Mitsui Looks to Sell BassGas Stake
Japan's Mitsui & Co has put its 40% stake in the BassGas project off southeastern Australia up for sale, the company said on Thursday.Mitsui's stake in the BassGas project, which includes the undeveloped Trefoil gas project, could be worth about A$360 million ($244 million), according to Credit Suisse. However, a person with knowledge of the asset estimated it at about A$140 million.Mitsui Australia's spokesman said Rothschild has been engaged to advise on the sale of the stake, which Mitsui acquired with its takeover of oil and gas producer AWE last year.
Hindustan Petroleum Profit Dives
State-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd posted a 37.1 percent fall in second-quarter profit on Thursday, dented by rising costs amid higher raw material and forex expenses.Net profit came in at 10.92 billion rupees ($148.62 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 17.35 billion rupees a year earlier, HPCL said.Analysts on average had expected a profit of 15.11 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.Income from operations surged nearly 35 percent to 730.65 billion rupees.Average gross refining margin for the six months ended Sept.
How Refiners Plan to Grapple With Fuel Oil Output After 2020
High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), essentially the leftovers of an oil refiner's output, will still flow from refineries around the world even after new rules start up in 2020 curtailing its use in the global shipping fleet, a Reuters survey showed.Sixty percent of the 33 refineries contacted by Reuters in a global survey will still produce HSFO in 2020 although the supply will tighten as 70 percent of these refiners plan to reduce their output.Starting that year, ships will have to use marine fuel, which primarily consists of residual fuel oil…
BP, Shell, Goldman Mull Indian Oil Stockpile Deals
BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Goldman Sachs, Trafigura, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have expressed interest in filling India's strategic oil reserve at Padur in the southern Karnataka state.
Newest Outpost for US Crude Exports: India
India is set to emerge as a key market for American crude exports in coming months, as refineries in that country are ramping up "test" purchases of U.S. grades to diversify their imports. U.S. exports recently set a weekly record with nearly 2 million barrels of crude a day sent overseas. But shipments to India have been rare, with just a few deliveries since the U.S. lifted its ban on crude exports in late 2015. Indian refineries are starting to increase purchases as the country seeks to secure more supply from outside the Middle East. Refiners are testing both U.S.
IOC to Lift U.S. Crude for December Delivery
Indian Oil Corp, the country's largest refiner, has bought two new types of U.S. crude for December delivery as it tests different grades from the United States, trade sources said on Tuesday. IOC bought 1 million barrels each of U.S. Southern Green Canyon (SGC) and WTI Midland crude likely from a Chinese trader, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The purchase was in addition to 2 million barrels of Basra Light crude to be delivered in the same month. The United States has become a new source of crude supply for Asia since Washington lifted a ban on crude exports in late 2015. India joined other Asian countries in buying U.S.
ONGC May Consider Selling Stakes in State Firms to Fund HPCL Deal
India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation may consider selling its stake in other state firms to partly fund its acquisition of state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, its chairman D. K. Sarraf said. ONGC owns a near 14 percent stake in state-run Indian Oil Corp and a near 5 percent stake in GAIL which the company could consider selling, he told a news conference. "There are several ways of funding, we can raise funds from market, then we have some stocks that we can sell," Sarraf said, adding that the acquisition could happen by December. Reporting by Nidhi Verma, writing by Aditya Kalra
HPCL Makes First U.S. Oil Purchase
Indian state refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp has made its first purchase of U.S. oil, buying high sulphur crude Mars in a tender, company chairman M. K. Surana said on Monday. Earlier Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp , both state refiners, had purchased the U.S. oil through tenders. HPCL has bought 1 million barrels of Mars oil from trader Trafigura for delivery in December at the southern Indian port of Vizag, he said. Reporting by Nidhi Verma
Oil Explorer ONGC Keen to Buy Stake in Refiner HPCL
India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is keen to acquire the government's stake in oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), the country's oil minister said on Wednesday. "ONGC has shown interest," Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi. "In my view, HPCL's independent identity and brand will be protected in the process," HPCL Chairman Mukesh Kumar Surana said, indicating the refiner could become a subsidiary of ONGC. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Mark Potter)
India to Cut Iranian Oil Purchases in Row Over Gas Field
Indian state refiners will cut oil imports from Iran in 2017/18 by a fifth, as New Delhi takes a more assertive stance over an impasse on a giant gas field that it wants awarded to an Indian consortium, sources familiar with the matter said. India, Iran's biggest oil buyer after China, was among a handful of countries that continued to deal with the Persian Gulf nation despite Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme. However, previously close ties have been strained since the lifting of some sanctions last year as Iran adopts a bolder approach in trying to get the best deal for its oil and gas.
