Financial Chronicle Edition Delhi 19.5.2017 Page 5Height 24.51cm Width 18.40 cm

Indroprostho Gas plans to buy out its partners

DEBJIT CHAKRABORTY

Til E ole cit . ga di tributor in Indi.· ,pital cit i looking 10 bu Olll iI panners in IWO joint ven­lU a it see ' to e:qh1nd beyond

cw Delhi ilnd it · suburbs. Indmprasl ha .J, which own

50 per cent in erllral P Gas and laharaslllra I aLural Ga , plan to

wholly own both Ihejoint \TCl1lures.

aid, managing director, ES Ran­garmhan. Indrapraslha .as plan to bu ' om it Jh1rlllers ill thejoim ventures - state-run GAIL India and Ohara! Petroleum - to dril'e the compan ' expan ion in west­ern and central India. GAl Land DP L officials weren't irnrll(,diatel · able to comment.

"Our lI'i1tegy con ultalll ha ugg cd thl ,1 a first tep, which

lIiU be presented 10 the board next week: he aid." If th e come Ihrough. then the expan ion ill western India can be through ~INGL. central India by UGLand northern India lIill be done by IG !. .. .. he aid.

Til acqui itions will h ·Ip the COUlllrY'S second-bigge t ga di ­tributor tap into a widening market as Pili j arendra Modi' admini tra· tion eeks to increase the share of the cleaner fuel to 15 per cent b 2020 from 6.5 1 I' cent. The corn·

pally i aiming to add a record 3,00,000 nell' piped as ell IOll1ers in the year ending 'larch < India pu h more urb.111 hou holds 10 u e natural ga and help free up LPG for I1.lr,d u ers.

lndraprastha as expects the acclui ilioll to boo tale 1'01-ume b ' 2.5 million cubic metres a da ~ again t the 4.5 mi ll ion it sell now in Delh i and it a(UOining uburbs.

The coll1pan ' aim to complele one of the acqui ilion Ihi year, Ranganalhan said. It will fund the pUl'chas with ca II generated from exi ling operations. I n­drapl'a lha Ga ha aboul R 800 crore ( 123 million) ill spare cash.

"We have enough cash right 1101 and we mOl ' nOI need to borrow," h said,

Business Standard Edition Delhi 19.5.2017 Page 3Height 3.65cm Width 12.95 cm

Indraprastha Gas plans to buyout JV partners The sole city gas distributor in India's capital city is looking to buyout its partners in two joint ventures as it seeks to expand beyond New Delhi and its suburbs.

Indraprastha Gas Ltd,

which owns SO per cent in Centrai uP Gas Ltd and Maharashtra Natural Gas Ltd, pians to wholly own both the joint ventures. Managing Director E S Rang-mathall said in an interview. Indraprastha

Gas plans to buy alit its part­ners in the joint ventures -state·nm GAIL India Ltd and Dllarat Petroleum Corp - to drive the company's expan­sion in western and central India. BLOOMBERG

Economic Times Edition Delhi 19.5.2017 Page 19Height 16.77cm Width 18.10 cm

Meet Soon to Review Cash Surplus Position ofCPSEs (as that have missed capex targets may have to shell out extra dividends, go for buybacks

Dheeraj.Tiwari @ti mesgrouD.com

New Delhi: The government is set to hold a meeting to review the cash surplus position of blue-chip central public sector enter pri ses or CPSEs.

';We are look ing at the capital investments made by these fir ms and their plans," sa id a government onicia l.

The firms which have missed their capita l expenditure tar­gets wi ll be nudged to she ll Qut extra dividends or go for buy­backs, said theorficial, who did not wish to be identified.

The governmen t has set a mammoth disinvestment tar · get of f72,500 crore for this fl · seal.

Last year seven firm s had op­ted for buy back s, the largest be­ing done by National Alumini ­um Co. Ltd for f2 ,813 craTe.

Some of the blue-chip firm s which will ma ke theirpresenta­tions include ONGe Ltd., NMDC Ltd. NHPC Ltd, Cochin Sh ipyard Ltd a nd RITES Ltd.

"We wil l bereviewing theposi­tion of around 17 firm s, their current cash surplusas aga inst their capita l expenditure plans," the official sa id.

