India, which is struggling to meet the country’s soaring electricity demand, urged power providers to acquire equipment worth $33 billion this year in order to expedite capacity increases of coal-fired power in the years ahead, according to two government sources, Reuters reported. The sources stated that the government’s unprecedented action will contribute to the addition of 31 gigawatts (GW) in the next five to six years. This is because it will result in record tendering in a year for the equipment by key power corporations like state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) as well as by private companies Adani Power and Essar Power. India experienced its worst power outage in 14 years in June, and the country had to scramble to prevent nighttime blackouts by postponing scheduled plant maintenance and using an emergency provision to require businesses to run plants based on imported coal and power. The targets are high considering that, with the exception of last year’s purchases for 10 GW, the nation has historically ordered equipment with a capacity of roughly 2-3 GW yearly. With its current fleet only able to supply the country’s heavy power demand during non-solar hours, India is racing to install more coal-fired reactors. Following the pandemic, the nation’s power consumption broke all previous records due to a rise in heatwave frequency and the quickest pace of economic development among major nations.
Pak’s PM says country to get $5 billion for of oil and gas exploration
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, stated that exploring the country’s local gas and oil reserves is a major priority at a meeting with a group of companies involved in the oil and gas production and exploration industry. During the meeting, it was mentioned that Pakistan is anticipated to receive $5 billion in investment over the next three years from both domestic and foreign companies for the exploration and development of its gas and petroleum reserves. This will help the cash-strapped nation avoid losing its valuable foreign exchange and alleviate the burden of high fuel prices on the average citizen. In order to investigate Pakistan’s potential for oil and gas, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that over 240 locations would be dug up in three years. The prime minister invited petroleum and gas exploration and production companies to also find offshore reserves, adding that Pakistan spent billions of dollars every year on importing oil and gas.
India to import coking coal from Mongolia on trial basis
India is looking to diversify imports of coking coal— a key steelmaking raw material—to cut over-reliance on Australia and will import coking coal from Mongolia on a trial basis from later this month, the Hindustan Times reported. Steelmakers, including JSW Steel and the state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), are poised to receive coking coal shipments from Mongolia after months of negotiations, said the sources. JSW Steel is expected to receive around 30,000 metric tonnes of coking coal from Mongolia and SAIL is likely to get 3,000 to 5,000 metric tonnes, the sources said.
This would be JSW Steel’s second cargo of that kind, following the purchase of 8,000 metric tonnes of coking coal from Mongolia in 2021. The supplies would enter India through Chinese ports, but the Indian authorities oppose depending solely on China to provide a consistent supply of Mongolian coking coal. Mongolia, a country abundant in mineral resources, finds it difficult to sell raw materials to nations like India without a reliable and sustainable route. Additionally, a few Indian businesses are considering leasing or buying coal and copper properties in Mongolia.
In-principle nod to set up coal-based thermal power plant in Uttarakhand received
The establishment of a coal-based thermal power plant in Uttarakhand by THDCIL – UJVNL Energy Company Limited (TUECO), a joint venture between Uttaranchal Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) and THDC India Limited, received in-principle clearance from the Centre.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had stated that the state government was willing to establish a coal-based thermal power plant in the state when he asked the central government for coal allocation in April 2024 under the Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India (SHAKTI) policy. The SHAKTI policy permits Coal India Limited to supply coal at specified rates to joint ventures and production businesses of the federal and state governments. It is anticipated that the state’s power condition will improve because of the electricity generated following the coal allotment.
Tamil Nadu to look into coal import scam allegedly involving Adani group
An inquiry into a multi-crore coal import scandal involving the Adani company and other firms has been approved by the Tamil Nadu government. According to The Hindu, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) opened a preliminary investigation into claims of major anomalies in coal imports and tender terms that allegedly caused the state government to suffer huge losses. According to reports, the government has given the authorities permission to file a preliminary inquiry and look into claims regarding the import of coal by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco). The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Section 17A punishment was given in response to a complaint filed by the private organisation Arappor Iyakkam. According to Arappor Iyakkam, a city-based organisation that works towards transparency and accountability in governance, there was massive corruption in the import of coal involving Tangedco officials, Adani Global Pte Ltd. and others to the tune of ₹6,066 crore between 2012-2016.
Global oil demand to peak in 2025, says BP
According to major oil and gas company BP, global oil demand will peak next year, putting an end to rising carbon emissions by the middle of the 2020s even as wind and solar power continue to soar, as reported by the Guardian. According to the company’s most recent outlook report, oil consumption will rise by almost 2 million barrels per day and peak at 102 million barrels in 2025. This is based on two forecasts: one depicts the world attaining global net-zero targets by 2050, while the other tracks the current trend of the world. According to BP, in both scenarios, carbon emissions would peak in the middle of the decade as wind and solar power grow rapidly due to declining technology costs. But the paper lays out very divergent paths for future gas demand, which has become a major growth sector for energy corporations like BP in recent years. In comparison to 2022 levels, gas use would peak in the middle of this decade and then halve by 2050 under the report’s net zero scenario. However, based on the present trend, gas demand is expected to rise during the projection, increasing by around a fifth by 2050.
China establishes new state organisation for deep exploration of gas and oil reserves
China is creating a new state body that unites national oil producers and other state-owned businesses to look for ultra-deep oil and gas reserves and take on more difficult-to-extract non-conventional resources. This is in response to President Xi Jinping’s call for the oil and gas sector to have “new productive forces” to contribute to the nation’s energy security, according to Reuters. The new organisation unites seven additional state businesses, including China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, steel group Baowu, equipment builder Sinomach, Dongfang Electric Group, and Minmetals, in addition to state energy groups CNPC and Sinopec, the nation’s two main producers of oil and gas. The consortium intends to drill conventional resources at ultra-deep wells that reach a depth of up to 10,000 metres (6.21 miles) below the surface in regions such as the Tarim basin region in northwest Xinjiang, where CNPC and Sinopec are significant stakeholders. Additionally, it will try to access coal-seam gas and deep shale oil deposits. China imports over three-quarters of its crude oil needs, making it the largest crude oil importer in the world.
Biden administration ordered to resume permits for gas exports
Earlier in January, the Biden government had stopped the process of granting permits for new liquefied natural gas export facilities in order to assess the effects of those exports on national security, the economy, and climate change. However, a federal judge ordered the Biden administration to continue the process, the New York Times reported. The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana rendered its ruling in response to a complaint filed by 16 Republican state attorneys general, who claimed that the suspension amounted to a ban that would negatively impact the economies of their respective states. Significant volumes of natural gas are produced in a number of those states, including Wyoming, Texas, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The states had proven they had lost jobs, royalties, and taxes that would have flowed had gas permits been obtained, the court wrote in his conclusion. Texas, for example, projected that it would lose $259.8 million in tax revenues associated with natural gas production over five years as a result of the pause of permitting.
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