The world’s top oil producers have said they would stick with the plan to cautiously increase oil output despite pressure from the United States…reports Asian Lite News
Held through video conference, the 22nd OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting that concluded here on Thursday, reaffirmed the decision “to adjust upward the monthly overall production by 0.4 million barrels per day (mbd) for the month of December 2021.”
OPEC Rejects US Request On Supply Hike
The decision was made by the 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on April 12, 2020, and was further endorsed in subsequent meetings, including by the 19th such session on July 18, 2021, Xinhua news agency reported.
Thursday’s meeting also reaffirmed the participating countries’ “continued commitment to ensure a stable and balanced oil market, the efficient and secure supply to consumers and to provide clarity to the market at times when … oil markets are experiencing extreme volatility and instability, and to continue to adopt a proactive and transparent approach, which has provided stability to oil markets,” a concluding statement said.
The decision by the largest oil producers is seen by analysts as a rebuff to the United States, which has been urging them to pump more to lower oil prices.
This prevented a deal that would have helped to soften crude prices a bit next month on the back of increased oil production of 2 million barrels a day….reports Asian Lite News
There may be no respite for fuel consumers in the country facing high prices of petrol and diesel for the past couple of months as global oil scenario is expected to remain firm with oil cartel OPEC failing to reach an agreement on gradual raising of oil production to meet the growing demand.
At a meeting of OPEC plus (including Russia) differences surfaced between world’s largest oil producer Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) over raising oil production marginally in August while maintaining production level at the same till 2022.
This prevented a deal that would have helped to soften crude prices a bit next month on the back of increased oil production of 2 million barrels a day.
fuel prices
With no deal among prime oil producers, analysts expect oil prices to remain firm and may hit even $80 a barrel over the next few days. At intercontinental exchange benchmark, Brent crude is currently hovering at $77.5 a barrel, up over 1 per cent from the previous day. This is the highest crude level since 2018. In fact, in the month of July itself crude prices have risen by over $7 a barrel.
“The situation in global oil markets is not good news for fuel consumers in India. Unless government intervenes by lowering taxes on the two fuels, petrol and diesel retail rates could touch new highs over successive days this month,” said an oil sector expert not willing to be named.
Petrol and diesel prices have been raised on 35 days since May 1. This has increased retail petrol prices by Rs 9.46 a litre in the last two months while diesel has also increased by Rs 8.63 per litre during the same time span.
Also, the Centre had raised excise duty by Rs 13 on petrol and Rs 16 on diesel between March and May last year when oil prices collapsed due to the pandemic. The two hikes raised excise duty by 65 per cent on petrol from Rs 19.98 to Rs 32.98 a litre and 79 per cent on diesel from Rs 15.83 to Rs 28.35 a litre. These high taxes are amplifying the impact of rise in crude prices, sending petrol price above Rs 100 a litre and diesel above Rs 90 in most parts of the country.
With expectation that global oil may rise further in coming days, consumers would have to brace for buying fuel at new record prices everyday.
The Coast Guard said that it had received information from the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo late on Wednesday about a mid sea oil spill about 450 km southeast of Chennai…reports Asian Lite News.
The Indian Coast Guard said on Thursday that 10 kilolitres (KL) of oil have spilled into the sea about 450 km southeast of Chennai from a Portuguese flag container ship named MV Devon.
The vessel was on passage from Colombo to Haldia in West Bengal, carrying 10,795 tonnes of general cargo in 382 containers, manned by 17 crew of mixed nationality.
The Coast Guard said that it had received information from the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo late on Wednesday about a mid sea oil spill about 450 km southeast of Chennai.
“The ICG is in continuous contact with MV Devon and the master has reported that the vessel is stable. ICG pollution response team at Chennai has been alerted and kept on standby. In addition, ICG ships and aircraft deployed at sea are also put on alert in pollution response configuration,” the ministry of defence said. On investigation, it was found that MV Devon had developed an underwater crack on the left side of the fuel tank containing about 120 KL of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO).
The crack resulted in spillage of about 10 KL of oil into the sea before preventive action was taken and the remaining oil in the tank was transferred to another tank by the ship’s crew.
The container carrier is expected to reach Haldia on Friday and as per the ship’s master, the vessel is stable, the Coast Guard said.
ICG saves crew of sinking ship In a daredevil operation, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 16 crew members of a sinking cargo ship near the Revdanda jetty off Maharashtra’s Raigad district, an ICG spokesperson said here.
