Ahead of his departure for Moscow on Thursday for the annual India-Russia Summit at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister said his talks with the Kremlin leadership will also cover multilateral issues, notably on ways out of the global economic slowdown.

“I will discuss mechanisms to further expand our bilateral cooperation, particularly in the trade, economic and commercial fields,” Manmohan Singh said in his statement ahead of his departure on the three-day visit.

“Our relations encompass diverse sectors, including nuclear energy, defence, space, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment and people-to-people exchanges,” the prime minister said without dwelling on the recent protests over nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu being built with Russian assistance.

In Moscow, the prime minister he is to hold a summit meet with President Dmitry Medvedev on issues such as nuclear energy and hydrocarbons, apart from overseeing the signing of several pacts covering defence, health and science and technology fields.

Manmohan Singh said India’s bilateral relations with Russia were based on “mutual trust, friendship and shared interests” and encompass diverse sectors, including nuclear energy, defence, space, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment and people-to-people exchanges.

Bilateral trade amounted to $8.535 billion in 2010, witnessing a 15 percent growth from 7.46 billion in 2009. The two countries in 2009 decided to set a target of $20 billion worth of bilateral trade by 2015 with a focus on the fields of energy, pharmaceuticals, IT, steel, hydrocarbons, aerospace and agriculture.

The prime minister, who will be in Moscow till Saturday, will also hold a one-on-one meeting his Russian premier Vladimir Putin, who is at the centre of a political storm in the country over allegations of rigging in the Duma polls Dec 4 following which protests have erupted on the streeets of Moscow and other cities across Russia.

Manmohan Singh said during his talks with the president he would also focus on increased consultations with Russia in international forums.

“I will discuss with Medvedev how to further enhance our consultations in international forums like the United Nations Security Council, G20, BRICS as well as the East Asia Summit which Russia has recently joined. I am convinced that the India-Russia consultation on global issues is more necessary today than ever before.”

He said he would also hold “in-depth exchange of views with the Russian leadership on the crisis facing the global economy and the political developments in our extended neighbourhood”.

This, the prime minister said, included the situation in the “Gulf and Afghanistan and the impact of all this on peace and stability in the world.”

“The perspectives of our countries on these developments are marked by a high degree of convergence.”
Agencies

At a conference on ‘Powering Northeastern India’, organized by the Independent Power Producers’ Association of India (IPPAI) and supported by the Assam government power minister Pradyut Bordoloi projected the state as a safe and secure destination for investment in the power sector.

At the same time, Bordoloi reminded the power developers that by serious investors he meant the state is looking for responsible and not fly-by-night investors. Bordoloi exhorted investors to explore the possibility of coal-based methane (CBM) in the state, saying the state has a large deposit of CBM.

“We are seeking investments in the CBM sector. Upper Assam has a large deposit of CBM. There is a scope for serious investors to explore this energy source and assess its availability. The Centre has initiated work in this regard,” Bordoloi said, adding that power production is yet to take off in Arunachal Pradesh where many power developers have signed memorandums of understanding for power projects there.

The power minister also pointed out that private sector players should get involved in the power distribution sector too. The IPPAI organized the conference with a view to promote fresh investments in the state’s power sector and develop this sector.

Power developers at the conference also reiterated the necessity of tapping hydro-power potential in the northeast for energy security in the region. They said that tapping of hydro-power has become an imperative to counter the possibility of China’s plan to divert the Brahmaputra.
Agencies

The nation produced 37.68 million tonnes of crude oil in 2010-11, which is expected to rise to 38.18 million tonne during the current fiscal, he said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The output is expected to further rise to 42.30 million tonne in 2012-13 and to 45.57 million tonne in 2013-14, he said.

India is reliant on imports to meet 79% of its crude oil needs. The biggest contributor is likely to be Cairn India, whose Rajasthan block is currently producing 125,000 barrels of crude per day, or 6.25 million tonne a year. The block is projected to produce 240,000 bpd, or 12 million tonne, by 2013-14.

Reddy said natural gas production will rise by 18% to 61.652 billion cubic metres (bcm) by 2013-14 from 52.221 bcm in 2010-11.

Gas production is expected to drop to 51.671 bcm this fiscal on account of lower output from Reliance Industries’ eastern offshore KG-D6 fields. However, it will recover to 52.276 bcm in 2012-13. What is more, the country’s oil refining capacity is projected to increase to 240.6 million tonne a year by 2013-14 from 193.386 million tonne in 2010-11, he said.

The increase in capacity would primarily come from the 15 million tonne a year refinery Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is building at Paradip, in Orissa, and the soon-to-be- commissioned, 9 million tonne per annum Bhatinda unit being set up by a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and steel baron Lakhsmi Mittal.

Reddy noted that in the current year, a 6 million tonne refinery at Bina, in Madhya Pradesh, has been commissioned by a joint venture of Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Oman Oil Co. He also stated: “HPCL has commissioned a study on pre-project activities for a 9 million tonne grassroot refinery at Ratnagiri district, in Maharashtra.”