Besides adm inistrative mini ­stries of the centra l public sec-

tor enterprises, the meeting wiJl be attended bysenior offic i­als from the finance mini stry and the Department of Public Enterprises(DPE). "This meeting is prim arily to

push those public sector units which are not performing and - posting profits

mostly on the bas is of their cash parked with banks or such other in­vestments," saida DPEoffi ­cia I.

Earl ier th is month, the De­par tment of

Investment and Publ ic Asse t Management (DIPAM) had as­ked s ta te-run fi rms to fol low gu­idelines on capital restructu­r ing and exped He exemption proposals.

Blue-chip firms which will make presentations IndudeONG(, NMD(,NHPC, eochin Shipyard and RITES

"This is to get higher returns from government investment," DTPAM secretary eeraj Ku­mar Gupta wrote on microblog­ging site 1'wilter. Last year, the government had

issued fr esh guidelines on capi­tal restructur ing of CPSEs, as pel' which every CPSE would pay a minimum annual d ivi­dend of 30 % of profit a fter tax or 5% of net wor th, whichever is higher.

Looking for Capital ~8 . . ( Last fiscal ,

t7 cos Includ1ng seven PSUs went ONGC, NMOC & for buy backs NHPC to make fI presentations .L..-s ---::: Laggards to go for higher dividends or buybacks

Govt has targeted ~72,500 cr from disinvestment

t t __ _

• THE NUDGE

This meet is to push PSUs posti ng profits mostly on basis of cash parked wi th banks or other investments DPEOFFICIAL

CPSE having a net worth of at leas t ~2,OOO crore and cash and ban k ba lance of more than n ,ooo crore were to go for buy­backs. The gover nment has identHi ­

ed seven sta te-run firms, inclu-

ding blue-chip companies such as NTPC Ltd., PRC and Sail , for sta ke sales. It wiJl d ivest 1.0 % stake in

NHPC Ltd, NTPC Ltd, NHPC, SAIL and PFC, 5% in REC, and 3% in IOCL.

Of the tota l disinvestment tar­get, ~46,500 crore is to be ra ised through disinvestment of mi­nor i tystake. Earlier this year, the DIPAM

had issued the mechanism for listing of state-run fi rm s. The government will look to

list all s tate-run companies which have a pos itive net worth , no accumulated losses and have earned net profi t con­secutively in the three prece­dingyears.

Business Standard Edition Delhi 19.5.2017 Page 19Height 14.00cm Width 21.89 cm

Environment clearance haunts new entrants to hydrocarbon sector SHINE JACOB New Deihl, 18 May

Environment Clearance has always been a roadblock for infrastructural projects in India, for new investors or old.

Forme newbiesofthe hydrocarbon sectorwhich were awarded oil and gas blocks in the recently con­cluded discovered small field (DSF) auction, this has come as the biggest concern.

"By the end of this month, most of the companies are set to sign the mining lease, with ONGC and Oil India. Then comes the biggest hurdle. Especially the environmental clearance for onshore blocks will be a concern. Traditionally. it takes nine to U months to get clearance for a hydrocarbon block," said PElango, managing director of Hindus tan Oil Exploration. Of the 22 companies that won the blocks,lS were new to the sector. Of the 46 blocks on offer, 31 got successful bids, with a majority of investors showing more inter­est in onshore ones.

Recently, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had announced that a second round of auc­tions for discovered small and marginal fields would happen in this financial year.

In such a situation, the confidence of existing investors is vital. For the blocks awarded, the expect­ed reserves in place are 40 million tonnes of oil and 22 billion cubic metres of gas, to be monetised overlS years. .

"Though Oil India and ONGC have got clearances

for exploratory wells, they don't have clearances to produce from them. We are worried as there is also a timeUne given to start production. What will happen ifit takes 12-14 months for us to get clearance. It will be a waste of time," added D S Rajput, managing director, Dubai-based South Asia Consultancy FZE, the only foreign company to get a block in this round.

