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 REGULATORY NOD  ENERGY TRANSITION

 Shell seeks CCI approval for Raj Petro Specialities acquisition  Oil India to set up subsidiary to focus on green energy
 Energy conglomerate  Shell Group  facturer of  petro-speciality products,  car  motor oils and rubber  process   Oil India Ltd. (OIL) will set up a  Maharatna company started diversifying  utilisation and storage (CCUS), metha-
 has sought the  Competition  Commis-  including lubricants for sectors such as  oils.  Additionally, a  potential  vertical   wholly-owned subsidiary- OIL Green  into low carbon and green energy space  nol and geothermal and other opportu-
 sion  of India’s (CCI)  approval  for its  pharmaceuticals,  energy, and agricul-  overlap  exists concerning the supply   Energy – that will manage all its green  “organically” since 2012. “OIL is now  nities directly or indirectly supporting
 proposed acquisition of Raj Petro  ture. Its portfolio includes products like  of base oils – a key raw material for   and  alternative energy  businesses  for  planning to diversify into green and  decarbonisation  and energy  transition,
 Specialities Pvt. Ltd. The deal involves  transformer oils, hydraulic oils, and  lubricants. Shell, a global producer of   which the state-run company plans to  alternate energy businesses not just for  MoPNG said in its response.
 Shell subsidiaries – Shell Deutschland  industrial greases.  base oils, supplies these to its subsi-  invest Rs. 25,000-crore by 2040.  captive consumption, but to emerge as a
 GmbH and Shell Overseas Investments   diaries and competitors in India, while   well-diversifi ed integrated energy player.   So far, OIL has an installed renew-
 B.V. – acquiring 100 percent equity in  Market implications   Raj Petro uses them for blending fi nished   The company is targeting non-fossil  To  address  this,  OIL  has  formulated  a  able energy capacity of 188.1 mega-
 Raj Petro.  The  proposed  deal  refl ects  hori-  products.  fuel energy to account for 5-7 percent  strategy  to  dedicatedly  focus on  green  watt (MW), which includes 174.1-MW
 zontal overlaps in the lubricant sector,   of its total energy portfolio by 2030,  and alternate energy business and has  of wind and 14-MW of solar power
 The Shell subsidiaries have fi led for  with the parties operating  in markets   Shell and Raj Petro have contended   which will be further enhanced to 12-15  accordingly decided to form a wholly-  projects spread across Rajasthan,
 regulatory clearance under  the CCI’s  like motor oils, industrial greases, and  that the combination poses no competi-  percent by 2040. The fi ndings form part  owned subsidiary (WoS), OIL Green  Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, etc.
 combination  regulations. The  acquisi-  transformer oils. The CCI has been pro-  tion concerns and have requested that   of the 21st report by the Committee on  Energy, to manage the green and alternate  These projects entailed an investment
 tion will bring Raj Petro under the Shell  vided alternate defi nitions for relevant  the  defi nition  of  the  relevant  market   Public Undertakings, which was placed  energy business,” it added.  of Rs. 1,230.73-crore  and the total
 umbrella, leveraging  its  expertise in  markets  to facilitate  its assessment.  be left open. They argue that the deal   in Parliament recently. The replies of the   revenue generated from RE projects
 hydrocarbon-based speciality products  These include broad categories such as  will not adversely impact competition   Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas   OIL is targeting to achieve green  till FY22 was Rs. 870-crore. Besides,
 to complement Shell’s global portfolio.  the overall  lubricants  market  in India  but instead foster effi ciencies and better   (MoPNG) were received by the panel on  and alternate energy capacity of  it  is  also  setting  up  India’s  fi rst Anion
 Raj Petro Specialities is a leading manu-  and narrower segments like passenger  product offerings.  October 14, 2024.  3.5-4 – million tonnes of oil equivalent  Exchange Membrane (AEM) tech-
                                         (MTOE) by 2040, the panel added. The  nology-based green hydrogen plant
 PARTNERSHIP  Diversifi cation plans      WoS would cover biofuels, green hydro-  (100 kilowatt) at its Jorhat facility
 Suzuki R&D Centre to invest in NDDB’s biogas subsidiary  The Ministry informed that the  gen, renewable energy, carbon capture  in Assam.

