidiary, Transcorp Ughelli Power had installed capacity of 342 MW. (fossilfuel.energy-business-review.com)

July 3, 2015. A Scottish power producing firm, Aggreko plc, has secured a provisional licence from the Energy Commission to develop a power plant at Esiama, in the Ellembelle District. The company has already acquired a 27-acre land at Esiama from the traditional authorities, and had signed a Gas Supply Agreement with the Ghana National Gas Company, to supply them gas for production of electrical power in the next 12 months. The company would initially produce between 40 and 50 MW of power, and increase production to over 100 MW in the subsequent years. The government had collaborated with the company since its arrival in Ghana, which was geared towards increasing the power capacity of the country, to end the power deficit and the current power outages. (www.ghanaweb.com)

July 1, 2015. According to Eneo, the public power utility in Cameroon, Cameroon will have to invest FCFA 3,700 bn (US$6.3 bn) in its power sector over the next ten years. Two thirds of this amount (FCFA 2,500 bn, i.e. US$4.3 bn) will have to be invested in the construction of new power generation facilities, to reach an installed capacity 3 GW by 2025 (from the current 1.3 GW). Cameroon will also have to invest FCFA 700 bn (US$1.2 bn) in the electricity transmission grid, to improve the electrification rate, from about 50% in 2013 to 75% by 2025. (www.enerdata.net)                         

July 1, 2015. Management of Egbin Power Plc, Nigeria’s largest generation plant has confirmed that the plant for the first time since inception is generating consistently above 1000 MW after continuing investment and upgrade activities on the plant by the Sahara Power Group and Korea Electric Power Corporation. Eight years ago, the plant hit the 1000 MW mark for barely two hours and never attained it again until now, according to the management. Prior to the privatization of the plant in November 2013, Egbin averaged generation of below 500 MW due to the dismal state of its six units. At its lowest point, only two of the six units were operational. Egbin Power Plc said the feat signposts the unfolding success of the privatization process and power sector reform in Nigeria. (worldstagegroup.com)

July 3, 2015. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan will sign an agreement on the electric power line project CASA-1000 at the end of July, 2015. Representatives from four countries discussed the project with the World Bank, IDB, USAID, IFC, DFID, EBRD and the Intergovernmental Council Secretariat at the meeting in Kazakhstan. The CASA-1000 electric power line project will supply electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The CASA-1000 project with total estimated cost of $997 million will enable to supply 1,300 MWof existing summertime hydropower surplus from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia to Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. Tajikistan plans to export 3 billion kWh under the CASA-1000 project can stimulate the interregional cooperation between the countries of Central and South Asia, as well as provide the rational use of natural resources. The CASA-1000, which envisages creating necessary infrastructure and systems for power transmission, is scheduled to launch in 2018. (www.azernews.az)

July 2, 2015. EnviroMission has signed an agreement with the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) to develop the Harcuvar transmission project (HTP), which could increase the reliability of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) water transportation system. Cornerstone to the successful development of the HTP, in scope and cost, is the EnviroMission, Inc. South of Parker Transmission Upgrade Project proposal being evaluated by the US Department of Energy to determine whether it satisfies the requirements of the Transmission Infrastructure Program (TIP) underwriting process. This transmission line will allow EnviroMission to gain access to the Palo Verde Hub and allow the transmission of power to California as a "Bucket 1" resource. Bucket 1 resources are resources that are deemed to satisfy the California Renewable Portfolio Standard while being generated outside of California. (utilitiesnetwork.energy-business-review.com)

July 1, 2015. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €500 mn to French electricity transmission network operator RTE to optimise the grid. The loan will contribute to finance 35 projects over a 5-year period, including the "electricity safety net" in Brittany that will put that peninsular region on par with other French regions in terms of supply security in 2017. (www.enerdata.net)