According to industry sources. the petroleum ministry is planning to set up a committee only to assist the neY( companies to negotiate their way through the process of getting environmental clear-

UNDER THE GAVEL Highlights of the recently oonduded DSF auctions

31 Total number of contract areas

23 Onshore

8 Offshore

22 Total. number of companies

15 New players

ance. The blocks awarded in the DSF round, which was launched in May last year, expect a cumulative peak production of IS,ooo barrels of oil per day and two mscmd (million standard cubic metres a day) of gas over the economic Ufe of the fields awarded. The estimated revenue is a little over t46,OOO crore. Of this, the gross royalty collection and state royalty are expected to be around {S,OOO crore and ~,100 crore, respectively.

The government's revenue share would be in the range of{9,300·crore.

Business Line Edition Delhi 19.5.2017 Page 17Height 8.56cm Width 13.07 cm

Petro net LNG Kochi terminal's operating capacity goes up

V SAJEEV KUMAR KochtMay lS

The furure is looking bright for Petronet LNG's Kochi ter· min.1 with Its operating ca· pacity registering a double digit growth for the first time since its commissioning in September 2013.

This was a.chieved because of the increased intake of natural gas by existing cus­tomers such as BPCL and FACT, T Neelakandan, Ter· minal Head, Petronet LNG, Ltd told Dus/nessline.

The '.N,200-crore terminal had been languishing at well below 10 per cent of its oper· ating capacity. The rise in volume of gas being taken by BPCL afler its Kochi Refinery expansion, combined with FACT resuming the intake of

gas, enabled PLL to achieve a ~S per cent of the terminal ca­pacity of 5 million tonnes a yearforthe first time . .

Besides, the termln.1 is also supplying re.gasified LNG to six other customers in the dislTicr where pipelines exist, Neelakandan said.

The company has been making efforts to supply LNG directly to customers not connected through pipelines. Hlndustan lifeeare In Thiruvananthapuram was the first customer who has been receiving LNG by road tankers and new customers, including Kerala Minerals and Metals ltd, are being ad· ded in the current financial year, he said.

Other oil and 'gas market· ing majors are now using the

LNG terminal for supply of natural gas to tl~e!r custom· ers as far afield as Chennal and Bengaluru, he added.

Petronet Is lopklng at the possibility of fuelling the fer· ries of Kochl Water Metro with LNG, for which discus· sions have begun with Koehl Metro Rail Ltd.

Unflnlshed pIpelines MP Sukumaran Nair, Dlr· ector, Centre for Green Tech- , nology & Management, poln· ted out that the low capacity utills.tlon of rhe terminal was due to the delay in estab­lishing pipeline connectivity to , Mangaluru and Bengaluru.

The 503·km Koehl· Mangaluru line was beset by land,acquisition issues.

Deccan Herald Edition Bangalore 18.5.2017 Page 4Height 14.53cm Width 21.30 cm

Cabinet decides to float SPV for city gas supply project Karnataka Naisargika Nigama to implement the work BENGALURU: The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to float a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Karnataka Naisargika Nigama to take up city gas distribution proj­ect in select cities and towns ofthe state_

The SPVwili be ajointven­ture company of Karnaraka State Industrial and Infrasrruc­rul'e DeveiopmemCorporation (KSIJDC) and Gail Gas Ltd, a subsidiary of Gas AuthOlity of India (Gail).

The SPV will pal1icipate in the bidding to be conducted by the Pen'oleum and Nann'al Gas Regulatory Board to issue li­cence to implement the project, L1W Minister T B Jayachandra told reporrersafter the Cabinet meeting.

Though the government had signed a memorandum of

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Other decisions • Extend Karasamadhana scheme-4 from April I, 2017 to October 31, 2017

• Set up a Cabinet sub-committee to look into problems in implementing e-swathu software.

• Ratified the decision to entrust the responsibility of preparing a report on the status of SC/STs in govt service to an Additional Chief Secretary.

• Finalise bidding for construction of new campus for University of Agriculture ane Horticulture Sciences, Shivamogga, at a cost of Rs 138.69 crore. The new campus is located at Iruvakki village in Sagartaluk.

• Direct recruitment of the govt high school teachers under merit-(um-reservation basis.

• Dismiss from service Bharamappa Budeppa Kandate, heac master olthe government high school in Haver;' in connection with Lokayukta trap case.

• Dismiss from service B M Bhajanthri. block education officer in Chikkodi, in connection with Lokayukta trap case.

• Conducting social audit of the function­ing of fair price shops and strengthen vigilance committees connected to them.

