BP wins ONGC contract to ramp up oil and gas production in India

UK-based global energy major BP won the contract to operate and enhance production from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) flagship Mumbai High field—India’s largest oil and gas field. This oil and gas field has been witnessing a gradual fall in output for over three decades. To boost output from the field, the state-owned ONGC requested proposals from foreign oil and gas companies in June. The tender, which gave the foreign partner a fixed fee and a portion of the revenue from the increased hydrocarbon production, but no stake in the field, was only attended by BP and Royal Dutch Shell. Although Shell had expressed interest in the tender, it did not submit the final bid, leaving BP as the sole bidder. ONGC claims that during the 10-year contract period, BP has projected an increase in oil and oil equivalent gas production of up to 60% over the field’s baseline levels. 

India to sign deal to import coking coal and copper from Mongolia 

India and Mongolia are anticipated to soon sign a preliminary agreement in the fields of geology and exploration, according to a senior Indian government official with firsthand knowledge of the situation, the Mint reported. India is mostly reliant on imports to supply the growing demand for coking coal for steelmaking and copper, which is used in electrical vehicles, building, and power.  Mongolia has abundant quantities of these minerals. The report said that while the discussions are still confidential, India’s cabinet has approved the MoU (memorandum of understanding) and both countries are expected to sign it soon.

Rescue efforts underway at Assam coal mine as eight miners get stuck in flooded hole, 4 bodies recovered so far

Since the morning of January 6, at least eight miners have been stranded within a rat-hole coal mine in the Dima Hasao region of Assam, the Hindu reported. The body of a Nepali miner, one of nine trapped in a flooded coal mine, was recovered by army divers on January 8. The remaining eight miners have not yet been located, despite the efforts of numerous rescue agencies, divers, and a remotely operated search vehicle. The constant level of murky water has made the operation more difficult. The rescue effort involved the participation of deep divers from the Indian Navy, as well as officials from the Army, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, ONGC, Coal India Limited (CIL), and the district administration.

As of January 16, the dewatering process continues and the navy divers who have been involved in the rescue efforts have been moved from the site. Officials said that four bodies have been found so far since an unexpected rush of water inundated the quarry, trapping nine workers within the Umrangsu mine. 

Delhi slashes gas supply for LPG production, diverts to gas retailers

According to an official order, the Delhi government reduced the amount of natural gas used to produce LPG and transferred the cheap fuel to city gas retailers like Indraprastha Gas Ltd and Adani-Total Gas Ltd in order to partially satisfy their demand for CNG/piped cooking gas supplies, the Economic Times reported. Due to limited production, the government reduced the amount of cheap natural gas supplied to city gas retailers by up to 40% in October and November of last year. As they replaced lost volumes with more expensive input fuel, gas retailers in the city raised the price of CNG by ₹2-3 per kilogramme. When compared to alternative fuels like diesel, the price increase made CNG less appealing. In order to address this, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas revised several subsurface and underwater gas allocations in an order dated December 31. 

Biden bans new offshore oil and gas projects shortly before Trump takes office, latter promises to revoke

Before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, U.S. President Joe Biden has prohibited new offshore oil and gas extraction along the majority of the country’s coastlines, according to the Associated Press. As the measure will not affect regions where oil and gas exploration is already underway and mostly covers places where drillers have no significant possibilities, such as in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the measure is primarily seen as symbolic. Biden will utilise his power under the 70-year-old Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to safeguard all federal waters off the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the White House announced. About 625 million acres (253 million hectares) of ocean will be impacted by the prohibition. Biden claimed that the action was in line with his plans to preserve 30% of American lands and waters by 2030 as well as his efforts to fight climate change. Thanks to significant gains in output from states like Texas and New Mexico, as well as increased demand following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States is currently the world’s largest producer of gas and oil. 

Trump is scheduled to take office on January 20. He has said that he’ll revoke the ban.

Oil ports at risk due to rising sea levels: Study 

A new study found that several of the largest oil ports in the world will be overwhelmed by rising sea levels brought on by the climate catastrophe, the Guardian reported. Given that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming, scientists argued the threat was ironic. The study estimated that just 1 metre of sea level rise will cause significant harm to 13 of the ports with the most supertanker traffic. According to the researchers, Yanbu and Ras Tanura, two low-lying ports in Saudi Arabia, were especially at risk. The Saudi state oil company, Aramco, runs both, and these ports handle 98% of the nation’s oil exports. The list also includes ports in the United Arab Emirates, China, Singapore, and the Netherlands, as well as Houston and Galveston in the United States—the world’s biggest oil producer.

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