Ajoy K Das

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Ajoy K Das

India jettisons plans to open offshore mineral mining to private miners

28th August 2019 The Indian government has jettisoned plans to bring in legislative changes that would have allowed private miners to mine for minerals offshore. Instead, the government has decided that all offshore mineral assets will henceforth be reserved for government-owned and -operated exploration and... →

Tata Steel plans to enter merchant mining

28th August 2019 Global steel major Tata Steel is considering merchant mining as a new business vertical that will leverage its existing expertise in captive iron-ore and coal mining. “It is important for us to look at mining as a new business area. This is what we are evaluating just now to see how we can get... →

India proposes legislative changes to blur distinction between commercial, captive coal mining

23rd August 2019 In a first step that would partially blur the distinction between captive and commercial coal mining, India’s Coal Ministry would amend mining legislation to enable companies free merchant sale of coal in the open market. According to officials, the Coal Ministry would initiate amendments to... →

India plans fiscal sops for global firms to invest in battery facilities in the country

22nd August 2019 The Indian government is working on a package of direct fiscal incentives before inviting bids from global majors to set up battery manufacturing plants in the country under its ‘Make in India’ programme. Government sources say that a slew of subsidies will be put on the table before inviting... →

India increases number of windows for accepting EoIs for oil, gas exploration

19th August 2019 In a bid to improve the ease of doing business and to woo foreign investors, the Indian government has decided to open three oil and gas bid windows every year, instead of two, under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP). “In view of recent policy reforms and changes aligned to promote the... →

Coal India faces time overruns across 54 projects

16th August 2019 A total of 54 out of State-run miner Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) 120 coal mining projects are delayed, the company says in its latest financial statement. CIL reports that the major reasons for the delays in completion of the 54 projects are the time taken in securing mandatory environment and... →

India’s ONGC adopting enhanced oil recovery technologies

15th August 2019 India’s national oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) major, ONGC Limited, expects to achieve 190-million tons of incremental crude oil production through adoption of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) across 29 of its projects. “There is significant scope to increase production through... →

India’s ONGC Videsh to exit Sudan oil blocks

8th August 2019 India’s national oil and gas exploration and production major, ONGC Limited, has decided to exit from its oil block investments in Sudan. The company exited its interest after the Sudanese government’s refusal to settle dues for oil lifted from these blocks, which had risen to about $500-million,... →

India relaxes contract terms for ongoing coal block auctions

8th August 2019 Close on the heels of starting the auction process for 27 coal mines, India’s Coal Ministry has announced it is relaxing auction, and subsequent contract, rules to ensure a higher number of bids. “The coal mines on offer include some mines that have remained unsold at previous auctions. Most of... →

India starts fresh round of coal block auctions, alongside preferential allotment

6th August 2019 India’s Coal Ministry has announced the auctioning of 27 coal blocks alongside the allocation of 15 blocks to government companies under the preferential dispensation rules. Stating the objective of the next round of auctions, the Coal Ministry said that of the 27 blocks to be put up for... →

CIL mine accident in Odisha taking toll on thermal power plants

31st July 2019 Mounting protests over the death of four miners, paralysing production at one of the largest coal mines under Coal India Limited (CIL) in Odisha, has started taking a toll on power generation. Hit by a coal shortage, the country’s largest power producer, NTPC, has been forced to progressively... →

Indian govt seeks institutional monitoring of the overseas investment of oil companies

31st July 2019 The Indian government is working on a mechanism that will ensure regular and ongoing review of large overseas investments committed by government oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) companies. At an informal inter-Ministerial meeting early this month to review the performance of... →

Nalco in the national auditor’s firing line

26th July 2019 Indian State-run National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has been hauled up by the national auditor Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for a delay in developing captive coal blocks allocated to it, which resulted in a potential loss of revenue. In its report submitted to Parliament on... →

GAIL gas pipeline, marketing verticals to be unbundled

26th July 2019 After much dithering and opposition from within the company, the Indian government is going ahead with plans to unbundle the operations of natural gas infrastructure and logistics major, GAIL India. According to plans being drawn up by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, the natural gas... →