• Construction of a mega market in Basavana Bagewadi at an estimated cost of Rs 32.73 crore.

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understanding (MoU) with Gail Gas Ltd in 20 13 for this purpose, it had not im ple­mented the MoV so far.

Gail Gas Ltd is already exe­cuting the project in Bengalu­ru Urban and Bengaluru Rural

districts. Jayachandra said the Cabinet approved a dam im­provement project at a cost of Rs 581 erore.

Repair of around 22 dams, including Krishnarajasagara, Kabini , Harangi, Hemavathi,

Almatti and Bhadra, will be taken up under the project, which will be funded by the World Bank.

Th e sto rage capacity of dams will not be altered under the project, he added.

Legislature session from June 5 The Cabinet decided to convene the state legisla­ture session on June 5. The session is scheduled to be held till June 16. The gov­emmem will seek approval fol' the complete budget of the 2017-18 financial year during the session, Jayachandra said.

The Cabinet decided to rec­ommend to the Centre inclu­sio n of Namasudra, Pod/Poundra and Rajbanshi cas tes in the list of Schedule Castes 0 f Kal'l1ataka.

Around 8,300 members of these castes live in Sindhanur taluk orRaichur district. They are migrants from Bangladesh, and have obtained Indian citi­zenship, the Lawministersaid. DH News Service

Times of India Edition Hyderabad 18.5.2017 Page 7Height 17.40cm Width 8.47 cm

Gas power firm gets no respite from high court

T IMES NEWS N ETWORK

Hydcrabad: Making it clear that it cannot give any rei ief to a company that has repea­tedly failed in fulfilling its contractual obligations, the Hyderabad high court refu­sed to direct the Centre to re­fund the bank guarantees fur­nished by Konaseema Gas Po­lver Ltd which, despite win­ninga bid, failed to avail itself of re-gasified J1quid natura] gas (RLNG).

FolJowing the decision of the Centre and banks to invo­kethe bank guarantee furnis­hed by the company; the latter approached the high court chalJengtng theirmovc. Justi­ce C Praveen Kumar, who he­ard the plea by the company, said there were more fa ilures on the part of Konaseema Gas Power Ltd.

Though the Centre intro­duced the RLNG supply sche­me only to help stranded gas projects like Konaseema, it could not fulfll the condi­tions laid down in the agree­ments that were entered into between the Centre and the company.

"'This court cannot direct the Centre to refund the bank guarantee to the company. A

The high court made it clear that it cannot give any re lief to acompany that has repeatedly failed in fu lfilling itscontractual ob ligations and refused todirectthe Centre to refu nd the bank guaran­tees furni shed by Kona­seem a Gas Powe r Ltd

direction not to revoke the bank guarantees too cannot be given now," thejudge said.

Severa] of the loans taken by Konaseema were declared as non performing assets (NPAs) by the banks, but the Centre tried to help even such companies through its RLNG supply scheme. But the firm, even after success­fully bidding for gas supply, could notfulfil its contractual obligations despite extens ion of the deadline several times, he sa id.

'The judge, whilerejectlng the contention of the compa­ny that the Centre too had fa i­led in fulfilling its promise of supply of gas to them, said that the company could make a request to the authorities to consider itforfutureschemes of the Centre.

Hindu Edition Kochi 18.5.2017 Page 5Height 2.82cm Width 12.89 cm

Drivers' union objects to eNG buses SPECIAL CORRES PONDENT Till R UVA NAN TII Ar URA M

The Kerala State Transport Drivers' Union has asked the KSRTC to des ist from intro-

ducing 1,000 buses that run on comp ressed natural gas (eNG) .

A press note said the to-

pography of Kerala was not suited fo r eNG buses. These buses cannot be operared in the high ranges.

Economic Times Edition Mumbai 18.5.2017 Page 19Height 6.11cm Width 6.13 cm

• CNG Price Hiked by 40 paise, PNG by 81 paise in NCR

~ NEW DELHI State-run Indraprastha Gas Limited (lGL) has announced a marginal revision in price50f com­pressed natural gas (eNG) and piped

natural gas (PNG) in Delhi, Noida, Greater Naida and Ghaziabad effecti ve from Wednesday the recent increase in minimum wages by the Delhi government Th us eNG prices will increase by 35 paise per kg in Delhi and by 40 pa ise per kg in Naida, Greater Naida and Ghaziabad, IGl said in a release. The new consumer pr iceofCNG is now <37,65 per kg in Delhi and <43,15 per kg in Naida, Greater Naida and Ghaziabad.