July 7, 2015. British consumers would have saved 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) a year from 2009 to 2013 with more effective competition in the energy industry, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Households could have saved as much as 160 pounds a year on gas and electricity by switching suppliers, the CMA said in a report. Bills need to be easier to understand and switching must be encouraged, it said. Energy regulator Ofgem requested the review after electricity rates more than doubled in 10 years, raising concern that utilities used their market power to increase prices. While the probe found the industry’s structure didn’t hurt competition or lead to excessive profits, it showed average prices for households were about 5 percent above the “competitive benchmark level.” As many as 56 percent of people surveyed had never changed suppliers, were unaware it was possible or didn’t know if they had done so, according to the CMA. Just over a third said they had never considered switching. The number of consumer complaints surged fivefold from 2008 to 2013. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 7, 2015. The Indonesian government will impose a 1.5% tax on coal exports as of 8 August 2015 for IUPs, i.e. companies with newer coal mining licenses. Larger companies with "Contracts of Works", such as Bumi Resources or Berau Coal Energy, will not be affected. The IUP permit holders (about 900 of the 960 coal companies active in Indonesia) contribute to about 80 Mt to coal production, 20% of domestic production. The tax is expected to boost state revenues and retain coal for domestic power projects. (www.enerdata.net)

July 2, 2015. Germany has agreed to mothball about five of the largest lignite-fired power plants in the country, representing a total capacity of 2.7 GW, to meet its target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 40% by 2020 compared to 1990. The power plants will be in "capacity reserve" and will be used only in case of power shortages; they will no longer be allowed to sell power on the normal power market. In December 2014, the German government had approved a climate package aiming at forcing coal-fired power plant operators to reduce their CO₂ emissions by at least 22 Mt by 2020, which would correspond to the closure of eight coal-fired power plants. That target was reduced to 16 Mt, due to the opposition of the industry. In turn, trade union IG BCE proposed to gradually shut down 2.7 GW of coal-fired power plants to limit CO2 emissions and to replace them with gas-fired CHP power plants. The government has settled a dispute over high-voltage power transmission lines aimed at delivering wind power from the north to the industrial south. The coalition reached an agreement to have a uniform price structure and to avoid bottlenecks. (www.enerdata.net)

 [RENEWABLE ENERGY / CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS]

July 7, 2015. Two stations under North Western Railway (NWR) will be lit using solar energy. Abu Road and Bhilwara stations in Rajasthan will be provided solar plants as part of the NWR plan to increase the use of environment-friendly sources of energy. The railway said its Ajmer division has entered in a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) to set up the solar plants at the two stations. Under the MoU, CONCOR will provide ` 1 crore to the NWR to set up two 40 KWP (kilo watt power) solar plants at both stations. Solar plants have already been installed and are working at Ajmer and Udaipur railway stations. It is expected that the plants at both the stations will produce 150,000 units per year and the railway will save ` 10.5 lakh per year. The estimated life of the project is 25 years with an expected savings of more than ` 2.5 crore. (www.newindianexpress.com)

July 7, 2015. Former President A P J Abdul Kalam inaugurated a 250 kilowatt mini solar power system in Kannauj district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Kannauj is the parliamentary constituency of UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav. Both the leaders were also present on the occasion. The solar power installation is off-grid and would electrify Fakirpura and Chanduahar villages in Tirwa tehsil of Kannauj. UP New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (NEDA) had commissioned energy solutions major Su-Kam to install the 250 kilowatt mini off-grid solar system to electrify these two villages, which were still off the grid.

The total cost of the project is pegged at about ` 6.15 crore, including civil, electrical and mechanical installations, besides distribution line and household wiring. The solar power system would power 60 LED street lights and provide energy to 450 households comprising about 2,000 people, apart from commercial establishments, two schools, a training centre and a healthcare facility in the twin villages. It would also energise 15 submersible water pumps for irrigation facilities. So far, Su-Kam Power Systems has provided solar lighting solutions to about 40,000 rural households through similar installations. In all, UP is targeting solar power generation of 500 MW by 2017. It has already signed memorandum of understanding with some private companies to set up solar power plants in the state. Akhilesh is keenly pursuing solar power agenda in addition to increase in thermal power to provide 22-24 hr power supply in the state before the state goes to polls in the early part of 2017. (www.business-standard.com)

