India will mandate the use of solar cells made locally in all clean energy projects by June 2026
From June 2026, Indian clean energy companies will have to use solar photovoltaic modules made from local cells by a list of approved companies. This is a measure to reduce imports from China, the top supplier. India has already required the use of solar cells made in India for government projects. The government intends to increase the non-fossil energy capacity of its country to 500 GW from 156 GW currently. India currently has a capacity to produce solar PV modules of around 80 gigawatts, while its capacity to manufacture cells is slightly over 7 GW.
Hindalco, a subsidiary of India's Hindalco, plans to manufacture solar modules.
Hindalco Industries, a company based in India, plans to manufacture solar modules and establish a factory in Gujarat's western state. Two people with knowledge of the matter confirmed this on Tuesday. One of the sources stated that the company, which is owned by the cement to fashion retail conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, is evaluating its five-year plan for the competitive sector. The second person stated that Hindalco had identified land in the port town Mundra, Gujarat.
Hero Future Energies, a company in India, plans to invest $20 billion over six years in renewable energy.
Rahul Munjal, Chairman of Hero Group's Power Production Unit, said at an industry event Tuesday that the unit will invest $20 billion in six years to increase its production capacity by 16 times. Hero Future Energies is backed by investors like KKR, International Finance Corporation and a number of other global companies. The company aims to reach 30 gigawatts by 2030. Indian companies are increasing their renewable energy capacities. The government is aiming to increase the amount of clean energy to at least 500 GW by 2030 in order to reduce emissions.
Prime Minister Modi: India to Double Refining Capacity in 5 Years
India plans to nearly double its oil refining capacity in the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, offering a much more aggressive timeline than previously despite the coronavirus pandemic blighting the economy.The country's energy minister was quoted http://www.ficci.in/ficci-in-news-page.asp?nid=23094 in June as saying India's oil refining capacity could jump to 450-500 million tonnes in 10 years from the current level of about 250 million tonnes.But addressing a petroleum university's convocation…
Venezuela's Oil Exports Stagnant in July
Venezuela exported about 388,100 barrels per day of crude and fuel in July, almost unchanged versus the previous month, as U.S. sanctions on PDVSA continued limiting sales, according to Refinitiv Eikon and internal data from the state-run company.Washington has ramped up pressure this year on PDVSA’s customers, trade partners and shippers aiming to stop the re-sale of Venezuelan oil and block efforts to hide or change its country of origin.That…
Asian LNG Prices Steady on Ample Supply despite U.S. Cargo Cancellations
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices remained steady this week on a continued stream of spot supply even though traders continued to cancel cargoes loading from the United States due to poor economics. The average LNG price for August delivery into northeast Asia was estimated to be about $2.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), slightly lower than the previous week, trade sources said. Buyers of LNG are expected to cancel 40 to…
Refineries around Asia Join Chinese Peers in Increasing Production
Refineries from India to South Korea are expected to increase output from June, joining their Chinese counterparts as the easing of lockdown measures boosts demand for oil products, industry executives said.The average operating rate for refineries in Asia is expected to rise to 75.5% and 82.2% in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, from 72.4% in the second quarter out of total capacity of about 35 million barrels per day, according to energy consultancy FGE.Refineries in countries such as India…
India's April Crude Processing in Biggest Drop Since 2003
India's crude oil processing in April slumped by 28.8% from a year earlier, its biggest drop since at least 2003, as a nationwide lockdown weighed on fuel demand and forced refiners to cut production.Refiners processed about 14.75 million tonnes or 3.60 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil last month, government data showed.The lockdown and travel curbs aimed at stemming spread of COVID-19 since March 25 forced people to stay home, cutting India's…
Venezuelan Oil Exports Rose in April
Venezuela's oil exports ticked higher in April after falling in March to their lowest average in seven months, helped by new trading partners that were re-selling cargoes in Asia, according to documents from state-run PDVSA and vessel tracking data.Venezuela shipped 31 cargoes of crude and refined products last month carrying an average of 848,500 barrels per day (bpd), a small increase from the 814,000 bpd the previous month, the data showed.This year…
India's Reliance Cuts Pay of Oil & Gas Division's Execs
India's Reliance Industries has cut the pay of some top oil-and-gas division employees by up to 50%, according to six sources and a letter seen by Reuters, as it battles lower profitability because of the coronavirus epidemic.Reliance, headed by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has decided that employees earning more than 1.5 million rupees ($20,000) a year will face a 10% salary cut, while the cuts will be 30% to 50% for senior executives, the sources said.The pay cuts…
