Page 4 - Fuel

Yet another hike smashes fuel prices record in Pakistan, prompts furore

Amid double-digit inflation, Pakistan's caretaker government has effected yet another hike in the prices of petrol and diesel taking them to a historic high over Rs 330 per litre prompting immediate protests and a legal challenge too. As on Saturday, USD 1 was equivalent to 296.41 Pakistani Rupee. The Ministry of Finance on Friday night announced the price hike of petrol by Rs 26.02 and diesel by Rs 17.34 per litre. After the hike, petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are costing over Rs 330 at the filling stations, a psychological barrier that has been crossed for the first time in the country's history, the Dawn newspaper wrote. The fuel price hike comes on the heels of over 27.4 per cent increase in the rate of inflation in August, putting an unbearable burden on the masses, as petrol and HSD are used by all private and public service vehicles. The caretaker government on September 1 jacking up the petrol and diesel prices by over Rs 14. The rise is on top of Rs 32.41 and Rs 3

Searing temperature fast becoming a threat to global fuel security

In addition to causing spikes in electricity demand as people fire up air conditioners, the scorching temperatures have led to a spate of disruptions at oil refineries

Global Biofuel Alliance, UK-Middle-East economic corridor launched at G20

GBA becomes the third multilateral initiative launched by the Central government

G20: PM Modi launches Global Biofuel Alliance for ethanol infused fuel

India on Saturday announced the launch of the Global Biofuel Alliance and urged G20 nations to join the initiative with a plea to take ethanol blending with petrol globally to 20 per cent. Speaking at the G20 Summit session on 'One Earth', Prime Minister Narendra Modi also proposed to launch the 'G20 Satellite Mission for Environment and Climate Observation' and urged leaders to start working on 'Green Credit Initiative'. "Today, the need of the hour is that all countries should work together in the field of fuel blending. Our proposal is to take an initiative at a global-level to take ethanol blending in petrol up to 20 per cent," he said. "Or alternatively, we could work on developing another blending mix for the greater global good, one that ensures a stable energy supply while also contributing to climate security," Modi said at the session attended by US President Joe Biden, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak among others.

NRL, IWAI sign MoU for transportation of petroleum products to Bangladesh

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and Inland Waterways Authority of India on Thursday signed an MoU for the transportation of petroleum products of the Assam-based company to Bangladesh. The collaboration was made for supplying such products through IWAI's upgraded jetty at Jogighopa in Assam, an official said. NRL envisages to export 200 thousand metric tonne of products per annum to Bangladesh through Jogighopa jetty, after the commissioning of its expanded refinery and petrochemicals plant. The MoU was signed here by NRL's chief general manager (Marketing) Subrata Das and IWAI director A Selva Kumar in the presence of Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli. Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said that collaboration between NRL and IWAI is expected to provide a boost to the Centre's 'Gati Shakti' initiative and 'Act East Policy'. Following the inauguration of the 'India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL)

Will unveil 100% ethanol-fueled Toyota's Innova car on August 29: Gadkari

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said he will unveil a 100 per cent ethanol-fueled variant of Toyota's Innova car on August 29. The Union minister, who has been exhorting automakers to come out with alternative fuel-powered and green vehicles, had last year launched a hydrogen-powered car, Toyota Mirai EV. "On August 29, I am going to launch the popular (Toyota) Innova car on 100 per cent ethanol," Gadkari said while addressing the Mint Sustainability Summit here. This car will be World's first BS-VI (Stage-II), electrified flex-fuel vehicle. Gadkari said that he started taking interest in biofuels in 2004 after the petrol price hike in the country and visited Brazil for this purpose. He opined that biofuels can do wonders and save a lot of forex which is being spent on the import of petroleum. "If we want to become Atamnirbhar (self-reliant) we have to bring this oil import to zero. At present it is Rs 16 lakh crore. This is a big loss to the

Modi govt seeks to free up $12 billion to tackle inflation before LS vote

It would be the second straight year of similar adjustments to contain costs for consumers after the government unveiled a $26-billion plan last year

India's fuel sales slow down due to monsoon rains, shows prelim data

Fuel demand in India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, typically falls during the four-month monsoon season beginning in June as parts of the country are affected by heavy floods

G20: India looks to forge alliance on fuels of future & climate finance

Among the fuels of the future are biofuels and hydrogen. India has already announced the creation of a Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA), of which the US would be the founding member

India's fuel demand slips by 3.7% in June as monsoon restricts mobility

Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totaled 19.31 million tonnes in June, down from 20.06 million tonnes in May, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry

Green hydrogen to be future fuel: R K Singh urges industry participation

Green hydrogen is going to be the future fuel in India, Union Minister R K Singh said while urging investors to invest in the country to manufacture the clean energy source. The minister for power, new and renewable energy made the remarks at the first International Conference on Green Hydrogen 2023. "We will help you in developing (green hydrogen) projects. We will also help you with demand as well. Come and partner with us," he said addressing the conference attended by over 2,500 participants. The investors can partner for development of electrolysers, mechanism for transportation of green hydrogen, usage of green hydrogen in manufacturing for green steel and cement etc, he said adding India is the biggest market in the world. Like the field of renewable energy, India shall emerge as a leader in green hydrogen also, Singh said. There are industries which have started working to set up 3.5 MT capacity of green hydrogen. They are engaged with various states for acquisition of lan

Food, fuel, fertiliser crisis big challenges for world: PM at SCO summit

"Are we able to meet the modern challenges? Is SCO becoming an organization that is fully prepared for the future?" Modi asked

No company responded to crisis-hit Pakistan's offer to buy LNG cargo

Pakistan has failed to secure LNG from the spot market in its first attempt in about a year, as no supplier seems to budge to the cash-strapped nation's offer, as per Bloomberg, The News reported

Fuel retailers setting up convenience stores, cafes to attract footfall

Convenience retail is being driven by infrastructure development and a rise in the number of highways and expressways, executives said

People buying fuel, jewellery, grocery to offload Rs 2,000 notes: Survey

Fuel, jewellery and daily groceries are the top three preferred items for people to offload their Rs 2,000 currency notes post the RBI's announcement of withdrawing the currency note from circulation, revealed a new survey. The pan-India survey, conducted by location-based social network Public App, also found out that a whopping 55 per cent of people are planning to deposit their currency notes at the bank, while 23 per cent and 22 per cent are planning to spend them and get them exchanged, respectively. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 19 made a surprise announcement of the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes but gave the public time till September 30 to either deposit the Rs 2,000 notes in accounts or exchange them at banks. In about two weeks, almost half of the Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation, worth around Rs 1.8 lakh crore, came back to the banking system, the RBI informed recently. The poll results, shedding light on the citizens' perspective and providing ...

Smartphones break into top-5 club in exports; value nearly doubled in FY23

Up from 9th spot in HS code ranking

Lanka signs petroleum pact with US fuel firm to ensure steady fuel supply

In a bid to address the forex crisis and ensure a steady supply of fuel, Sri Lanka on Thursday signed a deal with an American oil firm, allowing it to become the fourth player in the island nation's fuel retail business, which used to be a state monopoly. According to a statement, the US firm, RM Parks, in collaboration with Shell, will be involved in a long-term contract for the importation, storage, distribution and sale of petroleum products. An agreement was signed on Thursday at the Presidential Secretariat, between the Government of Sri Lanka and RM Parks Inc., a prominent international company operating in collaboration with Shell, marking a significant step towards securing a long-term contract for the importation, storage, distribution, and sale of petroleum products in the country. This development comes after the Ministry explored various strategies to overcome the challenges posed by the foreign exchange crisis and guarantee a continuous fuel supply to consumers, an ...

Fuel margins turn positive, price cut will have to wait: Offcials

Margins on petrol and diesel have turned positive following softening of international oil prices but a revision in retail prices may happen only after state-owned oil firms recoup losses they incurred last year, officials said. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have temporarily abandoned the daily price revision since last year and have not revised petrol and diesel prices in line with the cost. And the losses they incurred when the oil prices were higher than the retail selling prices are now being recouped with rates dropping. Officials said the three firms have been making positive margins on petrol since the fourth quarter of the 2022 calendar year but diesel, which accounts for the bulk of the fuel sales, had been in red. But last month, margins on diesel turned positive with a small 50 paise a litre profit, they said, adding, this, however, was not enough to make up for the past ...

India's May fuel demand rises 8% month-on-month to about 20.03 mn tonnes

Sales of gasoline rose 16.4% to 3.35 million tonnes and sales of diesel increased around 5% to 8.22 million tonnes in May

Govt expects people to move towards e-cooking to capitalise on power supply

The government expects people to move towards electric cooking (e-cooking) as the nation now has a 24x7 electricity supply in households, according to an official. "We want to move towards e-cooking since we have 24/7 electricity in our households," Additional Secretary Power Ajay Tewari said while addressing a conference organised here. He pointed out that India has, in just 18 months, given Saubhagya (scheme) connections to 26 million households who did not have electricity access. Never before in the history of the world has so many households been given electricity connection in such a short time, he noted. "We are supplying energy for 23.5 hours in all urban areas and 23 hours, and more in rural areas. It is a big achievement that the age of power cuts is behind us," a power ministry statement quoted Tewari as saying. He also informed that 700 million people in the world, however, still do not have access to electricity, and universal energy access is one of the priorities of