July 7, 2015. The United States Export-Import (US Ex-Im) Bank’s $1 billion program to boost India’s clean-energy industry has been suspended after the institution’s lending authority lapsed. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd., or IREDA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the U.S. export credit bank in November covering the program. The funding wasn’t finalized when the Ex-Im Bank’s charter expired. The credit line would be revived if the Ex-Im bank regains its authority, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The U.S. Congress, divided about whether to renew the bank’s charter, allowed the institution’s lending authority to lapse at the end of June. President Barack Obama announced the credit line on a visit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It would have underpinned a revival of lending to clean energy projects for the Washington-based institution, which at its peak four years ago contributed $721 million to the industry. The Ex-Im Bank loaned $200 million for renewables in 2014. The credit line for India didn’t gain traction in India partly because it was expensive and because it was routed thorough IREDA, MNRE said. The cost of the loan was expensive because it was routed through IREDA, which added in a hedging fee to offset the currency risk it would assume under the terms of the deal, MNRE said. India needs billions of dollars in investments to achieve its clean energy targets and anchor its commitments at a round of talks on reining in climate change organized by the United Nations for the end of this year. India has 37 GW of clean energy capacity now and seeks to have 175 GW by 2022. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 6, 2015. The Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI) has developed an android app for smart phones that can gauge solar power potential of a particular location. The institute hopes the app will be useful for target groups such as solar power developers and citizens who may want to identify and harness solar power at their respective locations. Based on weather and satellite data as well as geographical factors such as radiation, elevation, and humidity among others, the app carries a solar photo-voltaic (PV) map of the country.

What's more, according to the app, the highest solar potential is held by Leh area of Jammu and Kashmir whereas the lowest potential is held by the North-East region. According to GERMI, the higher the altitude, lower is the temperature, thereby creating higher solar power generation potential. Meanwhile, apart from solar power generating potential, GERMI also intends to launch solar thermal maps that could provide potential data for solar thermal projects as well. (www.business-standard.com)

July 6, 2015. China, the world’s largest carbon emitter, has put up advertisements at public places depicting the environmental issues in Indian cities like Mumbai to warn its people about the impact of climate change and encourage them to plan future around low carbon development. Advertisements depicting pictures of Mumbai and Allahabad among others have been put up along the streets and places such as Wangfujing city centre area in downtown prominently to draw people’s attention towards consequences of pollution. China, which pledges to cut carbon emissions and plans to minimise the adverse impact on its economy, highlighted issues of plastic garbage, sandstorms in Indian cities in its ads and also suggested ways to address the environmental challenges. One of the ads says the grim situation teenagers faced in Mumbai on not finding appropriate place to play is due to heap of plastic garbage. Another advertisement speaks about Allahabad.

The picture put up with the message shows four persons facing sandstorm while walking in front of a written slogan of ‘Ganga Bachao’ campaign. The board of advertisements, written in English as well as Chinese language, have been erected along the footpath and catches attention of visitors in Wangfujing road area, which has shopping malls and is located within walking distance of noted destinations like Forbidden city and Tiananmen Square. The message about Indian cities are among over a dozen such advertisements which describe environmental issues and problems in other countries also, which included drought in Australia, and shows approach for low carbon activities that could in turn ensure energy security and reduce pollution. Low-carbon development is China’s key strategies to achieve its target of reducing carbon intensity and to make its contribution in solving problems of global warming and sea level rising. Looking at the projection of population for years to come, China plans its major cities and fast growing urban areas around low carbon development and finds opportunity to create global model for sustainable and low carbon cities. For this, the government has developed a low-carbon strategy that includes more efficient energy and waste water use, transport systems that reduce congestion, and sustainable urban design. A recent study had pointed out that India and China suffer over $ 1.89 trillion annually in terms of the value of lives lost and ill health caused from air pollution. (www.thehindu.com)

July 6, 2015. ReNew Power is in pact with Chinese solar power company Hareon Solar to develop a 72 MW solar power project in Andhra Pradesh (AP). The two companies will invest jointly in the project that will provide electricity to more than 30,000 households and curb 115,895 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. ReNew Power owns clean energy assets of more than 1,000 MW of commissioned and under-construction projects. Speaking on the occasion, ReNew Power said.

