Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
Oil marketing companies have selected 26 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) out of 286 applications for setting up retail petrol and diesel outlets, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah told Parliament on Tuesday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Shah said the government has allowed PACS to operate retail petrol and diesel outlets and LPG distributorship. As informed by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), 286 PACS from 25 states and Union Territories have submitted online applications to establish retail petrol/diesel outlets, of which 26 PACS have been selected by OMCs, he said. Under conversion of PACS, Wholesale Consumer Pumps into retail outlets, OMC reports indicate that 116 PACS from five states have agreed to this conversion, and 56 PACS have been commissioned. For LPG distributorship, two PACS have applied for the two advertised locations in Jharkhand. As per the revised guidelines, PACS have been included under Combined Category 2 (CC-2) for retail petrol/ diesel ...
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation on Monday said it has signed a pact with global oil major BP to explore collaboration in exploration and production, trading and other energy vectors, in India and internationally. The MoU comes within a month of ONGC selecting BP as a technical service provider for raising output from its flagship Mumbai High oil and gas field. "ONGC and BP have agreed to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership across the energy industry in India and internationally, focused on oil and gas exploration and production, as well as trading and extending to other energy vectors," the firm said in a statement. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), on the eve of India Energy Week, the premier energy event in India. The signing ceremony was attended by ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh and BP Executive Vice President, William Lin, along with senior leadership from both organisations. "Under the terms of the MoU, BP w
Ukrainian long-range drones struck one of Russia's biggest oil refineries for the second time in three days, a senior Kyiv official said Monday, as Ukraine tries to slow the Russian army's push along parts of the front line and the third anniversary of the war approaches. The attack late Sunday hit a refinery in the Volgograd region, which is one of Russia's 10 biggest refining facilities, processing close to 6% of the country's oil, an official in Ukraine's Security Service told The Associated Press. Russian authorities acknowledged only a brief fire at the Volgograd refinery during the drone attack. Ukrainian defences are creaking under months-long Russian drive to occupy more land, especially in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, before the possible start of peace negotiations steered by US President Donald Trump. Ukraine, though heavily dependent on Western military aid, has been developing its own arms industry, including drones that can fly increasingly long ranges with
Indian oil refineries have initiated tests of fuel emulsion systems from a Monaco-based company to clean highly polluting bunker fuel as they eye significant benefits, including substantial fuel cost savings and a reduction in environmental impact of the high carbon-emitting fuel used in ships. Two state-owned oil firms deployed Fowe Eco Solutions' (FOWE) patented Cavitech devices at their refinery and depot installations to check the result of emulsified fuel oil (bunker fuel), sources aware of the matter said. Trials showed substantial reduction in emissions and better fuel efficiency, they said, adding the refiners are now looking at tests for its commercial use. Requiring very little initial investment and eliminating the need for installation downtime, the FOWE uses a process known as cavitation using its Cavitech device, which allows emulsification of fuel oil, also known as furnace oil, with fresh water. This process, which does not require any additives or further processing
Fighting around Sudan 's largest oil refinery set the sprawling complex ablaze, satellite data analysed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows, sending thick, black smoke over the country's capital. Forces loyal to Sudan's military under army chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan later claimed they captured the refinery, owned by Sudan's government and the state-run China National Petroleum Corp. The facility represents a long-sought prize for the military in its civil war with the rebel Rapid Support Force. International mediation attempts and pressure tactics, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide, have not halted the fighting. The al-Jaili refinery sits some 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023 and their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of
Fighting around Sudan's largest oil refinery set the sprawling complex ablaze, satellite data analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows, sending thick, black polluted smoke over the country's capital. The attacks around the refinery, owned by Sudan's government and the state-run China National Petroleum Corp., represent the latest woe in a war between the rebel Rapid Support Force and Sudan's military, who blamed each other for the blaze. International mediation attempts and pressure tactics, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide, have not halted the fighting. The al-Jaili refinery sits some 60 kilometers north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023, as their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of landmines to slow any advance. But the facility, capable of handli
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd's (BPCL) proposed 9 million tonnes a year oil refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh is likely to cost around Rs 95,000 crore, its Director (Finance) Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta said. This will be India's costliest refinery project so far. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) will this year commission a similar size unit at Barmer in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs 71,814 crore. In Modi government's first term, a mega 60 million tonnes oil refinery and petrochemical complex was proposed at Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra at a cost of Rs 3 lakh crore but the project hasn't seen the light of the day because of land acquisition issues. In an investor call with analysts post announcement of third quarter earnings, Gupta said the BPCL board last month approved an expenditure of Rs 6,100 crore on pre-project activities such as land acquisition and commissioning of detailed project report (DPR) and certain feedstock studies. "Roughly
China has offered to invest USD 3.7 billion in Sri Lanka, stated to be the biggest-ever foreign investment in the island nation, to build a state-of-the-art oil refinery as the two countries signed a new plan to upgrade BRI cooperation during Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's state visit here. On Thursday, Dissanayake met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji and pitched for more Chinese investment in his address to Chinese firms. A day earlier, Dissanayake held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping following which the two sides signed 15 agreements. According to a press release by the Sri Lankan President's media division, his visit marked a significant milestone by securing the largest foreign direct investment to date of USD 3.7 billion Chinese investment to build a state-of-the-art oil refinery at Hambantota. This significant achievement was formalised this morning with the signing of an
A fire broke out at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) refinery in Vadodara on Monday following a blast in its storage tank, a police officer said. No casualties are reported and the final head count is being conducted, said Vadodara Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar, adding that things are under control. The blast at the IOCL refinery in the Koyali area on the outskirts of Vadodara occurred at 4 PM, triggering the blaze. Visuals showed thick plumes emerging from the refinery which can be seen from kilometres away. Several workers were evacuated and can be seen exiting the IOCL campus. "A benzene storage tank caught fire after a blast at the refinery. They (IOCL) have isolated the affected storage unit. Fire tenders are deployed to control the situation," Komar told PTI. The police officer said no casualty has been reported even as the final head count is being done to find if anybody is missing, which prima facie seems unlikely. Komar said fluid circulation in the IOCL complex