NEW DELHI, After oil, India may now build strategic reserve of natural gas to further strengthen the country’s energy security and shield itself from supply disruptions and frequent price fluctuations coming from perennial political risks in the prime energy supplying countries in the Middle East and Africa.   The reserve will also help the Read more

  NEW DELHI: India’s HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), part-owned by steel tycoon L N Mittal, will shut its 226,000 barrels per day (bpd) Bathinda refinery in northern Punjab state for about 40 days from end-January for maintenance, two sources said.   During the shutdown HMEL will also carry out work to be able to hook Read more

  The insurance regulator is in talks with the petroleum ministry to see if fuel pumps and cooking gas agencies can be used for selling simple insurance products. This will help expand the distribution channels, said Subhash Chandra Khuntia, chairman of the insurance regulatory and development authority of India (Irdai).   “The motive is to Read more

  Middle East crude benchmarks Oman and Dubai strengthened slightly on Thursday as more Asia-buying interests emerged, while demand concerns lingered.India’s IOC IOC.NS closed two spot tenders to buy sweet and sour crude with bids valid till later on Thursday.   The results of Pertamina’s crude purchase tenders, closed earlier this week, were not yet Read more

    Indians pay among the highest prices for petrol globally, because of taxes, even as oil is close to multi-year lows. How can these two extremes be aligned? The ongoing turmoil in the oil markets due to the pandemic and under-utilised supply presents a long-term opportunity for India to secure its energy future. Simply, Read more

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday set out his government’s energy roadmap, envisaging more than double the share of cleaner natural gas in the consumption basket, diversifying sources of energy, connecting the nation with one gas pipeline grid and bringing affordable fuel to people and industry.   Inaugurating a 450-km natural gas pipeline between Read more

  Asia had the highest crude oil refinery capacity under maintenance (both planned and unplanned) globally in 2020. The region had a refining capacity of 11,524 thousand barrels per day (mbd) under both planned and unplanned maintenance in 2020, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.   The company’s report: ‘Global Crude Oil Read more

  India on Wednesday welcomed the restoration of diplomatic ties between Qatar and four other Arab countries that had imposed an embargo on it in 2017, saying such a move would give a boost to peace and stability in the region.   Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhad said on Tuesday that Bahrain, Read more

  India in no hurry to seek US nod for oil supplies from Iran, VenezuelaNew Delhi: India may not push for resumption of oil supplies from sanction-hit Iran and Venezuela once the Joe Biden administration take charge in the US but would rather wait for it to clear its stand on the issue before making Read more

  There is growing consensus that India could see GDP growth as high as 9% in 2021 as New Delhi steps up efforts to bring the economy out of the painful period witnessed in 2020 due to the pandemic. And some of the initial indicators — such as vehicle sale numbers and industrial output data Read more

  KOCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government was aimed at creation of a “One nation, one gas grid” by more than doubling the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket besides diversifying the energy sources. He was dedicating the 450-km natural gas pipeline from Kochi in Kerala to Mangaluru Read more

  MUMBAI: Foreign brokerage firm Credit Suisse believes that global oil producer and refining giant Saudi Arabian Co, better known as Saudi Aramco, may revive its interest in buying the 20% stake in Reliance Industries Ltd’s energy business if global crude oil prices continue their upward trend.   “The deal is not yet closed and Read more

  Panaji: Indian Oil Corporation’s jet fuel business has recovered by 60 per cent, while the domestic sector sales are likely to touch full capacity by March, this year, a senior official has said. There was a drop in the jet fuel business following coronavirus-induced restrictions but from May 25, 2020 onwards, the aviation sector Read more

  NEW DELHI: Ethanol blending in petrol will cross 8 per cent in 2020-21 after reaching 5 per cent in the previous year despite the pandemic, Petroleum Secretary Tarun Kapoor told ET.   State oil marketing companies received 173 crore litres of ethanol for blending with petrol during ethanol supply year that ran between December Read more

  India is running out of time to sell off a controlling stake in state-controlled refiner Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) by its 31 March deadline, complicating efforts to reduce its deficit and raise spending to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.   The government had planned to find buyers for majority stakes in BPCL and national carrier Air Read more