India expresses concern to Saudi Arabia over oil, gas transportation through Strait of Hormuz

26th July 2019 The Indian government has expressed “serious concern” over current disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz region impacting on movement and freight costs of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) between the Middle East and India. The government’s concern was shared with Saudi Arabia Oil... →

India’s national auditor hauls up NMDC

24th July 2019 India’s national controller, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has criticised State-run miner NMDC for setting production targets that do not correlate with market trends and for failing to do complete due diligence before taking up domestic and international projects. In an audit report... →

India may negate distinction between captive coal, commercial mining

22nd July 2019 India’s Coal Ministry is working on a proposal to negate the legal distinction between captive coal mines operated by user industries and commercial mining by private merchant miners. The move to bring captive mines and commercial coal mining under the same legal framework has been prompted by... →

Tight global supply puts low grade Indian iron-ore fines back on international buyers’ shopping lists

18th July 2019 Tightening of supplies of iron-ore from global resource majors has triggered a spike in outward shipments of the steelmaking raw material through Indian ports and also put low grade fines back in favour with global steel mills. According to data sourced from the Indian Ports Association, outward... →

India’s ONGC established 230Mt crude oil reserves over last three years

16th July 2019 India’s national exploration and production major, ONGC Limited, has established 230-million tons of crude oil reserves over the last three years, according to a statement placed before Parliament by Oil and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said that following the new discoveries,... →

Coal India starts financial year with flat production growth

10th July 2019 Coal India Limited (CIL) has recorded almost flat growth in production during April to June, putting under a cloud the government’s ambitious target for the miner to achieve an 8.5% growth for the current financial year. The State-run miner produced 137-million tons during the first three months... →

Indian State-run companies drop investment plans in Adani’s LNG terminal project

9th July 2019 Indian State-run oil refiner-marketer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and gas infrastructure and logistics major GAIL India have passed up the option to pick up a 50% stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project proposed by the Adani Group in the eastern coastal state of Odisha. Indian... →

Vedanta to invest $245m on Indian oil, gas blocks

4th July 2019 Anil Agarwal-led resource major Vedanta Limited will invest around $245-million in natural gas and crude oil over the next four years in licenses it bagged for 10 blocks across India. Vedanta said in a statement that “the company has been successfully awarded 10 exploration blocks across Indian... →

Chinese-US rare earth war could prompt India to overturn beach sand ban

28th June 2019 Rising trade tensions between the US and China and the latter's threatening to leverage rare earth supplies in the trade war are likely to prompt the Indian government to reverse the ban on private beach sand mining imposed earlier this year. With China expected to tighten global supplies of rare... →

India halts Iranian crude oil imports amid US assurances on supplies

28th June 2019 India has ended crude oil imports from Iran, following the US administration’s assurance of adequate supplies to meet the country’s import-dependent energy needs. While there has not been any official confirmation that crude oil imports from Iran have ceased, sources said that government-owned... →

Indian iron-ore market dichotomy of rising imports, rising domestic production

28th June 2019 A dichotomy in Indian iron-ore production/supply dynamics has emerged with the government claiming no shortage of the steelmaking raw material, while imports surge at the same time. In a statement before Parliament, Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said: “There is no shortage of iron-ore in the... →

India’s Mines Ministry makes contingency plans for expiring mining leases

27th June 2019 India’s Mines Ministry is drawing up contingency plans to offer a three-year extension for merchant mining leases slated to expire in March next year. Sources in the Ministry said that while the government is pushing state governments to initiate the auction of about 288 mining leases expiring... →

Andhra Pradesh govt in southern India rescinds bauxite mining order

27th June 2019 The newly elected government of southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has rescinded an order issued by a previous government permitting bauxite mining along the Eastern Ghats around Vishakhapatnam. By recinding the bauxite mining order, the TSR Congress-led government, elected last month, met... →