India, which probably has the largest number of petrol pumps in the world, is likely see the number of fuel retail outlets rise to 45,530 in 2013-14 from 39,430 in 2010-11.

Reddy said the number of LPG consumers is also likely to rise to 15.58 crore in 2013-14 from 12.69 crore in 2010-11. To a separate question, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas RPN Singh said India’s natural gas demand stood at 262.07 mmscmd in 2010-11. Against this, supply was only 163.36 mmscmd.

Of the 163.36 mmscmd supply, 126.16 mmscmd came from indigenous gas fields and the remaining 37.2 mmscmd was imported in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), he said.
Agencies

“OVL [ONGC Videsh Ltd.] is keen to get involved in the development of Sakhalin-3 and they [OVL] are in discussions with Rosneft for this,” Ranjan Mathai said at a news conference. “OVL is also in talks with Novatek to access gas deposits in the Yamal peninsula in the north eastern Siberian region.”

Mathai was briefing the media ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s three-day visit to Russia that starts Thursday. Singh will be meeting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev during his visit, Mathai said.

He didn’t say if OVL would sign any deal with Russian energy companies during Singh’s visit. OVL holds a 20% stake in Russia’s east offshore Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field, which is operated by ExxonMobil. Rosneft is exploring Veninsky licensed block of the Sakhalin-3 project, the Russian state oil producer’s website showed.

Independent natural gas producer Novatek’s Yamal LNG project holds the exploration and production license for the South-Tambeyskoye field, which has proved reserves of 418 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 15 million tons of gas condensate, the company’s website showed. Novatek plans to start LNG production in 2016 and eventually reach production of 15 million tons a year.

OVL produced 9.45 million tons of oil and oil-equivalent gas in the year ended March 31, 2011. The New Delhi-based company aims to source 20 million tons a year from overseas assets by 2020, and is looking to pick up stakes in overseas exploration and production assets to realize the target. Apart from its stake in Russia’s Sakhalin, OVL also owns Russia-focused Imperial Energy, which it acquired in January 2009 for $2.12 billion to establish a presence in Western Siberia, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producing regions.

OVL hasn’t been able to ramp up production at Imperial as it seeks tax concessions from Russia to further invest in the field. Mathai said the issue of Imperial’s tax liability is under discussion. “The matter hasn’t been finally settled and will continue to be raised and discussed with the Russian side,” he said.
Agencies

In a statement issued from New Delhi, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, however, said that no charges have been levelled against them by the UK regulators in these proceedings.

The group also said that the five-year-old matter relates to a regulatory action in the UK against a foreign bank’s former employees for misuse of client accounts and unauthorised trades made by them.

British daily Financial Times has reported that “two UBS bankers tried to create an offshore vehicle through which one of India’s most powerful businessmen could illegally invest in securities at home, according to evidence heard in a London tribunal”.

“Anil Ambani, whom bank executives described as a ‘mega-client’, was the ultimate owner behind a Mauritius-based vehicle called Pleuri, the tribunal heard,” the report said, while noting that Indian nationals and companies are not permitted to invest in Indian securities through foreign institutional investors.

“Pleuri was established with the specific objective of investing in Indian stocks, according to evidence presented by the UK’s financial regulator in a case against the former head of UBS’ London-based India desk,” the report added.

Reacting to the report, a Reliance Group spokesperson said that “the matter relates to regulatory action in the UK against former employees of a foreign bank, for unauthorised trades made by them and misuse of a large number of client accounts.

“The bank has already accepted the weaknesses in its internal systems and processes, and settled the matter with the UK regulators by payment of a fine.”

“There are no charges levelled against us by the UK regulators in these proceedings. As such, we are not party to these proceedings, and not represented therein,” he added.

The spokesperson said that “the matter is nearly 5 years old, and has already been closed with the Indian regulators under the consent order framework in January 2011.”

He said that all the aspects reported by the media “including the ownership and/or beneficial status of certain entities investing in India, were considered by the Indian regulators, while passing the consent order in January 2011.”
Agencies

“We are setting up our biggest solar power project at an estimated cost of around Rs 700 crore in Rajgarh district next year. NTPC will sell the entire power generated from this project to Madhya Pradesh,” NTPC official said today.

“The government will soon ink a power purchase agreement with NTPC to procure energy from this project,” the official said.

According to NTPC officials, it has kick-started the process of setting up 5 Mw and 15 Mw solar stations in Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, but the company’s biggest non-conventional energy project would be set up in Madhya Pradesh.

“In all, we are working on generating over 100-Mw solar power energy projects across the country right now,” they said.
Agencies

The decision was taken in a meeting of the company board on Wednesday. The development comes in the wake of Finance Ministry approval last month for the public sector firm to go-ahead with a buyout of overseas firms that are unlisted.