 The Suzuki R&D Centre India Pvt.  minimise the use of chemical fertilisers  a circular economy,” he said. In the   Thermax, SGS join up to boost energy effi ciency
 Ltd. (SRDI), a wholly-owned subsi-  through dung-based biogas models.   recent past, SRDI had partnered with
 diary  of Suzuki Motor Corporation,   NDDB to set up dung-based compressed   in industrial plants
 has entered into an agreement with the   Dr. Meenesh Shah, Chairman,  biogas  plants  in  Gujarat.  Currently,   SGS, the Swiss testing, inspection  provide continuous oversight of energy  Product Manager for Energy at SGS.
 National Dairy  Development Board  NDDB hailed the unique partnership  work on four such plants is underway in   and certifi cation company, is partnering  consumption, enabling data-driven energy  Leveraging  Thermax’s expertise in
 (NDDB) at  Anand to invest in its  between the dairy and automobile sectors.  Banaskantha district with Banas Dairy.   with Pune-based energy and environ-  effi ciency programmes.  “Energy inten-  utilities and its energy saving solutions
 biogas subsidiary, NDDB Mrida.  “This will create more value for dairy  Additional plants are also planned in   mental solutions specialist, Thermax, to  sive industries, such as batch processing  allows us to offer consultancy solutions
 farmers through the effi cient utilisation  collaboration with  Amul Dairy, Dudh-  enhance energy effi ciency in industrial  plants,  can  signifi cantly  benefi t  from  with specialised and detailed assess-
 As per the agreement,  SRDI will  of dung to produce clean energy and  sagar Dairy and other dairy cooper-  plants  these insights to enhance their specifi c  ments tailored to clients’ specifi c needs,
 invest in NDDB’s wholly-owned sub-  organic fertilisers, while also promoting  atives.  energy  consumption  (SEC)  fi gures,  along with clear recommendations for
 sidiary, NDDB Mrida, which promotes   “Combining our global presence  driving  effi ciency  and  sustainability,”  improving  effi ciency  and  reducing
 household-level biogas plants and man-  ADDITIONAL CHARGE  with  Thermax’s expertise in industrial  said Mr. Francesco Crudele, Global  costs, he added.
 ages  the  fi rst-of-its-kind  dung-based   Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan is new Director   utilities and cutting-edge technology
 large-capacity biogas plant, where bio-  will help industrial facilities to reduce   Fire at Heubach’s Roha facility
 gas is used to meet the energy needs of   of CSIR-NEERI  costs,  enhance  operational  effi ciency
 a dairy plant. Mrida also produces and   and achieve sustainability goals,” SGS   Pigments and dyes maker, Heubach  cause of the incident and assessing the
 markets slurry-based organic fertilisers   Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan, Direc-  Laxminarayan  Innovation Technological   said in a press note.  Colorants India Ltd., has informed  extent of  damage,” the company  said
 under the Sudhan brand. The quantum  tor, CSIR-National Institute for Inter-  University (LITU), Nagpur. Dr. Anandha-  about a fi re incident at its plant located  in a stock exchange fi ling. The damage
 of investment proposed to be made by  disciplinary Science and  Technology  ramakrishnan is a renowned chemical   Through this collaboration, SGS  in Roha, Maharashtra. The fi re broke out  caused  due  to  the  fi re  accident  is
 SRDI has not been made public.  (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, has  engineer and academician. He also   will seek to leverage Thermax’s exper-  on January 1, 2025, at a warehouse used  adequately  covered by the insur-
 assumed additional charge as Director,  served as Director, National Institute of   tise in industrial energy and environ-  for storage of pigment in process goods  ance,  the company added.  In  Octo-
 As  a joint venture company of  CSIR-National Environmental Engineer-  Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and   mental solutions.  Thermax’s advanced  used  for  fi nal  manufacturing.“There  ber 2024, Sudarshan Chemical  In-
 NDDB  and SRDI, Mrida is expected  ing Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI),  Management  (NIFTEM), Thanjavur,   digital solutions will play a crucial role  have  been  no  injuries  or  dustries Ltd. (SCIL) had agreed
 to advance the vision of both organisa-  Nagpur. He succeeds Dr. Atul N. Vaidya,  where he successfully translated scienti-  in the initial phase of data collection by  casualties. The company has temporarily  to acquire  Germany-based parent
 tions by providing clean energy in vari-  who superannuated and has recently  fi c innovations into practical applications   facilitating the process. Furthermore,  suspended operations at the factory  company, Heubach Group, in a combi-
 ous forms and  organic  fertilisers that  been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of  for wealth creation.  real-time monitoring and analytics will  and is currently investigating  the root  nation of an asset and share deal.

 140  Chemical Weekly  January 14, 2025  Chemical Weekly  January 14, 2025                             141


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