The incident happened in the early hours when Indian-flagged M.V. Mangalam’s second officer intimated that the ship, with 16 on board, had partially sunk around 3 kms off the Revdanda jetty in the stormy Arabian Sea.
In view of the distress and with water ingress panicking the crew, the ship captain was even planning to abandon the vessel, the ICG was told.
Gauging the seriousness of the situation, the ICG’s MRCC team calmed down the alarmed captain and crew and asked them to remain on board as help was being deployed.
ICG Subhadra Kumari Chauhan immediately set sail from Dighi Port towards the sinking vessel, while two ICG helicopters took from Daman for the evacuation operation.
The ship reached the vicinity of M.V. Mangalam by 10.15 a.m. as challenging weather conditions prevailed, but it sent rescue boats to pick up the crew.
Around that time, the two helicopters also arrived and started winching up the crew of vessel, saving all 16, and flew them to Revdanda for medical aid, said the ICG spokesperson.
With oil and gas as a major spur of the India-Iran relations, Chegeni proposed that Iran had earmarked and opened Bandar-e-Jask — a port on the mouth of the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz — for major Indian and Chinese energy investments, reports Atul Aneja
The expected revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and the western powers is set to yield unexpected opportunities for India, including access to the Iranian port of Jask as base for strategic oil reserves and a new “land-and-sea” gas pipeline.
Speaking at a webinar on Monday, Iran’s ambassador to India, Ali Chegeni anticipated that it was only a matter of time before sanctions against Iran were lifted, following an early revival of an updated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In fact, negotiations in Vienna on the JCPOA in its new avatar could wrap up within three weeks, former Iranian Ambassador Seyed H. Mousavian, former Iranian ambassador to Germany, added during a brainstorming exercise on the future of India-Iran relation hosted by the Kolkata based Tillotama Foundation. Once the JCPOA is revived India will and no longer constrained by western sanctions in its dealings with Tehran.
With oil and gas as a major spur of the India-Iran relations, Chegeni proposed that Iran had earmarked and opened Bandar-e-Jask — a port on the mouth of the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz — for major Indian and Chinese energy investments. He pointed out that India could build its strategic oil reserves at this port. Without going into details that India had a narrow window on investing in the construction of land- and- sea pipeline that originated from Bandar-e-Jask.
“Having huge oil storage capacity available, with just a short direct sea journey away from India, means that it is time to realize construction of the Iran-India oil and gas pipeline. India also can use Jask port facilities to store its strategic crude oil reserve to meet emergency needs in case of disruptions in supply,” he observed.
So far, India has rejected the construction of the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, citing economic and security considerations. Another idea that has been in play is the construction of a gas pipeline that originates in Iran and via Oman, enters India’s west coast through an undersea gas pipeline.
Analysts point out that a strategic energy pipeline can truly anchor the India-Iran relationship, whose cultural roots can be traced to antiquity.
Without naming them, Chegeni said that several countries were in the queue to join a budding quadrilateral arrangement among India, Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to use the Iranian port of Chabahar in the Indian Ocean to route their trade. The Chabahar port and a corridor that extends towards Afghanistan and Uzbekistan is expected to emerge as key gateway to channel trade between Eurasia, including landlocked Central Asia and the rest of the world.
The Iranian ambassador also said that India can invest up to a mammoth $ 20 billion in a sprawling free trade zone that was coming up next to the Chabahar port. flows for India.
"There is possibility to revive the #India's plan to invest $20 billion in #Chabahar Economic Free Zone (EFZ) for setting up petrochemical and fertilizer plants either independently or through joint ventures with #Iranian public-private companies”.https://t.co/vvch4ZDhom
He pointed out that “there is possibility to revive the India’s plan to invest $20 billion in Chabahar Economic Free Zone (EFZ) for setting up petrochemical and fertilizer plants either independently or through joint ventures with Iranian public-private companies”.
He added that Iran has already allocated land in the EFZ, and willing to offer a favourable treatment in pricing of gas for India and also supply of rich gas at a competitive price and on a long-term basis for the entire life cycle of the joint venture projects.
The Iranian ambassador’s assertions on Chabahar dove tailed with another proposal — of linking the Chabahar route with the older International North South Transport Corridor initiative.
The Chabahar route begins at Mumbai, though Gujarat’s Mundra port is now acquiring greater resonance. From India’s west coast, the corridor heads to Chabahar, from where the route heads towards Afghanistan via Iran’s Sistan Baluchistan province along a recent India-built road. Over time, a railway is also envisaged, which will link Chabahar with the Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan, where India has made major investments.
