29 July 2009;business-standard.com:Singapore: Oil prices lost more momentum in Asian trade today, pulled down by a drop in US consumer confidence and a fall in earnings by British energy major BP, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September, eased 60 cents to $66.63 a barrel. London's Brent North Sea crude for September delivery fell 28 cents to $69.60 a barrel. Crude prices remain under pressure after a Conference Board report Tuesday showed US consumer confidence fell for a second straight month in July on worries about the job market. The business research firm said its confidence index fell to 46.6 from 49.3 in June, which came after an eight-month peak of 54.8 in May. The July figure was weaker than analyst expectations of 49. "The soft US consumer confidence numbers were a negative for the oil price," said David Moore, a Sydney-based commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. London-based Capital Economics analyst Paul Ashworth said the confidence readings reflected the fragility of recovery in the world's biggest economy and number one oil consumer. "There won't be a meaningful recovery in the US economy until consumers start to spend more freely again," Ashworth said.
Maruti drives out 100,000 KB-series cars in 10 months
29 July 2009;business-standard.com:New Delhi: Within 10 months of starting production of its KB-series engines, the country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, has rolled out over 100,000 of these units that power the two small cars, A-Star and Ritz. Riding on the success of this new fuel-efficient technology, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has planned to incorporate KB-series engines in other existing as well as new models. “The company’s Gurgaon plant has produced over 100,000 KB-series engines, which are installed in the two small cars A-Star and Ritz since its commercial production began in October last year,” a company spokesperson said. When asked about MSI’s future strategy to roll out more KB-series engine cars, the official said, “We have definite plans to gradually introduce this next generation light-weight fuel efficient engine series in other models over a period of next 3-5 years.” He, however, declined to name the model next in line after A-star and Ritz which will be powered by the KB-series engine. The company produces Bharat Stage-III, Bharat Stage-IV and Euro-V emission norms compliant KB-series engines. It produces two different petrol engines, 1 litre (A-Star) and 1.2 litre (Ritz), from the fully integrated engine manufacturing facility, located at MSI’s Gurgaon plant. According to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), A-Star gives a mileage of 19.6 km per litre, while Ritz runs 17.7 km for every litre of petrol. MSI has so far exported over 50,000 units of Euro-V compliant A-Star, sold as Suzuki Alto in Europe. It also supplies A-Star to another Japanese car maker Nissan under a contract manufacturing agreement with Suzuki. Nissan sells the car in Europe as Pixo.
Rolls Royce sees India emerging as most important mkt
28 July 2009;economictimes.indiatimes.com:Nandini Sen Gupta: Rolls Royce Motor Cars, the UK-based manufacturer of luxury automobiles, sees India emerging as its most important market in the next five to 10 years, and is looking at using parent BMW’s supplier network in India to source components. The super-exclusive British marque, which sells cars on the basis of pre-determined quotas in low-volume markets, seems to have realised the potential of India, the second-fastest growing economy in the world. “We believe India will be the single most important market for Rolls Royce in the next 5-10 years,” said Tom Purves, the chief executive of the company. Mr Purves said the market for his cars is shifting from the West to the East with markets such as India and China contributing more to its growth. Rolls Royce cars are custom-made at its Goodwood factory in the UK, and the talk of sourcing components from a foreign country is a first for the carmaker. “We’re open-minded, and being within the BMW group network, we have access to all the purchasing power the group has and engineering opportunity that exists,” Mr Purves said. “In the long term, India represents a phenomenal business opportunity because we have seen a general movement of our business from the West to the East, to markets like India and China that have played a crucial part in the growth Rolls Royce has enjoyed,” Mr Purves said. India has improved its contribution to Rolls Royce’s overall business substantially. That’s good news because globally the company has seen a 25% dip. Once the brand new Ghost slides into the Indian market next year, the tally is expected to hit 50. The Ghost, to be priced Rs 2.7-3 crore, will be formally launched at the Frankfurt Auto Show this year, and bookings in India will kick off in autumn. Delivery of vehicles will begin in spring 2010, when the car will be formally rolled out in India. Rolls Royce, which was an intrinsic part of India’s princely past, made a re-entry into India in 2005, and was surprised when sales hit around a-car a-month beating expectations by miles. Although the company admits it benefited from its Indian heritage, it’s now clear it wants to target the “new Maharajas — the kings of business”. “Indians like our positioning. The personalised touch appeals to their sense of style,” said Mr Purves. That explains why these bespoke beauties are zipping off the showrooms in India. Despite the fact that they cost a bomb.
