Page 153 - CW E-Magazine (1-4-2025)

Hydrocarbons Hydrocarbons

DIVESTMENT LIKELY consumption. The fertiliser sector is ser makers can use expensive imported gas consumption and switch to liquid
Rosneft eyes exit from Nayara Energy amid sanctions the largest user of gas. Since fertiliser liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) in large fuels like propane and fuel oil when
quantities. Other industries reduce their international LNG prices are high.
is subsidised by the government, fertili-
Russia’s biggest oil company No windfall tax on oil & gas companies after new
Rosneft is reportedly mulling an exit
from Nayara Energy (formerly Essar law kicks in: Minister
Oil), in which it acquired a 49.13%
stake in 2017 as part of a $12.9-bn deal, The government will not be able Amendment Bill, 2024, aimed at and gas producers shook investor con-
the largest foreign investment in India’s to impose windfall tax on oil and gas boosting the country’s exploration sec- fi dence.
refi ning sector. producers after a new law comes into tor by ensuring policy stability, scope
place following the passage of the oil- for international arbitration and longer The UK’s Capricorn Energy, pre-
Burdened by sanctions, the Russian fi eld development bill by Parliament, lease for oil and gas companies. After viously called Cairn Energy, fought a
company has not been able to repatri- according to petroleum and natural gas the bill becomes a law, the petroleum protracted legal battle to defend itself
ate earnings from Nayara Energy in the minister Mr. Hardeep Puri. and natural gas ministry will formulate against the government’s retrospective
past few years, which could be one of regulations in consultation with the tax demand. Similarly, companies pro-
the key reasons it’s considering the idea Lok Sabha recently passed the Oil- industry, Mr. Puri said. In the past, the tested the imposition of windfall tax on
of selling the Indian unit, a report in the fi elds (Regulation and Development) retrospective tax and windfall tax on oil oil and gas producers in 2022.
Economic Times said quoting unnamed
sources. Talks have been held with GSPL commissions Chhara LNG pipeline
Indian conglomerates with the unit
being valued at over $20-bn, the report groups in Russia, is also looking to It operates India’s second-largest, single- Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. (GSPL) day was developed at a cost of approxi- of Gujarat, including the despatch
said. The negotiations are at an initial sell its stake in Nayara Energy for over location refi nery in Vadinar, Gujarat. has commissioned a natural gas pipe- mately Rs. 650-crore. The pipeline terminal at Chhara LNG terminal,
stage and a deal may not take place $5-bn, the report revealed. line connecting Hindustan Petroleum commissioned on March 20 passes valve stations and receiving termi-
given the complexities and the size of Nayara had recently decided to Corporation Ltd.’s (HPCL’s) green- from the outskirts of the eco-sensitive nal at Lothpur, was entrusted to the
the asset, it added. Following the 2017 purchase, make an offer to minority shareholders fi eld 5-million tonnes per annum zone of the Gir National Park & Wild- Mumbai-based construction company
Rosneft took a 49.13% stake while the to buy back 25.9-million outstanding (mtpa) LNG regasifi cation terminal at life Sanctuary. Ace Pipeline Contracts Pvt. Ltd. in
Rosneft has been under US and EU Trafi gura Group and UCP consortium shares at Rs. 731 apiece to give them Chhara in the Gir-Somnath district of September 2023.
sanctions since 2014. got 24.5% each, with the rest owned an exit opportunity. The stock of the Gujarat with the gas grid. The work for engineering, procure-
by retail shareholders. Nayara Energy erstwhile Essar Oil was voluntarily ment and construction of the pipeline The HPCL LNG terminal at Chhara
Separately, UCP Investment Group, is the largest private fuel retailer in the delisted from the BSE and NSE on The pipeline having a capacity of from the HPCL LNG terminal at the is operated by HPCL LNG Ltd, a
one of the largest fi nancial investment country with over 6,500 retail outlets. February 17, 2016. 18-million standard cubic meters per Chhara to Lothpur in Amreli district subsidiary of HPCL.
Petrobras to decide on Shapoorji’s FPSO appeal
DEMAND TRENDS
Domestic gas consumption slows down as local Brazil’s Petrobras will soon decide where production has

output falls, import cost rises on the appeal fi led by Shapoorji declined.
Pallonji Energy in the tender to charter
an offshore oil production vessel, the The FPSO would have
Domestic natural gas consumption rise in gas use by generators to meet months, the demand growth was only state-run oil fi rm’s head of engineering, the capacity to produce up
has slowed as local production falls, peak electricity demand during the 3-4%. technology and innovation, Ms. Renata to 100,000 barrels of oil per
imports remain expensive and the scorching summer last year. However, Baruzzi, said. day (bpd) and process up to
demand for gas-based electricity declines. as temperatures cooled, gas demand The power sector’s share of national 6-million cubic meters of
from the power sector sharply gas consumption was 19% in May, The Indian company was the only gas daily.
Gas consumption rose just 0.6% declined. when generators consumed the highest one to bid on chartering a fl oating pro-
year-on-year in February, compared to volume in any month this fi scal year. duction, storage and offl oading vessel If Petrobras rejects the
a 9.1% increase in the April-February National gas consumption rose 16% (FPSO), for Petrobras’ Barracuda and appeal by Shapoorji, the
period, according to oil ministry data. year-on-year in May, expanded to 23% The share fell to 9% in November, Caratinga fi elds. The oil company fi rm would need to restart
in June, and 24% in July. The festive when power plants consumed the lowest rejected the bid as too costly. deal between the two fi rms. The ves- the bidding process in the tender, said
The strong growth earlier this year season also helped push gas demand volume this year. Imports contributed sel would be part of a broad revitali- Ms. Baruzzi, which could delay the
was primarily driven by the dramatic up by 16% in October. But in other signifi cantly to the power sector’s It would have been the fi rst such sation plan for the Campos Basin, Barracuda-Caratinga project.

152 Chemical Weekly April 1, 2025 Chemical Weekly April 1, 2025 153

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