Page 3 - Fuel

India has significant potential for making sustainable aviation fuel: IATA

India has significant potential for producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which can help reduce carbon emissions, global airlines' grouping IATA said on Sunday amid rising air travel. In 2023, the production of SAF stood at around 0.5 million tonnes and the amount has to be increased multiple folds by 2050. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it will establish the SAF Registry to accelerate the uptake of the fuel by authoritatively accounting and reporting emissions reductions from the use of the fuel. The registry is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2025. Seventeen airlines, one airline group, six national authorities, three Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and one fuel producer are already supporting the effort to develop the registry. Hemant Mistry, Director of Net Zero Transition at IATA, said there is a significant potential for producing SAF in India. "Regions like India have significant opportunities on feedstocks, which can

Sugar mills can use 670,000 tons of B-heavy molasses to make ethanol: Govt

The government has allowed sugar mills to use 6.7 lakh tonnes of B-heavy molasses as feedstock for making ethanol in the current year, a senior Food Ministry official said on Wednesday. Sugar mills were holding excess stock of B-heavy molasses -- a byproduct of the sweetener -- produced before the ban on its use on December 7 last year. However, a week later, the government reversed the ban and allowed the use of cane juice and B-heavy molasses, but within the overall cap of a diversion of 17 lakh tonnes of sugar for ethanol production for the 2023-24 supply year (November-October). "We have permitted sugar mills to use B-heavy molasses lying with sugar mills for ethanol. The same has been communicated to the Petroleum Ministry," the official told PTI. This will be over and above the capped diversion of 17 lakh tonne of sugar for ethanol production for 2023-24, he added. Currently, sugar mills have a B-heavy molasses stock of 6.7 lakh tonnes as per the state cane commissioners. T

India seeks global collaborations to explore use of methanol as ship fuel

An Indian delegation in Singapore has sought to partner with global shipping industry to explore new technologies and the potential of using methanol and ammonia as ship fuels, a senior government official said on Monday. The Indian delegation is here to participate in the Singapore Maritime Week, which is being attended by over 10,000 delegates from around the world. "We are here to seek out collaborations for all new technologies and explore the potential of using methanol and ammonia as ship fuels with the shipping industry stakeholders," Bhushan Kumar, joint secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said on the sidelines of the event. Methanol and ammonia are considered as cleaner alternatives to conventional maritime fuels. Green ammonia and methanol, produced from low-carbon sources, help in reducing carbon emissions. "We have to continue working on green fuel. At this stage it may be commercially not very attractive, but we have to optimize and improve the soluti

India's fuel demand up by 5% y-o-y in FY24, a new financial year record

Fuel demand for FY24 reached a record high of 233.276 million tonnes, up from 223.021 million tonnes the previous year

Rajasthan fuel station operators to begin two-day strike on March 10

Fuel pump stations in Rajasthan will remain shut for two days starting Sunday as the state petroleum dealers association has called for a strike demanding a reduction in value-added tax (VAT) levied on petrol and diesel. The symbolic strike will begin from 6.00 am on March 10 and will continue till 6.00 am on March 12, according to Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association. "The Rajasthan government has not reduced VAT on petrol and diesel despite the guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Oil companies have also not increased dealer commissions for the last seven. To press for the demands, a strike has been called," Association's President Rajendra Singh Bhati said. As part of the strike, petroleum dealers in the state will neither buy nor sell any fuel. They will also hold a demonstration in the city on Monday, the association said.

India's three-wheelers segment charged up with electric transition

Most of the electric auto drivers charge at homes or at commercial establishments which have charging facilities. Some said they sneak charge at public places such as schools, malls, market places etc

Indian diesel floods to Asia as Houthis attacks impact flows to Europe

There were no imports of diesel-type fuel into the EU in the first two weeks of February and only one shipment into the UK, according to the data

Singapore to impose green fuel levy on flights, passengers to bear costs

Under the European model, the carrier pays for the blended fuel and decides whether the cost will be passed on to passengers in ticket prices

Madras High Court issues set of directions on setting up of fuel outlets

The Madras High Court has directed the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) to conduct due enquiry while granting prior site approval and satisfy themselves that the site, where fuel outlets are to be located, satisfy all the criteria mentioned under relevant rules. According to PESO, formerly known as Department of Explosives, it is the nodal agency for regulating safety of hazardous substances such as explosives, compressed gas and petroleum. The first bench comprising Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy gave the directive in a recent order while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate VBR Menon, which among other things sought a direction to the authorities to formulate and notify, within a prescribed time limit, appropriate site inspection and verification procedures for adherence while issuing prior site approvals and final explosive licences in Form No.XIV to the Petroleum Retail Outlets. The bench said for ...

