Pakistan and India Oil and Gas News

Updates from July, 2013

• Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has successfully completed another production testing at its exploration well Adam X-1, located in district Sanghar, Sindh on Friday. • UK firm to help drill Pakistan’s oil and gas – UK-based exploration firm Orion Energy and Pakistan Petroleum have agreed to work together to develop the offshore oil and gas potential of Pakistan.

• India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced that Saudi Aramco has awarded it a contract worth US$300mn to build a gas plant in Saudi Arabia. The plant, to be built for Midyan Gas Fields, will have a daily capacity to process 2.1mn standard cubic metres of gas and 4,500 barrels of condensate, the company said.
• India’s state-controlled ONGC has a tender to sell 35,000t of naphtha for 30-31 July loading from Hazira. The tender closes on 3 July with a single day’s validity. ONGC also sold through a tender 35,000t of naphtha, possibly to BP, for 11-12 July loading from Mumbai a $23-24/t premium to Mopag. ONGC previously sold a similar cargo to Shell at a slightly higher premium of around $25-26/t to Mopag for 4-5 June loading from Mumbai.
• Higher exports from India pushed the west coast India naphtha premium down to $24/t on 1 July from $26/t last week.
• Indian Rupee downfall takes toll on Base Oil prices of State Oil PSU’s, hefty hike announced effective July 1 2013.
• Base Oil N-60/70/TOBS/SN-70/SN-90/HVI grades imports of India comprises 42% of its total imports during May 2013.
• Base Oil N-60/70/TOBS/SN-70/SN-90/HVI grades imports of India comprises 40% of its total imports during November 2012.
• Domestic prices rose in India last week for the third time in June. State-controlled refiners and fuel marketers IOC, HPCL and BPCL lifted gasoline prices by 1.85 rupees/litre ($0.031/l) excluding state levies, on the back of a weaker Indian rupee and steeper global benchmark prices. The retail gasoline price is now about Rs68.60/l in New Delhi, up by about 8pc from early June. The frequent increases in gasoline retail prices could hit demand, with this set to be reflected in official consumption numbers for June that are expected by the end of July.