“It was decided during the board meeting that if the offers were valid then they can be evaluated by Coal India,” a top official with Coal India privy to the development said. “The company will take up three offers— in Australia, Indonesia and the US,” the official said.

The PSU has put together a war-chest of Rs 6,000 crore for acquisition of mines. The Finance Ministry last month gave permission to the company to go ahead with its plans to acquire unlisted firms overseas.

On CIL’s request for a relaxation in the PSU guidelines stipulating a minimum 12% internal rate of return (IRR) on investments, the Finance Ministry had said the company can proceed with such proposals if they are of strategic nature, but these will have to be cleared by the government.

CIL had also sought to sidestep the rule that only the mines of listed companies should be acquired, which was permitted by the Finance Ministry.

The world’s largest coal miner has zeroed in on three unlisted overseas coal assets for acquisition. It had sought clarifications from the Finance Ministry before entering into serious dialogues with owners, having received proposals offering an IRR between 9% and 12%.
Agencies

NTPC had informed the power ministry that it should be allowed to exit ICVL because coal requirement of NTPC is very different from those of the steel companies like SAIL and RINL, making the venture an unviable investment for it.

International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) is a JV between SAIL, Coal India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, NMDC and NTPC. It was conceptualised by the steel ministry for securing much-needed coking coal and thermal coal assets overseas.

“We have written to the Ministry of Steel…to allow NTPC to exit ICVL based on the presentation made by the company,” Power Secretary P Uma Shankar told reporters. NTPC, in its presentation to the Power Ministry submitted in September, had said that it needs thermal coal and steel companies like SAIL and RINL need coking coal. Hence, there is a clash of interest and they would want to leave the JV.

NTPC said, meanwhile, that it has received the approval from the Power Ministry to pull out from ICVL. “They (Power Ministry) have agreed to our request of exiting the ICVL, the matter would now go to the Cabinet… when I don’t know,” CMD NTPC Arup Roy Choudhury told reporters.

On being asked, who would take NTPC’s place in the JV company, Choudhury said, “We cannot decide that.”

ICVL was set up was to secure at least 10 percent of the coal requirements of SAIL and RINL, that is five million tonnes per annum, by acquiring or picking up a stakes in overseas mining properties. It was also expected to meet the requirement of joint venture partners CIL, NTPC and NMDC.

NTPC requires thermal coal for firing its power plants and SAIL needs coking coal for steel-making.

The availability of coking coal is more compared to thermal coal, which is beneficial for steel companies. At the same time, NTPC is also sourcing coal on its own.
Agencies

The output comprised 32.94 mmscmd from the D1 and D3 gas fields and 6.86 mmscmd from the MA oilfield. The KG-D6 production is lower than 61.5 mmscmd rate achieved in March, 2010, as a drop in pressure in the wells and increased water ingress has led to a lower per-well gas output.

The report said of the 18 wells drilled, completed and put on production in the D1 and D3 fields, four wells— A2, B1, B2 and B13— had to be shut or closed due to high water cut/sanding issues. The output from KG-D6 is short of the 70.39 mmscmd-level (61.88 mmscmd from D1 and D3 and 8.5 mmscmd from the MA field) envisaged by now as per the field development plan approved in 2006.

While Reliance holds 60% interest in KG-D6, UK’s BP Plc holds 30% and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10%. Reliance started natural gas production from the KG-D6 fields in April 1, 2009, with output of about 40 mmscmd.

The MA oilfield currently produces about 12,715 barrels of crude oil per day. In addition, 1,831 barrels of condensate are produced from the field every day. The report said 14.89 mmscmd of the gas output is being sold to fertiliser plants and 22.02 mmscmd to power plants. The remaining 2.89 mmscmd is consumed by other sectors, including those fed by the East-West pipeline that transports gas from the East Coast to consumption centres in the West.

Reliance had projected an output of 39.50 mmscmd of gas during December. As per the status report, out of the 22 wells planned in in Phase-I of D1 and D3 field development, 18 wells have been drilled and completed so far. Of these, 14 wells were put on production, while four wells were kept closed due to high water cut and sanding issues.
Agencies

Crude has jumped to $100 a barrel from $75 in October amid signs the US economy will likely avoid a recession. Most economists expect global economic growth to slow next year as Europe’s debt crisis threatens to drag the continent into recession.

Birol suggested crude producers should boost output amid growing demand in developing countries and falling inventories in wealthy nations. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is meeting later today in Vienna to decide whether to change the cartel’s output quotas.

“I’m sure OPEC knows much better than me what to do,” Birol said when asked if OPEC should raise output. “But seeing that oil prices are still high today and the negative effect that has on the recovery of the global economy, I hope the energy producing countries will take these things into account and make their decision accordingly.”

Birol said crude prices could rise to $150 by 2015 if oil-producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa don’t invest $100 billion a year to maintain existing fields and develop new ones.
Agencies