Essentially, the new INSTC is a combination of two corridors. It then heads to Bandar Abbas, a famous Iranian port in the Gulf. From there it takes the overland route to Bandar Anzali, which is located on the Caspian Sea coast in the north.
Containers are off-loaded here and shipped along the Caspian to its Russian shore at Astrakhan, which becomes the base of further transportation into Eurasia. Over time, other countries are being networked in this rapidly mutating corridor including Azerbaijan and Armenia, in tune with the rise of Eurasia in the 21 st century.
Earlier this year, India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar proposed the integration of the Chabahar Port with the INSTC. “I am hopeful that during the INSTC Coordination Council meeting, member-states would agree to the expansion of the INSTC route to include the Chabahar Port and also agree on expanding the membership of this project.”
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Local fishermen, who said they have noticed the oil spill around the grounded Barge GAL Constructor, off Vadrai, eported the matter to the Satpati police station…reports Asian Lite News.
Twelve days after Cyclone Tauktae’s devastation along the Maharashtra west coast, a new threat has emerged – complaint of an oil spill from one of the barges that ran aground near the Palghar shore.
However, the Indian Coast Guard late on Saturday denied the claims by local fisherfolks.
Local fishermen, who said they have noticed the oil spill around the grounded Barge GAL Constructor, off Vadrai, eported the matter to the Satpati police station.
Fishermen engaged in getting their boats anchored and other preventive measures ahead of the impending Cyclone Nivar that is going to cross into Tamil Nadu (Photo IANS)
Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti Palghar president Manendra Arekar, has raised the issue.
“We estimate there is at least 80-tonnes of diesel, besides large quantities of lubricants and grease on board the barge. It is 12 days since the barge ran aground, but no agency concerned has turned up here to remove diesel and oil board the barrage,” Arekar told mediapersons.
He claimed that as a result, diesel and oil are now leaking in a big way from the barge into the Arabian Sea and oil-slicks are already visible in the vicinity of the stuck barge, posing a big ecological hazard in the coming days.
Till July 31, the Maharashtra government has imposed a ban on fishing in the sea, because of the southwest monsoon and thr breeding season of marine life.
“Already people have been complaining about the foul smell in the fish that we catch along the shore. Before long, the oil spill will affect the fish in the area,’ Arekar added.
He appealed to the state government and other authorities to immediately remove diesel and oil on board the barge and also do something about the oil spill in the area.
Reacting to the concerns expressed by the local fishermen about the oil spill in their area, the ICG said that the barge was carrying 78,000 kilolitres of “high flash high speed diesel” and not crude oil.
Sea
“No breach of the oil tank is reported… Afcons Infrastructure Ltd has arranged M/s Seacare which has laid a 400 mts boom around the barge while M/s Shree Krishna is undertaking hull repairs. Besides, M/s Smith & Coy has been hired for removal of the vessel, ” the ICG said.
The ICG said that its Guard helicopters had reported “silvery oil sheen” of 50 meters width.A “No oil spill has been reported on shore now and continuous liaison has been maintained with agent of GAL Constructor,” an ICG spokesperson said.
“Sorbent pads have been laid along the boom. It will be recovered with binge oil with the help of fishing boats,” the ICG added.
2 injured as fire erupts at Kuwait's largest oil field
Burgan is among the world’s largest producing fields, ranked second only to Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar Field….reports Asian Lite News
Two workers were injured after a fire erupted at Kuwait’s largest oil field on Monday, the country’s state-run news agency reported.
The injured workers were in stable condition and receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, according to the state-run KUNA news agency, citing Qusai al-Amer, the Kuwait Oil Company spokesman.
The blaze at the Great Burgan Field in the southeastern desert of Kuwait, which produces over 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, did not impact production, the report said.
Burgan is among the world’s largest producing fields, ranked second only to Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar Field.
Kuwait has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves. Most of the country’s production comes from a single field, Burgan.
Earlier this month, Kuwait government had announced that citizens who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be banned from travelling abroad.
The restriction will come into force from May 22, Xinhua news agency reported.
The government last week announced that pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding and children under 16 are not subject to the curb.
Meanwhile, the previous decree of banning non-Kuwaitis from entering the country will continue.
The government has decided to extend the partial curfew, running from 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time, until the end of Ramadan.