This is Hareon Solar's first investment in India. The company will also supply and install its crystalline silicon solar modules to this project, which is being developed in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. The delivery, totaling 234,161 modules, will begin in August 2015 and is scheduled to be completed by December 2015. The schedule for commissioning the project is March 2016. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 4, 2015. The Adani group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu (TN) government for setting up solar power plants at a cost of ` 4,536 crore in Ramanathapuram district. This gives a fillip to the company’s plan to add 10,000 MW solar power generation capacity by 2022 across the country. The government stated that the group would set up five solar power units with a total capacity of 648 MW.

The construction process is expected to begin this month and the project would be operational by next February or March. Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (Tangedco) would purchase the entire power from the project at ` 7.01 a unit for the next 25 years. Adani has approached the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion for clearance through three different companies, including Ramnad Renewable Energy, Kamuthi Solar Power Ltd and Ramnad Solar Power Ltd. While around 70 percent of the investment in the project would be met through internal accruals, the balance would be funded by institutional investors and through debt. Besides Tamil Nadu, the group is setting up solar plants in Rajasthan (5,000 MW), Jharkhand (10,000 MW) and Gujarat (5,000 MW). It has an operational plant at Bitta in Gujarat with a capacity of 40 MW. (www.business-standard.com)

July 3, 2015. The new regulations for scheduling solar and wind power for transmission through the grid could escalate prices. If the power generator deviates from its schedule and under supplies, it would be liable for a penalty. The penalty amount, which would be calculated as per unit energy shortfall, will go in a pool - Renewable Regulatory Fund (RRF). The amount from this fund would be shared among all the states buying from that power plant in the ratio of their peak demand during the previous month. States defaulting on buying renewable power as prescribed under their renewable purchase obligation (RPO), too, would have to pay a penalty. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has proposed norms for forecasting, scheduling and imbalance handling of renewable power. It says that the power generator would be paid for the energy supplied to the grid and not the capacity tied up. The wind or solar power generator would have to use tools to forecast power generation from its plant and then schedule power sale accordingly in the grid. The industry finds the proposal not in sync with the government's target to add 1.75 GW of renewable power by 2022. (www.business-standard.com)

July 3, 2015. A strong pledge to curb carbon emissions by India, the world’s third largest polluter, will be “critically important” to a meaningful deal at the crucial UN climate summit in Paris in December, the UN’s climate chief Christiana Figueres has said. India has so far resisted calls for an ambitious target, citing the millions in the country who do not have access to energy and the need to pull those people out of poverty. Instead, it has suggested that it may make two climate pledges: one that can be achieved with domestic resources, and another that would be possible with financial and technological aid from the developed world. Christiana Figueres said India’s pledge was vital. India has promised to submit its own lower-carbon blueprint soon, but ruled out setting a date for peaking its emissions – as China has done. Rather, the country’s pledge would be “much more ambitious” than the world expected, India’s environment minister, Prakash Javadekar said. (www.theguardian.com)

