India’s ONGC plans mega investments to reverse falling oil production

ndian national oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) major ONGC is planning a rapid ramp up of production by spending $9.40-billion over the next three to four years. Stung by a 4%... 

India’s SCCL developing greenfield underground coal mine

Moving against a general trend among Indian miners of closing down underground mines, State-run Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has started work on developing a new underground mine in... 

Indian electricity regulator revives compensatory facility for coal-importing power companies

The Indian electricity regulator has amended rules to revive an erstwhile window through which domestic thermal power generation companies were able to claim compensation for the additional costs... 

Cairns’ exploratory drilling in southern India triggers political storm in election season

Cairns Oil & Gas, an arm of London-headquartered Vedanta, has been granted approval to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for oil and gas exploration in the southern states of Tamil... 

Indian mining industry seeks SPV route for speedier auction of new mineral blocks

Indian industry representative bodies have requested that states first secure all regulatory approvals, such as environmental, forest and surface rights, for mineral assets, put into special... 

Indian crude oil import dependency surges to 84%

Rising consumption and falling domestic production has increased India’s crude oil import dependency to 83.7% during 2018/19, compared with 82.9% during previous financial year, data from Petroleum... 

Indian eastern states prepare to face Cyclone Fani

Indian oil and natural gas exploration and production major ONGC has shifted rigs and personnel operating in the Bay of Bengal as a precautionary measure ahead of Cyclone Fani, which is expected to... 

India’s Steel Ministry eyes alternate mineral auctions

India’s Steel Ministry is seeking to simplify and further liberate mining policy, including combining the two-stage auction of mineral blocks into a single stage bidding process. The Steel Ministry... 

Petronet applies to construct new LNG terminal

ndia’s Petronet LNG Limited has proposed constructing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has submitted an application to... 

Indian industries decry lack of foreign investment

India’s apex industry representative body, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said that the mining sector has not witnessed any big investment by global mining... 

IBM seeks legal opinion on closed Goa mines

The Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the federal government scientific and governance body, is seeking legal opinion on iron-ore mines in the western coastal state of Goa, shuttered since last year by... 

India’s Iranian gas investments buried by US sanctions

India’s plan to develop natural gas assets in Iran has been buried in the wake of the US administration’s withdrawal of exemption from sanctions for trade in crude and natural gas with the Persian... 

Nalco spat over surplus alumina sale to Vedanta reaches apex court

Indian State-run integrated aluminium producer National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking to prevent rival Vedanta Limited from participating in tenders... 

Indian government issues supply assurances to domestic oil refineries

In the wake of the end of sanction waivers by the Trump administration for imports of Iranian crude oil, India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has officially issued assurances to all domestic... 

India’s NMDC targets 63Mt by 2021/22

Indian iron-ore miner NMDC Limited will ramp up its production capacity to 63-million tonnes a year by 2021/22, from 32-million tonnes achieved in 2018/19. The company is also planning to reduce... 

India’s oil imports to surge on US actions

The US administration’s decision to end sanction waivers for Iranian oil imports by India and seven other countries will trigger a surge in India’s oil import bill even as it scurries to secure new... 

India’s Coal Ministry sets growth target for CIL

India’s Coal Ministry has set a production target of 655-million tonnes for State-run miner Coal India Limited (CIL) for 2019/20. This compares with production of 607-million tonnes achieved by CIL... 

Indian Cabinet approves pact with Bolivia

India’s Union Cabinet on Monday approved a pact with Bolivia for bilateral cooperation in geology and mineral resources. “The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval of the memorandum of... 

India’s reformed oil, gas E&P policy to come into play in June/July

India’s reformed oil and gas exploration policy will come into force when the next round of bidding for blocks kicks off in June/July, the sector regulator has announced. “Parameters of the new... 

Indian iron-ore production peaks, but imports continue to surge

Indian iron-ore production during last financial year has been provisionally pegged at an eight-year high, but the domestic market is plagued by the dichotomous dynamics of rising imports and... 

India’s SCCL aims for 8% coal production growth in 2019/20

Indian coal miner Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has set a coal extraction target of 70-million tons for the 2019/20 financial year. The target is 8% higher than coal produced during... 