Economic Times Edition Mumbai 18.5.2017 Page 19Height 17.79cm Width 18.79 cm

Global Oil Cos May Get Sops to Set Up Production, R&D Units Plan to enhance local production, refining & distribution to reduce dependence on imports

Vogima.Sharma@timesgroUD.com

New Delhi: In its bid to stream li­ne India's energy sector govern­ment th ink tank Niti Aayog Is con sidering incen Lives for gJ obal oi l major s to set up manufactu­r ing and research and develop­ment fac ili ties in the counlry. Niti Aayog began discussions

w ith the petr oleum and natural resources m inistry on the imple­menta tion of a new blue print for the sector for the next lhreeyears to significantly enhance domes­tic production and explora tion whi le simuHaneously augmen­ting refin ing and dis tri bution of oil and gas to reduce India's de­pendenceon imports. The Aayog, in its three-year

draft action plan, has pitched for speedy roll out of other initia ti­ves tha t include launch of t he open acreage licencing policy and r a tionalisation o f a ll d isco­veries made so far.

"G lobal companiesshould beoffe­red business suppor Vincentivesto set up R&D cenb'eS in Tndia to un­dertake India·spec ific research and a lso to manufacture tools/ equ­ipment under 'Make in India ' cam­paign," Aayogproposed. The government isaJreadygiving

export incentives and subsidy on capital expenditure across some sectors to under its Make in India initia tive.

Asenior government official told ET thecenb-e is wor king with the nodal ministrytoachievewha tthe

Proposed Action Plan A two-pronged strategy to reduce India's import dependence 00 oil & gas

i set up new ", " Rationalise tax '. : refineries to sustain:: structure for import , export capacity '! and sa le of

: Liberalise trade H petroleum products ! of ali petroleum H Gas prices should be , products ,. market determined , . . ..

! Doublethe ~ receiving capacity

. ". of LNG by 2022

--.... _ Why a Focused Approach Needed for the Sector? <114f--­

" India's oil impart rose by 9% in 201.6-.17 to $80.3 billion~ "India's oil reserves stands at 5.7 billion barrels "

major recommendations of the draft action plan sought for the sector in the short-term vis-a.-vis the Aayog's 15-year v ision docu­ment, which is likely to layouta r o­admap for transformation of the sector in the long-run . Prime Mi­n ister NarendraModi is thechair­man of the Aayog.

"Enth'e action plan, across sec-

tors, has been vetted by the concer ­ned ministries. While some of the th ings in the action plan havealrea­dy been approved_ like market de­ter mined gas prices, work is in pro­gress in other areas like rational i­sation of aU discoveries made un­der the production sharing contract," theomcial added.

Niti Aayog hasalso I1rmedup the

Ef VIEW

Make Licensing Policy Attractive To boost investment in ex· ploration and production (E&P), what's essential is an attractive licens ing poli cy. Abroad, in a mature li censing regime li ke the UK, there's the concept of "Front ier" and "Promote" licences, apart from Standard licence. so as to step' up investor interest. Frontier licences acknowled· ge that there can be tech· nicall y difficu lt oi l fie lds for E&Pactivity, and so prov ide I icens ing for a longer dura· tion. Promote licences are for E&P for a shorter duration, but without onerous work programme and other up· front investment criter ia.

National Energy Policy, describing at length the interventions needed in the energy sector in the long­ter m to help Ind ia become self-suf­fi cient in oil and gas,coal and rene­wables and consequently minimi­se imports.

Economic Times Edition Kolkata 18.5.2017 Page 13Height 5.95cm Width 5.87 cm

• CNG Price Hiked by 40 paise, PNG by 81 paise in NCR

~ NEW DELHI State-run Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) has announced a marginal revision in pr ices of com­pressed natural gas (CNG) and piped

natura l gas (PNG) in Delhi, Naida, Greater Naida and Ghaziabad effective from Wednesday the recent increase in minimum wages by the Delhi government. Thus eNG prices will increase by 35 paise per kgin Delhi and by 40 pa ise per kgin Naida,Greater Naida and Ghaziabad, IGLsaid in a release. The new consumer priceofCNG is now <37.65 per kg in Oe lhi and <43.15 per kg in Naida, Greater Naida and Ghaziabad.