July 2, 2015. The government's $100 billion push into solar energy over the next decade will be driven by foreign players as uncompetitive local manufacturers fall by the wayside, no longer protected by government restrictions on the sector. The money pouring into India's solar industry is likely to be soaked up by foreign-organised projects such as one run by China's Trina Solar - not the country's own solar panel manufacturers. Softbank became the latest foreign player to enter India's solar market, leading an investment of up to $20 billion. The Japanese firm said it would consider making solar panels locally, but with Taiwan's Foxconn rather than a local manufacturer. Many Indian solar panel producers have benefited over the past six months from a surge in demand for panels not yet fulfilled by foreign companies. But their small scale and outdated technology will quickly make itself felt when the global players arrive. India's solar panel makers can no longer turn to the Indian government for help. The government is more concerned about creating jobs quickly and ensuring plentiful power supply in a country known for its many blackouts. India, in contrast to Chinese and German efforts to protect local producers, has scrapped most restrictions on where equipment that turns sunshine into energy is bought. Last year, it dropped an anti-dumping duty on panel import. Foreign players making panels in India are expected to compete with local manufacturers to fulfil so-called domestic content requirements for government projects. Trina has unveiled plans for a $500 million plant and US-based SunEdison is investing up to $4 billion in a manufacturing facility. Both are tying up with Indian power firms to build the plants. India has said it expects peak power demand to double over the next five years from around 140,000 MW. To help meet that demand, 100,000 MW of new capacity is to come from solar panels, and of that it wants at least 8,000 MW to come from locally-made cells. (www.business-standard.com)

July 2, 2015. With the government’s focus on green energy, the Ministry for New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) proposes to put in place an Act that would bring under one roof the various policies that govern this sector. Till now, the renewable energy sector has been policy driven and there is no separate law governing the implementation norms. MNRE plans to put out the draft for the ‘Renewable Energy Act’ in the next three months. But, formulating an Act may not be easy, as Piyush Goyal’s two ministries – Power and New & Renewable Energy – could get into a turf war. For example, Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO) which makes it necessary for distribution utilities to buy green energy currently falls under the Electricity Act. The government, anyway, is proposing changes to the Electricity Act that brings in a Renewable Generation Obligation to ensure thermal power generators have at least 10 percent of their generation capacity from renewable energy sources. Then there is the issue of tariff. Renewable energy developers, particularly solar power producers have flagged off problems in finding buyers for the power they generate, as it is expensive. The solution for this again lies in the Electricity Act. (www.thehindubusinessline.com)

July 2, 2015. To measure the effect of climate change on the flora and fauna of Sundarbans, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has set up monitoring bases inside the mangrove forests. There are 25 plots in the five islands of Bali, Gosaba, Basanti, Sagar and Satjelia where the bases have been set up to measure the diversity and population index of mangroves, crabs and snails. The ZSI is monitoring the impact on animals while the Botanical Survey of India will monitor the flora. Under a project funded by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, they have also started monitoring insect pollination on eight major mangrove species of the region. As a result of various factors including the use of chemical pesticides, climate change, pollution, etc, the number of pollinators has been on a decline in many parts of the world. A number of fruits, nuts and vegetables are pollinated by bees. (www.newindianexpress.com)

July 2, 2015. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched a web portal for online submission of applications for Environment Clearance by State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities for Category 'B' projects. The web portal has been launched across the country and 19 states have joined it instantly. Javadekar said that the new portal is a 'landmark' and online processes have raised the levels of transparency and accountability, adding that the online submission of applications will ensure that monitoring is carried out more effectively and on a real time basis and thus, status on the pendency is available clearly. The online submission of applications will also speed up clearance processes, while maintaining the rigours of Environment Clearance process. The launch of web portal comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India Week. (www.newkerala.com)

July 1, 2015. Rays Power Infra Pvt. Ltd., a solar EPC companies in India, announced its entry into the wind and transmission sector. The company commissioned a 160 MW wind project, at a single location in Jaisalmer, along with a 220 KV sub-station and transmission line. These were set-up in a record time of 120 days. The project will add to the already existing 3324.045 MW wind projects in Rajasthan, thereby helping the state-government to meet its renewable purchase obligation. (www.newkerala.com)