India Looks at Creating Oil Giant to Take on Global Rivals
India plans to create a giant oil company by combining state-owned firms, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday, as the world's third largest oil consumer looks to better compete with global majors in acquiring foreign assets. New Delhi is struggling to raise local oil production and imports about 80 percent of its oil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 set a goal of cutting that to 67 percent by 2020. India is replacing China as the driver of global oil demand growth and the International Energy Agency expects it to account for a quarter of global energy use by 2040.
Petronet bets on LNG as a fuel to Drive Demand
India's top gas importer Petronet LNG is betting on liquefied natural gas-powered ships and vehicles to drive up demand for the cleaner fuel, its managing director said, helping the world's third most polluting nation to improve air quality. Prabhat Singh told reporters he expected a shift to LNG-driven vehicles to create "reasonable demand" for the fuel in a country where many industries are not yet linked to the pipe grid. India currently lags Asian rival China, where thousands of trucks and buses already run on LNG.
India's IOC Cut Diesel Prices by 0.8%
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will cut the price of diesel by 0.8 percent from Saturday and that of gasoline by 3.5 percent, reflecting changes in global fuel prices, the company said in a statement. India's three state-run oil companies, IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, tend to adjust retail prices of fuels in concert. A litre of diesel will sell for 54.28 rupees in the Indian capital, New Delhi, while gasoline will cost 62.51 rupees a litre from Saturday. (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, editing by David Evans)
India Starts Settling Iran Oil Dues via EIH
Indian refiners have turned to State Bank of India and Germany-based bank Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG (EIH) to speed payment of billions of Iranian oil dues they still owe to Tehran, after delays in another money route. Refiners in India, Iran's top oil buyer after China, last month resumed settling their back debt of about $6.6 billion after the lifting earlier this year of some of the sanctions against Tehran had opened up oil trade and banking channels. The first payments were handled in May by state-run Union Bank of India via Turkey's Halkbank…
Aramco Mulls Indian Refinery Investments
Saudi Aramco is considering proposals to buy stakes in Indian oil refining and petrochemical projects, India's Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday, as the world's biggest oil exporter seeks outlets for its oil. India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, imports almost 80 percent of its crude requirements, mostly from Middle East nations. In the first quarter, Saudi Arabia was India's biggest exporter of oil, sending about 889,000 barrel per day (bpd) to the country, or about 21 percent of the total. Pradhan…
Indian State Oil Refiners Plan Plant on West Coast
Three Indian state-run oil refiners will jointly build a 60 million tonnes a year, or 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), refinery on the country's west coast, the federal oil minister said on Monday, adding the investment for the first phase of the refinery could exceed 1 trillion rupees ($14.8 billion). Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd along with another state-run company, Engineers India Ltd, will design for an 800,000 bpd capacity in the first phase of the refinery in Maharashtra state, Dharmendra Pradhan said on Twitter.
Asia fuel Dips to 11-Year Low
Asia fuel oil falls to 11-yr lows on expectations of Western arbitrage inflows. Fuel oil prices fell for a fifth consecutive session, dropping to 11-year lows amid expectations of significant Western arbitrage inflows in January and no signs of a reduction in the oversupply of crude oil. Asia fuel oil prices are now at levels not seen since January 2005. Differentials however remained unchanged from yesterday's trading. Activity was typically quiet for this time of year, but the market is looking weaker, said one Singapore-based trader.
India's HPCL Will Be Cautious in Buying Nigerian Oil
India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) will be cautious in buying Nigerian oil, its head of refineries said, as the company is still scouting for a vessel to lift a cargo for early October loading after the African nation sought a "letter of comfort" from shippers. "We are finding it difficult to book a vessel to lift Nigerian crude ... We will be cautious in future while deciding about crude of Nigerian origin," B.K. Namdeo told Reuters. He said his firm was unsure whether it would be able to lift a very large crude carrier of Qua Iboe crude on time.
Cairn India Seeks to Export Oil Despite Ban
Cairn India Ltd has invited initial bids for exports of its oil from the desert state of Rajasthan, according to a copy of the tender notice seen by Reuters, despite a government ban on overseas sales of locally-produced crude. A government official said there had been no change in the ban and that Cairn India might simply be trying to establish a price for its oil via the tender process ahead of negotiations to sell it to local buyers. Cairn India, backed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, did not respond to telephone calls and an email seeking comment about the export notice.
Saudis No Longer Top Crude Supplier to India, China
Africa supplied 26 pct of May India imports vs April's 15.5 pct, Middle East oil share fell to 54 pct from 61 percent. Saudi Arabia lost its spot last month as India's top oil supplier to Nigeria for the first time in at least four years, according to ship tracking data compiled by Reuters, as the world's top crude exporter struggles to maintain market share in Asia. The OPEC kingpin also fell behind Russia and Angola as the biggest crude supplier to China last month, official data showed this week. The Middle East country's…
