India’s diversified crude and product basket was one reason that helped India in avoiding the Saudi Aramco crisis.

Concerns over the price and supply of oil, sparked by the recent terror strikes on Saudi Aramco’s oil infrastructure, have now subsided, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday. Oil marketing companies will now see the price of petrol and diesel coming down soon.

On Thursday, petrol price dropped by 10 paise to Rs 74.51 a litre and diesel by 6 paisa to Rs 67.43 a litre in Delhi, the first reduction since September 8. “At present, there are no concerns. The world has averted a big crisis,” Pradhan said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit. Sanjiv Singh, IndianOil Corporation chairman, said, “The price in India has started coming down from today. After the attacks on Saudi facilities, product prices were also affected. Gasoline (petrol) and diesel price had gone up.”

India’s diversified crude and product basket was one reason that helped India in avoiding the Saudi Aramco crisis. Because of the shortfall in supply from Saudi Aramco, India was staring at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply crisis in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Goa.

Saudi drone strikes: Oil price surges, but govt plays down supply concerns

No supply disruption, says Pradhan; OMCs see margin impact if situation persists

Even as oil prices soared on Monday following the drone attack at Saudi Arabia’s fuel-producing infrastructure at Abqaia and Khurais over the weekend, the Indian government said the country was insulated from any supply shortage.

Oil prices surged the most on record on Monday, with Brent crude oil rising by as much as 19.5 per cent to $71.95 per barrel — the biggest gain in dollar terms since futures started trading in 1988. It later came down to $67.7 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures climbed 15.5 per cent to $63.34, the biggest intra-day percentage gain since June 1998. Increasing dependence on Saudi Arabia for crude supply, as India cuts imports from Iran, could be cause for concern.

“Following the attacks on the oil stabilisation centres of Saudi Aramco, top executives of Aramco have been contacted. We have reviewed our overall crude oil supplies for… September with our OMCs (oil-marketing companies),” tweeted Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday. “We are confident there would be no supply disruption to India. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation.”

The attack has knocked out over half of Saudi Arabia’s production as it cut 5.7 million barrels per day or over 5 per cent of the world’s supply. India imports 83 per cent of its oil needs. Saudi Arabia is its second-biggest supplier, providing 40.3 metric tonnes (MT), after Iraq (46.6 MT). Iran is the third-biggest supplier, with 23.9 MT of oil…

India to send 300,000 youth to Japan for on-job training

Japan will bear the financial cost of the skill training of Indian technical interns; about 50,000 of them may also get jobs in Japan

economy policy: India will send 300,000 youth to Japan for on-job training for 3-5 years as part of the government’s skill development programme, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here today.

Japan will bear the financial cost of the skill training of Indian technical interns.

The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister said the Union Cabinet has approved signing of Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on the ‘Technical Intern Training Program (TITP)’.

The MoC, he said, is expected to be signed during his three-day visit to Tokyo starting October 16.

“TITP is an ambitious program to send Three Lakh Indian technical interns to Japan for on the job training for a period of three to five yrs,” Pradhan said in a tweet.

He said the youth will sent for training in the next three years with Japanese financial assistance.

About 50,000 of them may also get jobs in Japan, he added.| Readmore…

Saudi Aramco eyes joint venture deal in India by next year, says CEO Nasser

Like other major oil producers, Aramco wants to tap rising demand growth opportunities and invest in the world's third-biggest consumer

Oil giant Saudi Aramco, which has launched a new Indian venture in Gurgaon, is in talks with several Indian refiners and hopes to land a joint venture deal by next year, the company's chief executive told Reuters on Sunday.

Aramco, like other major oil producers, wants to tap rising demand growth opportunities and invest in the world's third-biggest consumer. "We are hoping to land on a JV sometime," Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser said at India Energy Forum by Cera Week in New Delhi.

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who jointly inaugurated the local unit with Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser, said the setting up of the Gurgaon unit would help pave the way for "a strategic partnership in the hydrocarbon sector" between the two nations.

Asked if a deal could be finalised next year, Nasser said: "We hope so. We are in serious discussions."

Aramco wants to buy a stake in the planned 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) refinery in India's west coast, India's oil minister said in June.

The world's biggest oil producer is investing in refineries abroad to help lock in demand for its crude and expand its market share ahead of its initial public offering next year.

Aramco plans to float up to 5 percent of its shares in 2018 in what could be the world's largest IPO, raising as much as $100 billion.

Nasser said Aramco is interested in investing in India's downstream sector - refining, petrochemicals and fuel retailing including lubricants.

Saudi Arabia is competing with Iraq to be India's top oil supplier, with Iraq displacing it for a fifth month in a row in August, data compiled by Reuters showed.

Earlier this year Saudi Arabia pledged billions of dollars of investment in projects in Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure long-term oil supply deals.

The International Energy Agency estimates India's refining capacity will lag fuel demand going forward, requiring investment in new plants.

Saudi Aramco earlier on Sunday launched a new office in New Delhi as it aims to expands its presence in India....READ MORE

Shoddy fuel: After new highs, specialists see oil, diesel costs falling soon

Experts say domestic prices will track international ones, which have shown a declining trend

economy today:Diesel costs in Delhi on Tuesday scaled another record-breaking high of Rs 59.14 for each liter, while different urban areas too observed a significant increment. In any case, industry specialists and the legislature trust that costs will ease in the following couple of weeks as worldwide costs are demonstrating a declining pattern.

In Delhi, the petrol price. as well, was at a two-year high on Tuesday at Rs 70.88 for every liter. Since the execution of day by day valuing from June 16 this year, Indian bushel unrefined petroleum has gone up by around 19 for each — from $46 a barrel to $55.36 a barrel. Be that as it may, residential retail offering costs of petroleum and diesel in Delhi have gone up by just eight for every penny amid this period.

As indicated by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the fundamental explanation behind the expansion in item costs was the expansion in worldwide costs because of the two sea tempest – Harvey and Irma – that hit the US. Thirteen for each penny of the US refinery limit was closed down because of the typhoons. "In the previous three months, the FOB (free on board) cost of oil and diesel in the worldwide market expanded by 20 for every penny. The current ascent in costs is transient in nature and will ease in the coming days," said a source near the improvement...Read more

 

Can't keep changing fuel prices on knee-jerk basis: Pradhan

Said shifting to GST regime will be the only way to have a transparent tax structure on fuel items

Share prices of the three government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) fell on Wednesday on pricing worries, which the government later said were baseless.

Reports suggested the three -- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) -- might be asked to absorb the recent global hike in crude oil prices. As a result, their share prices fell 6.2%, 5.1% and 4.3%, respectively, on the BSE exchange.

The markets were worried on whether the government was going back to the regulated pricing era. However, after trading hours, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government would not ask state-run companies to absorb the price rise in petrol and diesel and would stay to market-driven pricing.

He added that a shift to the goods and services tax (GST) regime was the only way to have a transparent tax structure on fuel items.

"The government has no business to interfere in the day-to-day affairs of companies. We have linked product prices to the market and will stick to that," said Pradhan. The minister added that global prices would ease very soon.

"A knee-jerk reaction is not required when we are following a formula. We expect prices to come down soon. This increase is mainly because of the cyclones that hit the US, which resulted in a decline of refining capacity by 13% and an increase in diesel prices by 20% and petrol by 18% in the past three months," he added....READ MORE