Coal India production surges at close of financial year

A last lap unprecedented surge in production has enabled State-miner Coal India Limited to end the 2018/19 financial year with production of 607-million tons, marginally short of the... 

Captive coal miners beat growth trends of merchant miners

In contrast to State-run merchant miners, coal production from captive mines from April 2018 to February 2019 has been estimated at 44-million tons, recording a growth of 31% and outstripping the... 

Vedanta announces oil discovery at its Bay of Bengal block

Resource major Vedanta on Wednesday announced an oil discovery in its Krishna-Godavari block in the Bay of Bengal along the eastern Indian coastline. The company earlier established a discovery of... 

State resource companies a bonanza for India's cash-strapped government

State-run resource majors are proving to be a bonanza for the cash-strapped Indian government ahead of the national elections. Nudged by the government, these companies were putting up cash through... 

India’s Coal Ministry eases coal supply linkage rules for thermal power companies

India’s Coal Ministry has eased rules for thermal power companies allowing them to source coal even without power purchase agreements (PPAs) with electricity distribution companies in place. The... 

India’s crude oil imports from Iran, Venezuela come under US pressure

India is negotiating with the US for exemptions from “extended sanctions” to maintain its current level of crude oil imports from Iran, but the country is also under pressure from the US... 

Italy’s SME Ekoplant floats Indian subsidiary

To tap into the rapidly growing Indian ferrous and non-ferrous metals processing industry and stricter air quality monitoring norms, Milan-headquartered SME Ekoplant has set up shop in the country,... 

CIL told to ensure Indian power stations have 20 days coal supply

To cope with peaking electricity demand during the summer months ahead, India’s Coal Ministry has directed State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) to ensure that each thermal power plant has assured... 

Indian consortium plans EV battery plant linked to overseas lithium acquisitions

The newly formed joint venture (JV) of Indian government mineral companies has entered into a lithium-ion battery manufacturing business, linked to its plans to acquire lithium and cobalt mineral... 

India’s Shipping Ministry unveils guidelines of LNG FSRU at all major ports

India’s Shipping Ministry has drawn up guidelines for setting up floating storage regasification units (FSRU) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at all major ports in the country. The new guidelines... 

India’s Coal Ministry cancels coal block auction

Barely a week after starting the process, India’s Coal Ministry has called off the auction of coal blocks. In a notification the Ministry said, “the sixth and seven tranche of coal block auction... 

Polish mining majors keen to develop Asia’s largest coal block

The Deocha-Pachami coal block, in the east Indian state of West Bengal, and billed as the largest single-location reserve in Asia, is likely to be developed by the state government in collaboration... 

India’s Coal Ministry moves to get coal auction under way

India’s Coal Ministry has taken the first step to get the much delayed coal block auctions for private miners under way, but uncertainties loom large over timelines with the national elections just... 

India approves ‘first right to refusal’ to mineral reconnaissance permit holders

The Indian government will grant reconnaissance permit (RP) holders a ‘first right of refusal’ in cases where a mineral block is put up for auction wherein the RP holder has established evidence of... 

SCCL likely to secure second coal block outside its hinterland

India’s Singareni Collieries Company Limited’s (SCCL’s) bid to expand its mining footprint beyond the southern region received a boost with news from the Coal Ministry that it may be allocated a... 

ONGC Videsh, partners sign deal to sell LNG from Mozambique’s Rovuma offshore

India’s national oil, gas exploration and production major, ONGC Limited, has concluded long-term sale and purchase agreements for a total of 9.5-million tons a year from future production from its... 

India’s Assocham wants to put stop to ‘resource hoarding’

The mining industry in India has requested that the Mines Ministry include a provision in auction rules that will prevent successful bidders hoarding resources. The industry has pointed out that a... 

India offers fresh incentives to oil, gas E&P companies

n a bid to increase domestic output and fuel investments in the sector, the Indian government has approved offering marketing and pricing freedom to oil and natural gas exploration and production... 

India bans private firms from mining beach sand

The Indian government has banned beach sand mining by private companies in a bid to check illegal sand mining and coastal erosion from rampant violations of mining rules across coastal states....