Economic Times Edition Kolkata 18.5.2017 Page 1Height 22.65cm Width 19.22 cm

Niti Aayog Mulls Sops for Oil Majors

a Ina bid to streamline India's oJ energy sector, Niti Aayog is

considering sops for global oil majors to set up manufacturing and reo search and development facil ities. ~~ 13

Global Oil Cos May Get Sops to Set Up Production, R&D Units Aim is to enhance local production, refining & distribution to reduce dependence on imports

Yogima.Sharma@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: In its bid to stream li­ne India's energy sector govern­ment think tank Niti Aayog is considering incen tives forgl obal oil major s to set up manufactu­ring and research and develop­ment faci lities in the coun try.

Niti Aayog began di scussions with the petroleum and natural resources m in istry on the imple­menta tion of a new blueprint fo )' the sector fo r the next three year s to sign Hicanlly enhance domes­tic production and explora tion whi le s imultaneously augmen­ting r efining and distribution of oil and gas to r educe Tndia's de­pendenceon imports. The Aayog, in its three-year

dra rt action plan, has pitched for speedy r ollout of other initia ti­ves tha t inclu de launch of the open acreage licen cin g policy and r a tion a lisation o f a ll di sco­veriesmadeso fa r. "Global companiesshouJd beoffe­

red business supporUincentives to set up R&D centres in India toun­dertake India-spec ific resear ch and a lso to manufacture tools/ equ ­ipmentunder 'Make in Tndia ' cam­paign," Aayogproposed. The government isalready giving

export incentives and subsidy on capital expenditw'e acr oss some sectors to under its Make in India initia tive.

A senior government offi cial told ET the centre is working with the noda l ministry to achieve wha t the

Proposed Action Plan A two-pronged strategy to reduce India's import dependence 00 oil & gas

.:·Set up new .. : Rationalise tax . ; refi neries to sustain ~~ structure for import ~ j export capacity .. and sa le of ;

j Liberalise trade petroleum products : ~ of all petroleum . . Gas prices should be : : products market determined . • • • Double the

receiving capacity ' ~~~~~~L.,· ofLNGby2022 ." .... .. .. ........ .. .. .. .. .. .... ... "--------' ---+. Why a Focused Approach Needed for the Sector? ... 4f----

• India's oil import rose by 9% in 201.6.?' to $80,3 biliiOOii)

• India's oil reserves stands at 5,' billion barrels "

major r ecommendations of the draflaction plan sough t for the sec­tor in the short-term vis-a·vis the Aayog's 15-year vision document, wh ich is I ikely to lay outa roadmap for transfor mation of the sector in the long-run. Prime Minister Na­rendraMcx:li is the cha irman ofthe Aayog. "Entire action plan, across sec-

tor s. has been vetted by the concer ­ned ministries. While some of the things in the action plan havealrea­dy been appr oved, like market de· term inedgas pJices, work is in pro­gress in other areas like rationa li­sation of aU discover ies made un­der the production sharing contract," theomcial added.

Niti Aayog has a lso firmed upthe

Nationa l Energy Policy, describing at length the intelventions needed in the energy sector in the long­ter m to help India become se lf-suf­ficient in oil and gas,coal and rene­wables and consequently minimi­se imJX)rts.

As per the Aayog, rationa lisation of al l discoveries in thepast shou ld be done either through monetisa­tion or sunender to the govern­ment for recycling. "While aug· menting F'&P activities, it is also clitical to augment refining and distribution capaci ty of oi.1 alld gas through setting up of newr efinerl­es," it said.

India's consumption of oil and gas fa r exceeds its domestic pro­duction capabilities. Given the av­aUability of oU reserves in the co­un~ there is a strong case for in­creased exploration and produc­tion as wel l as overseas acreage.