India plans incentives for oil, natural gas E&P investors

24th June 2019 The Indian government is planning to frame an incentive policy for oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) companies. The new policy will incorporate some of the financial incentives discontinued earlier, and the sops extended to E&P companies, even if they fail to bring exploratory... →

ONGC to outsource discovered small oil, gas fields while retaining ownership

24th June 2019 In a bid to circumvent government plans to take away its discovered small fields (DSFs), national oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) major ONGC has decided to auction such assets under production enhancement contracts, while retaining ownership with itself. Company sources said... →

Indian power producers want more coal on rail to lower costs

24th June 2019 Indian private thermal power companies are seeking to shift more coal from roads to State-run Indian Railways (IR) to bring down logistical costs. Private thermal power utilities reckon that higher dispatches of coal by State miner Coal India Limited (CIL) through IR will reduce the cost of... →

Modi intervenes to reopen closed Goa iron-ore mines

18th June 2019 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped in to find a political and legislative solution for the 88 iron-ore mines that have been closed in the western coastal state of Goa since last year. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement that in the course of a meeting of the National... →

Indian aluminium producers seek protection measures

18th June 2019 Ahead of India’s national Budget to be presented before Parliament next month, aluminium producers are seeking a slew of protection measures. Aluminium Association of India is seeking an increase in import duty on finished aluminium from 10% to 12.5%, considering that the domestic industry was... →

India national Budget likely to scrap import duty on LNG

18th June 2019 The Indian government is considering scrapping an import duty on liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the forthcoming Budget to be presented before Parliament next month. Government officials say that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has made a strong pitch for reducing the current LNG import... →

Petronet LNG completes expansion of Dahej terminal

12th June 2019 India’s biggest natural gas importer, Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), has completed the expansion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Dahej in the western state of Gujarat and is a step closer towards increasing its inward shipment of LNG during the financial year by 15%. In a statement... →

Coal India Limited looking at coal asset acquisitions in Australia

10th June 2019 State run miner Coal India Limited (CIL) has identified coking coal and high-grade thermal coal assets in Australia for strategic investments and will be appointing merchant bankers to conduct financial due diligence of these targeted acquisitions. CIL is looking at picking up equity stakes in... →

Indian mining sector hit by dissension over expiring mining leases

10th June 2019 With the expiry of mining leases (MLs) for 354 mines across India fast approaching and delayed fresh auctions looming large, sharp differences have surfaced among various stakeholders in the sector. The narrative until now among a section of stakeholders has been of an impending shortage of... →

Indian miners seek rescinding of ban on beach sand mining by private companies

31st May 2019 Indian miners in the private sector are seeking a reversal of a government order that banned beach sand mining by private mining companies. Private sector miners, in a submission to the government, point out that the imposition of the ban is a reflection of the poor regulatory environment and a... →

NMDC floats global division to focus on overseas acquisition, expansion

30th May 2019 Indian State-run miner NMDC has set up a department – NMDC Global – to impart greater focus on the acquisition of mineral assets overseas, enter into strategic tie-ups and access newer mining technologies. According to a company statement, NMDC Global’s mandate would be to increase the company’s... →

NTPC aims for 10.4Mt of captive coal production this year

30th May 2019 India’s largest power producer, NTPC, has set a target of mining 10.4-million tons of coal from its captive mines during 2019/20. According to a company statement, NTPC had set the coal production target in its memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Power Ministry, which also... →

Indian govt projects sharp drop in thermal coal imports but analyst disagree

29th May 2019 India’s Power Ministry has estimated coal demand from domestic thermal power plants at 651-million tons in 2019/20. State-miner Coal India Limited has assured thermal power producers supply of 530-million tons during the financial year, while the balance of 121-million tons will need to be imported. →

India’s new government likely to hasten inclusion of LNG in single-tax GST regime

29th May 2019 The Indian energy sector is betting big on inclusion of liquefied natural gas in the goods and service tax (GST), following the electoral mandate received by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the federal government for a second term The industry reckons that with the BJP-led... →

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