COVID-19 Oil Demand Hit Renders OPEC+, Trump Actions Irrelevant
Imagine for a moment that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia had agreed at the start of this month to extend and deepen their crude oil output cuts. It wouldn't have made the blindest bit of difference.While it was only three and half weeks ago, though it feels as long as a lifetime, the collapse of the deal between OPEC and allies, including Russia, to limit output is no longer relevant in a world devastated by coronavirus.If OPEC and its allies…
Coronavirus-related Inspections Delay Venezuelan Oil Exports
At least two cargoes of Venezuelan crude have been delayed due to health inspections aboard tankers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to an internal document from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela seen by Reuters.The delays add to a growing glut of tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude that preceded the coronavirus crisis as U.S. sanctions spooked potential customers. With domestic onshore oil inventories approaching capacity…
India Set to Import Record LNG Volumes
India is set to import record volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this month, data shows, taking advantage of the super-chilled fuel's price hitting all-time lows due to the coronavirus outbreak dampening demand in China. The South Asian nation is estimated to import about 2.36 million tonnes in February, shiptracking data from Refinitiv Eikon showed. That would exceed India's LNG imports in October of about 2.3 million tonnes, the previous highest monthly total.
US Sanctions on Rosneft Trading Shifting Crude Flows
U.S. sanctions on Russian Rosneft's trading arm will disrupt a slice of global crude flows and may prompt refineries in Europe, India and the United States to shift purchases to other crude suppliers, traders said.The United States on Tuesday redoubled efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by barring U.S. dealings with Rosneft Trading S.A., a subsidiary of Russia's state oil major Rosneft, which Washington said provides him a financial lifeline.
Saudi Aramco joins oil blockchain platform Vakt
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures has bought into blockchain-based trading platform Vakt with $5 million in new shares, Vakt said on Tuesday.Aramco Trading Co, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, will use the platform.The VAKT platform specializes in post-trade processing.
Rebooting What’s Possible in India’s Gas Market
‘To lose patience is to lose the battle’ -Mahatma GandhiIndia is something of a conundrum for global LNG players. I recently returned from a week in Delhi, just as the capital was making headlines for one of the worst episodes of air pollution, while the country’s energy mix remains dominated by cheap domestic coal. At the same time, gas price sensitivity continues to stymie investment and contracting negotiations. Progress has been made with LNG…
India, S. Arabia in New Petro Relationship
India and Saudi Arabia have decided to expand its ‘energy relationship’ into next phase to include Saudi partnership in building additional crude oil storage reserves in India, a new refinery on the west coast of India and investment in retail sector in petroleum.Saudi Arabia is its second-biggest supplier of crude oil after Iraq. It sold 40.33 million tonnes of crude oil to India in 2018-19 fiscal, when the country had imported 207.3 million tonnes of oil.India imports around 18 per cent of its crude oil from the Kingdom…
Reliance Reaps Record Profit
Indian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries said strong growth in its consumer-facing businesses lifted second quarter net profit by 18.3% year-on-year to a record total.Consolidated net profit rose to 112.62 billion Indian rupees ($1.58 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the country's largest company by market value said on Friday.Analysts on average had expected a profit of 111.71 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data."The company has reported a record net profit for the quarter…
BP Raises Asian Profile
BP is increasing its Asian presence with an initial agreement, or memorandum of understanding, with China's Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (ZPCC) to build a 1 million tonne a year acetic acid plant, BP said on Friday. The planned production site for acetic acid, which is used in chemical products such as paints and adhesives, would be part of ZPCC's refining and petrochemical plant in Zhoushan in eastern China, BP said in a statement."The potential new plant...would be BP’s largest acetic acid producing site in the world.
India to Evacuate Thousands as Cyclone Nears West Coast
Indian authorities are preparing to evacuate 300,000 people along the western coast as a severe cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday morning in the state of Gujarat.Storm Vayu, which formed in the Arabian Sea, is likely to cross the Gujarat coast with gust speeds as high as 135 kmph (84 mph), the India Meteorological Department said in a statement.It also warned the cyclone could further delay the progress of the annual monsoon rains over the rest of India…