28 July 2009;dailypioneer.com:Durbar Ganguly:New Delhi: Toxin-mixed fuel may deter adulterators but will pose danger to users. After indirectly helping adulterators for seven long months to make money by diverting the kerosene meant for BPL families for mixing it with diesel, oil marketing companies (OMCs) are now thinking of introducing chemical markers which are hazardous for health and environment. The OMCs argued that during the technical evaluation of the markers, the hazardous chemicals would be removed. This was in response to a query from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas which sought a report on the possible ill-effects of the adulterated kerosene on users. By diverting BPL quota of kerosene and mixing it with diesel, the adulterators manage to gain at least Rs 20 per litre. The kerosene mafia shares this money with dealers, law enforcers and officials of OMCs. In the wake of the public outcry after the brutal killing of young engineer Manjunath by the oil mafia, the Central Government had decided to introduce the kerosene marker programme. However, the programme ended in December 2008 after 27 successful months. But, since January this year, the adulterators are having a field day. In order to check if the kerosene has been mixed with diesel, a chemical is added to the kerosene at depots. And, when the diesel is again tested at retail outlets, the chemical helps in detecting if kerosene has been mixed with the fuel. During the two-year period when the programme was in operation, 2.8 per cent (954) of retail outlets in the country were found using kerosene in the road fuel. Regionally, some 7 per cent of the sites in the high kerosene throughput areas — West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, UP and the Northeastern States — were found adding kerosene to road fuel. In other areas (including the metros) the level of malpractice had been generally below 1 per cent. Now, the State-owned oil companies — IOCL, HPCL and BPCL — are in the process of identifying a vendor for continuation of the kerosene marker programme. The OMCs have before them two choices — using halogenated markers such as XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) or GC (Gas Chromatography) technologies. Unless the OMCs ascertain the quantum of the hazardous material mixed with kerosene and its harmful effects on man and environment either of these technologies can create long-term damage, said Ramesh Chandra, a former R&D head of a large chemical company. These markers are harmful to the health of poor families that this programme is intended to help. These chemicals are toxic and are part of the 187 hazardous chemicals banned under the US Clean Air Act 1990. Therefore, the Ministry of P&NG had sought a clarification from the OMCs on the issue. A check with reputed NGOs like Toxic Link revealed that there is no known adulteration check programme anywhere in the world which uses technologies proposed to be used by the companies. Hydrocarbon compounds containing halogens are highly toxic, mutagens and carcinogenic. Inhaling fumes generated from such treated kerosene can cause cancer. The women of the BPL families, who usually suffer from nutritional problems, will be worst sufferers. No democratically elected Government can afford to close its eyes at the face of a grave health hazard where millions of hapless poor will end up facing a slow and painful death. Therefore, the Ministry had sought the views of the OMCs. The marker will be applied to both PDS and industrial kerosene. Such kerosene is used, apart from BPL families, in industry and agriculture. The kerosene is used for running pump sets, DG sets and also for spraying pesticides on crops. The fumes will form additional toxic compounds like dioxins and will harm those who are exposed. Industrial and farm labourers will bear the brunt. The long-term ill-effect of the crops so contaminated will impact the health of even the rich households. What is curious is that the OMCs did not obtain any clearance from the Ministry of Environment. When a decision of such dimensions is taken, fairness demands that the relevant Ministries should be intimated and allowed to bring in their expertise. In this case, only the three public sector oil companies are initiating the process. The officials of the Ministry of Environment have also taken up the issue. The Ministry has sought comments from the Pollution Control Board and OMCs, sources say. The Kerosene Marker Programme (KMP) was launched by the Centre to put an effective check on the fuel adulteration. Kerosene is the fuel of the poor. But this fuel has been siphoned off in a big way for other uses. According to a report, an estimated 38 per cent of the kerosene meant for PDS do not reach intended users. The estimated loss to the exchequer is Rs 6,000 crore on account of lost kerosene subsidy. While the Government accounts for the money in its Budget, the poor continue to suffer. The KMP was launched to check this wrong-doing and restore the benefit to the intended users. Already tribals and poor people largely belonging to the lower castes, whose voice do not reach the high and mighty in Delhi, are not receiving their quota of kerosene. Little do they know that they will not live long if they use the marked kerosene.
Oil companies spoil first quarter show at India Inc
27 July 2009;hindustantimes.com:Sandeep Singh:New Delhi: Oil seems to have played the role of a spoiler in the overall quarterly results for the India Inc in the quarter ended June 2009. Profit growth for 166 companies of the BSE 500 that announced their results by the weekend had posted a cumulative profit growth of 12 per cent while net sales growth stood at 2.4 per cent. However, India Inc’s performance in the quarter shoots up significantly if Reliance Industries and ONGC are excluded from this list. The profit growth in that case rises to 29 per cent and the revenue growth at 11.7 per cent. “The results are much better than expected but the profits growth figure will go down further as more results come in primarily from the commodity driven sectors,” said Amitabh Chakraborty, president, equity, at Religare Enterprises. With the global average crude price dropping to $60 a barrel in the quarter from $125 a year ago, Reliance and ONGC were hit. The two companies account for almost 25 per cent of the profits booked by the 166 companies in the list. Banks did well, with profit growth for the 16 banks at 66 per cent, aided by treasury gains. Information technology firms also did well, registering a 32 per cent year-on-year profit growth, helped by a weaker rupee.
27 July 2009;business-standard.com:Ajay Modi:New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the country’s largest oil exploration and production company, has kept on hold development of six prospective discoveries made in recent years due to lack of infrastructure in such areas. “Discoveries like Karjan, Linch and Mekrang lie in isolated areas where no infrastructure is available. We are not preparing a detailed development plan for six such discoveries. Moreover, we have not found any customers for these discoveries. But we would be developing infrastructure in a gradual manner,” said a company official. These six discoveries are a part of 66 (26 onshore and 40 offshore) finds in various stages of exploration. Of the remaining 60, seven are under development, nine under delineation and 10 under appraisal. Another 29 are under study. There are five discoveries where the production has been linked with the requirement of customers. One is in Tripura, where the production has been linked to an upcoming power plant which is likely to become operational from 2012-13. The power plant is being jointly developed by ONGC, IL&FS and the Tripura government. “We are in the process of crystallising the plans to put these discoveries into production, keeping in view the connectivity and resource planning,” he added. Oil from the East Coast’s G-4-6 field, in the Krishna-Godavari block, is likely from 2011. The oil volume from the area, when nearby finds are developed through a common production facility, would provide an initial 20,000 barrels per day and would reach a peak of 150,000 barrels per day by 2016. ONGC’s total crude oil production during 2008-09 was 6.12 million tonnes. It produced 5.75 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The company has made 111 discoveries during the past six years, 45 of which have been put into production.