Fuel consumption rises 8.2% in January on strong industrial activity

Total consumption, proxy for oil demand, totalled 20.04 mn tonnes in January, up from 18.51 mn tonnes a year earlier, data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of oil ministry showed

Govt making efforts to keep CNG prices under control: Oil minister Puri

The government is making constant efforts to bring the prices of compressed natural gas under control and has delinked Indian gas prices from four international hubs based in US, Canada, UK and Russia, and aligned them to the Indian crude basket, Oil minister Hardeep Puri informed the Rajya Sabha. Responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour, he said the government is encouraging consumption of compressed natural gas as it is relatively a cleaner fuel. "The government has ensured that while global prices were witnessing turbulence, massive increases and shortfall. Lockdown prices do not reflect reality prices, as during the lockdown crude prices came down to USD 19.56 per barrel and then shot up to USD 128 and USD 130 per barrel. "In April 2023, we rationalised the CNG prices and as a result while global prices shot up, domestic gas price was much lower, 83 per cent lower," the minister told the upper house. "It is our constant effort to provide more gas for domestic cook

41% still rely on biomass for cooking, emitting 340 mn tonnes CO2: Report

Forty-one percent of the Indian population still uses wood, cow dung or other biomass as cooking fuel and cumulatively emits around 340 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment every year, which is about 13 per cent of India's greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report. The report "India's Transition to E-cooking" by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment also said that the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana led to a rapid expansion in access to liquified petroleum gas (LPG) in India, but it has "not guaranteed a sustained transition to clean cooking in households" that benefited from the scheme. Around a third of the world's population 2.4 billion people globally (including 500 million people in India) still lack access to clean cooking solutions. This causes untold damage to the economy, public health and the environment. Approximately three million people globally (including 0.6 million people in India) die prematurely every year because

Red Sea crisis pushes costs of fuel tanker above $100,000 per day

The cost to ship refined products from the Middle East to Japan added another 3% to $101,000 a day on Thursday, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London

As govt opens more areas for oil and gas exploration, ONGC reports new find

State-owned company may get more acreage for exploration as government aims to increase domestic fuel production

Indo Petroleum Marketing to set up 100 fuel outlets; to start from Assam

Startup fuel retail firm Indo Petroleum Marketing (IPM) on Thursday said it will set up 100 fuel stations across the country within the next five years while starting its business from Assam. The Delhi-based company has already generated a net worth of Rs 250 crore to roll out its network to sell different types of fuel in the country. "IPM will set up retail outlets or petrol pumps across the country to undertake fuel sales to the public. In the first phase, we will set up 100 outlets within five years," IPM Founder Gyan Prakash Sharma told PTI here. He said that the firm is the first Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry-authorized startup private Oil Marketing Company (OMC) to commence operations on the ground. "To begin our journey, we will start from Assam. We plan to set up five retail outlets in remote areas within the next two years. The first outlet will come up in Jorhat district", Sharma said. The company has already discussed its plans with the Assam government, which has

'Heavy fuel' leaked from power station in Manipur spills into streams

Heavy fuel leaked from a power station in Manipur's Imphal West district and spilled into streams flowing alongside it, officials said on Thursday. The incident happened on Wednesday night at the Leimakhong power station. Streams passing through villages such as Kanto Sabal and Sekmai were affected by the spill, they said. These streams meet the Imphal river -- the lifeline of the region -- downstream, they added. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) directed the departments concerned to take "immediate necessary action to prevent an environment calamity, making use of all available resources in terms of machinery, manpower and expertise". Heavy machinery was deployed to divert the flow of the water in the affected streams towards fields, an official told PTI. "It is yet to be determined if miscreants were involved in this or if it was accidental," he said. Locals said the water of the streams is used by them for daily chores. "Not just aquatic life but also the communities that de

Fuel retailers hike ethanol procurement prices by Rs 6.87: Oil ministry

The new purchase price of 56.28 rupees per litre is aimed at boosting production of ethanol, which is used for blending with petrol

More than 40 people dead in Liberia after leaking fuel tanker explodes

A leaking fuel tanker exploded as people gathered to collect the gasoline, leaving more than 40 dead, authorities in Liberia said Thursday. The blast on Tuesday also injured at least 83 people in Totota town in the central part of the West African country, health officials said. Bong County health official Dr. Cynthia Blapook said many of the dead were buried in a mass grave on Wednesday because their remains were unrecognizable. Health authorities said an exact death toll was difficult because of how badly the bodies were burned. Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor attended the mass funeral. We never expected to start the new year like this, Howard-Taylor said. Health officials said the number of injured could rise as they were not certain everyone had been brought for care. A doctor at one hospital treating the injured urged the Liberian government to deploy a disaster management team and to have one in each county to respond to emergencies. Dr. Minnie Sankawolo-Rocks

Pakistan slashes petrol price by PKR 14, high-speed diesel by PKR 13.5

It reported citing a notification from the Pakistan Ministry of finance, the new prices of petrol are PKR 267.34 and PKR 276.21 for HSD

HDFC Bank on hiring spree to fuel biz growth and tackle attrition head-on

Bank has hired over 56K since March 2022; focus on reining in attrition, women re-hiring