July 7, 2015. About $283 billion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects may be surplus to requirements if the world is to keep carbon emissions below levels aimed at holding global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, the Carbon Tracker Initiative said. In the next decade, 16 of the 20 biggest LNG companies are studying major projects that probably won’t be needed, according to a report by the group, which argues a large share of fossil-fuel reserves must stay in the ground to stem climate change. The 2-degree limit is the level that scientists have advised is needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change. About $71 billion of potential LNG capital spending will be unnecessary in the U.S. over the decade, along with $82 billion in Canada and $68 billion in Australia, based on the study’s lower-demand scenario, the London-based group said. While the move to a low-carbon economy shows some room for gas-demand growth to 2040, energy companies will need to choose which projects to develop, Carbon Tracker said. As the cost of renewable energy falls, some regions will probably leapfrog over using gas, curbing demand for LNG, which is already in a glut. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 6, 2015. Oman’s Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER) has issued a licence for a first-of-its-kind solar power plant in the sultanate. The 303-kw solar power plant will be located in the province of Al Mazyounah in the southern Dhofar governorate. The licence has been issued to Bahwan Astonfield Solar Energy Company. The electricity generated at the plant will be sold to the Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAEC) as per an agreement signed between the two companies. (gulfnews.com)

July 6, 2015. Kenya's national power utility KenGen plans to start building the 400 MW Meru wind project in 2016. The project would be developed in phases with the first 100 MW stage worht Sh26.5 bn (US$270 mn) expected to be completed by the end of 2017. In October 2014, KenGen signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Meru county to acquire land for the 400 MW project. KenGen plans to invest Sh127 bn (US$1.3 bn), mainly in concessional funding, to develop renewable power projects in Kenya over the next four years, as part of Kenya's government plans to generate 5 GW by 2018. (www.enerdata.net)

July 6, 2015. The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, grouping together the ten regional power companies, and a group of 19 power generators and suppliers are considering reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around 35% by 2030, compared to 2013 levels. According to the draft proposal, the power sector would seek to cut the carbon factor (CO₂ emissions per kWh generated) by 35%, from about 570 g/kWh in 2013 to around 370 g/kWh in 2030. In June 2015, the Japanese government announced its plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% from their 2013 levels by 2030, to 1.04 GtCO₂eq. This represents a 25% reduction compared with 2005 levels and an 18% reduction compared with 1990, the Kyoto Protocol base year. (www.enerdata.net)

July 3, 2015. The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) faces cuts of 90% to its staff budgets within three years, threatening the government’s ability to tackle climate change and move the energy supply to cleaner sources, according to an expert analysis. The analysis said that reductions in staff spending could be a false economy, because a lack of expertise might lead to overspending on nuclear and renewable energy, funded by levies on household energy bills, which would drive up the cost of decarbonising the energy supply. The department’s total budget is around £4 bn a year. The department could ditch a key part of its capital spending – £1 bn on its books for a demonstration carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant – but that would mean jettisoning one of the “three legs” of UK energy policy, which are renewable energy, nuclear and CCS.

The analysis comes three days after the government’s statutory climate advisers warned that there was doubt in how government policies would help meet the UK’s post-2020 carbon targets. DECC has already said it will cut £70 mn this year from its £4 bn annual budget, mainly on schemes designed to help people save energy at home. (www.theguardian.com)

July 3, 2015. China must make deeper cuts in coal consumption to meet its pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a government adviser. The world’s biggest carbon polluter should aim to reduce the amount of energy it gets from coal to less than 55 percent in the next five years, said Li Junfeng, director general of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation. The fossil fuel currently provides China with about 64 percent of its energy and a target issued last year by the State Council, the government’s chief administrative body, called to cut that to below 62 percent. China is in the process of drafting its energy plans for the five years through 2020.