India's proved crude oil r eserves asof 2015stand ataround5. 7 bill ion barrels. Tndia's gross petroleum imJX)rt bill, includingshipmen tsof crude oil and petroleum products, rose9% last financia l year to $80.3 billion on the back of 7% rise in vo­lumesand a3% increase in the av­er age crude pri ce.

Crude oil imJX)rts rose by more than 5% to 213 m illion tonne (MT) and the crude oil import bil l incr eased by more than 9% to $70 bi ll ion last fi scal as compa, r ed to 864 bill ion recorded in 20 1.5-20 1.6. India's petroleu m product imports by quantity rose by 22 % last fi sca l year t036 M'I' from 29.5 M1' in 2015·2016.

Times of India Edition Delhi 18.5.2017 Page 20Height 7.61cm Width 4.01 cm

Iraq replaces Saudi as top oil supplier to India: Iraq replaced Saudi Arabia as top crude supplier to India in April as refiners moved to boost their processing margins by purchasing the cheaper Basra Heavy oil grade, ship tracking and trade flow data showed. India's April imports from Iraq topped 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time, up by about a third from March and 8% from a year ago, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources. saudi Arabia shipped about 750,000 bpd to the South Asian nation in April. a decline of about 5% from the previous month and 8% from a year ago, the data showed.

Times of India Edition Bangalore 18.5.2017 Page 14Height 26.63cm Width 18.90 cm

International Oil Cos likely to Get Sops to Set Up

Production, R&D Units Here STREAMLlNIN(j ENER(jYSECTOR Aim is to enhance local production, refining

and distribution to reduce dependence on imports

Yogima.Sharma@tjmesgroup.com

New Delhi: In its bid to streamli· ne India's energy sector govern­ment think tank NiH Aayog iscon­sidering incentives for global oil majors to set up manufacturing and research and development fa­cil ities in the country.

Niti Aayog began discussions with thepelro\eum and natur al re­sources ministry on the imple­mentation of a new blue print for the sector for the next three years to signifi cantly en hance domestic production and explora tion wh i Ie simultaneously augmenting r efi­ning and distribution of oil and gas to reduce India's dependence on imports.

The Aayog, in its three-year draft action plan , has pitched for speedy rollout of other initiatives tha t in­clude launch of the open acreage licencing policy an d ration a lisa­tion of a ll di scoveries made so far.

"Global companies should be oITe­red business suppor Vincentives to set up R&D centres in Ind ia to under ­take India-spec ific research and a Iso to manufacture tools/equipment under 'Make in Ind ia ' campaign," Aayogproposed.

The Union government is a lready givingexportincentivesand subsidy on capital expenditure across some sectors to under its Make in India initiative.

A senior government official told ET the cen tre is working with the no­dal minis try to achieve what the ma­jorrecommendationsof thedraft ac­tion plan sought for the sector in the short-tenn vis-a·vis the Aayog's 15-year vision document, which is lik­ely to lay out a roadmap for transfor­mation of the sector in the long-run. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of the Aayog.

"Entire action plan. across sectors, has been vetted by the concerned mi­nistries. WhiJe some of the things in the action plan have a lready been

Proposed Action Plan

approved, like market determined gas plices, work is in progress in other a reas Itkerat iollaJ isation of all discoveries made under the procluc­bon sharing contract," the official added.

Nil; Aayog has also flnned up the Nation al Energy Policy, describing a t length the in terventions needed in the energy sector in the long·term to help India become self·sumcient in oU and gas, coal and renewablesand consequently minimise imports.

As per the Aayog, rationa lisation of a ll discoveries in the past should be doneeilherthrough monetisation or stu'l'endel' to the government for re­cychng. "WhiJeaugmen ting E&P ac­tivities, it is also critical to augment refining and distribution capacity of oil and gas through setting up of new refineries," it sa id. india's con­sumption of oU and gas fa r exceeds its domestic production capabi.l ities. Given theavailabilityof oil reser ves in the coun~ there is a strong case for increased exploration .

A two-pronged strategy to reduce India's Import dependence on 011 & gas

... =-- Set up new \ 'Rationalise tax ..... : refineries to sustain: structure for import ~ : export capacity : and sale of : ~ Uberalise trade . petroleum products ~ , of all Gas prices should be

market determined

Double the receiv ing capacity of LNG by 2022 .. .... .. .. ... .. .. .. ... .. ... .. ..