Premier Li Keqiang promised China will further cut the amount of heat-trapping carbon-dioxide it emits for every dollar of economic output, augmenting existing pledges to boost renewables and cap total emissions by 2030. China’s aim “for more energy from non-fossil fuels and natural gas” weakens the need for coal, the National Center for Climate Change Strategy’s Li said. Coal contributes 44 percent of global greenhouse gases, according to the International Energy Agency. Wider use of solar, wind and hydroelectric power in China has helped reduce the reliance on dirtier-burning fossil fuels. China’s coal consumption declined last year for the first time in 15 years. The world’s most-populous nation consumed 3.61 billion metric tons of coal in 2013, according to the China National Coal Association. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 2, 2015. After decades of research, Linde AG says the elements needed to make hydrogen-fuelled cars a viable challenger to Tesla Inc’s battery-driven vehicles are finally falling into place. The world’s largest industrial gas supplier will open a plant that uses wind power to convert water into the gas. That completes the circle for an almost carbon-free fuel -- from the extraction of the gas to refueling facilities and the vehicles themselves -- and also boosts hydrogen’s green credentials, according to Munich-based Linde. The research plant on the banks of the River Rhine, dubbed Energiepark Mainz and developed with Siemens AG, adds to two other significant fuel cell developments this year. Toyota Motor Corp., the car industry’s biggest manufacturer, is starting production of its hydrogen-fuelled car, the Mirai, and a group including Linde, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Daimler AG starts the roll-out of a standardized network of hydrogen-friendly refueling stations across Germany. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has argued that most commercial hydrogen to run fuel cells is made from natural gas in a process that consumes energy and emits carbon. Hydrogen is also dangerous to store and transport, he has said. Linde says Energiepark Mainz could help put an end to the criticism that hydrogen fuel cells are only marginally more environmentally friendly than traditional combustion vehicles, and allow the gas to be extracted anywhere there’s wind and water. BMW AG is also starting tests of a vehicle powered by hydrogen this month. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2015. The push for a global deal on climate change picked up speed from Latin America to Asia, with the world’s biggest greenhouse-gas emitter and the steward of its largest rainforest pledging new measures to curb warming. China, the source of a quarter of the world’s greenhouse emissions, filed plans with the United Nations (UN) to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Brazil, in a joint statement with the U.S., promised to save an England-sized chunk of the Amazon and its carbon-absorbing plants and to double its renewable energy supply by 2030. The pledges accelerate UN climate-change talks that have collapsed in the past on divisions between industrialized nations that are the largest historical polluters and developing countries where emissions are growing the fastest now. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized the “snail’s pace” of negotiations and their weak goals. In five months, more than 190 nations are due to meet in Paris to sign a final agreement. The announcements put pressure on other developing nations such as India and Indonesia to follow, as well as industrialized nations such as Australia and Japan that have yet to spell out their efforts. The U.S. tripled its goal for renewable power and South Korea, Serbia and Iceland submitted carbon-cutting plans to the UN. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2015. As countries from China to Brazil and South Korea step forward with aggressive measures to rein the pollution that causes global warming, Russia’s effort is almost literally going up in smoke. The nation is wasting $3.6 billion a year by burning off unsellable fossil fuels at the wellhead. Constrained by international sanctions and entering its first recession in six years, Russia is unable to invest enough to stop the practice known as flaring. The result is that the nation’s oil industry leads the world in flaring natural gas -- setting alight supplies where they are produced because it’s not profitable bring them to market. While those volumes have been dropping substantially since 2009, Russia’s waste is more than double the next biggest offender. And it runs counter to a United Nations effort to reach a landmark deal on fossil fuel emissions this year. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2015. South Korea has finalised its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target by 2030, as required before the COP21 in December 2015. The Asian country plans to reduce its GHG emissions by 37% from business-as-usual (BAU) levels, compared to a 14.7-31.3% target announced earlier in June 2015; South Korea had also set two intermediate targets, 19.2% and 25.7% below the BAU scenario. Accordingly, GHG emissions should reach 850.6 MtCO₂eq by 2030 (based on BAU levels). In 2009 South Korea voluntarily set a target of reducing GHG emissions by 30% below BAU levels. In January 2015, the country started a carbon emission market imposing caps on emissions for 525 large companies; however, industry participants are slowly adopting emission trading, prompting the government to review its GHG emission target for 2020. (www.enerdata.net)            

  

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