Latest news with #PetroleumMinistry
NDTV
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- NDTV
"Forcing Blended Fuel...": Consumer Slams Ethanol Petrol Policy
As India pushes forward with its plan to blend 20% ethanol into petrol (E20) by 2025-26, a consumer has publicly voiced strong opposition, raising questions about the fuel's impact on vehicle performance and consumer choice. Venkatesh Alla, a user on X (formerly Twitter), criticised the move, calling it 'outright fraud' and threatening legal action. The user, who has even in the past questioned the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, wrote, 'If anything happens to my vehicle due to Ethanol blended (Adulterated) Petrol, I will not hesitate to drag every single official in the Petroleum Ministry to court. We have every legal and constitutional right to do so.' He further alleged that the government was enforcing fuel policies without adequate consumer choice or transparency. 'Forcing blended fuel on us, when our vehicles aren't even designed for it, is outright fraud. You have no authority to dictate what fuel we must use. Pure Petrol and Blended Petrol must be sold separately. Let the consumer decide based on their vehicle. Who the hell gave you the right to damage our vehicles in the name of policy?' he wrote and even tagged the petroleum ministry. Here's the complete post: If anything happens to my vehicle due to Ethanol blended (Adultered) Petrol, I will not hesitate to drag every single official in the Petroleum Ministry to court. We have every legal and constitutional right to do so. Forcing blended fuel on us, when our vehicles aren't even… — Venkatesh Alla (@venkat_fin9) July 10, 2025 The EBP Programme, which seeks to cut India's dependence on fossil fuels and promote cleaner mobility, has seen significant progress in recent years. According to a NDTV Profit report, ethanol blending averaged 12.06% in FY 2022-23 and rose to 14.6% in FY 2023-24. By February 2025, it had reached 19.6%, with the 20% threshold crossed shortly after. In the last financial year, India blended 7.07 billion litres of ethanol, with oil marketing companies allocating nearly 9.96 billion litres. In another post earlier this month, Mr Alla lashed out at Indian Oil, saying, 'How much ethanol are you dumping into petrol?' He went on to add, 'Car mileage has tanked for the past year! We're forced to pay full price for petrol that's 20% adulterated; this is nothing but an organised scam. The business and the government, both are acting like shameless thieves, looting citizens in broad daylight!' Hey @IndianOilcl, how much ethanol are you dumping into petrol da? Car mileage has tanked for the past year! We're forced to pay full price for petrol that's 20% adulterated, this is nothing but an organised scam. The business and the government, both are acting like shameless… — Venkatesh Alla (@venkat_fin9) July 7, 2025 While the government continues to project the ethanol push as a cornerstone of India's green transition, critics like Mr Alla argue the environmental benefits do not justify the impact on vehicle performance and consumer rights.
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Crude connection: Refiners eye Canadian shores amid supply disruptions
Heavy grade crude from Alberta can be a stable alternative to Russian Urals Subhayan Chakraborty New Delhi Listen to This Article With most heavy crude grades suffering supply disruptions, Western Canadian Select (WCS) is being explored as a key alternative for Indian importers, refiners and Petroleum Ministry officials said on Friday. Other heavy grades from Russia, Venezuela, and Iraq are currently suffering supply disruptions. Given the large number of complex refineries in India that can process these grades, the decision by the US to impose tariffs on Canadian crude has given India a window of opportunity to establish term contracts, officials said. "Canada can be a stable source of large volumes of crude for India, at a time when we are
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
FinMin may soon finalise compensation package for oil marketing companies' losses on LPG sales
The Finance Ministry may soon finalise a compensation package for public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) to cover their losses on sale of cooking gas cylinders below market price 'in consumer interest', according to a source in the know. The compensation to give relief to the OMCs — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — is expected to be from the additional mop-up from the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel that took effect in April. The proposal is expected to be considered by the Union Cabinet soon, as per sources. 'We have received the request. It is under consideration. We are looking at the amount of under recovery and discussing the modalities for compensation,' an official source said. The ministries are in discussions to finalise the modalities for routing the excise duty hike amount for compensating the OMCs, the official said. After the funds are released, the official said it is up to the OMCs to decide how to deploy the funds. 'They can make use of those funds for capex or other expenses,' the source said. It is estimated that the three OMCs incurred a cumulative loss of over Rs 41,000 crore on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, or cooking gas) sales in 2024-25 (FY25) as they have been selling the household cooking fuel way below international prices. In April, Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain had said that he was hopeful that the OMCs will be compensated for their accumulated losses on LPG sales over a year or so through an appropriate mechanism by the government. Sources indicated that the Petroleum Ministry has sought support from the Finance Ministry to cover these losses. Support was also sought before the Budget for FY26, but no relief was provided at the time. Annual petrol and diesel sales in the country stand at around 16,000 crore litres, which means that the Rs 2-per-litre increase in excise duty announced in April should lead to an additional revenue of around Rs 32,000 crore for the government on an annualised basis. The Petroleum Ministry and the OMCs expect this incremental revenue to flow back into the OMCs as government support to cover losses on LPG sales. Notably, in October 2022, the government had approved a one-time grant of Rs 22,000 crore for OMCs to partially cover their accumulated losses of around Rs 28,000 crore at the time from selling LPG at a loss in consumer interest. According to the Petroleum Ministry's estimates, the average Saudi CP—the international benchmark for LPG pricing—had shot up to to $629 per tonne in February 2025 from $385 in July 2023. This should have ideally translated into cooking gas being retailed at Rs 1,028.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. But at the time, it was being sold at Rs 803. As India depends on imports to meet a bulk of its LPG demand, cooking gas prices are linked to international LPG price benchmarks. In April, along with hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel, LPG prices were hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, to provide some relief to the OMCs on cooking gas sales. Apart from top oil ministry officials, IOC had also expressed hope that the additional mop-up from fuel excise duty hike could help cover the OMCs' under-recovery on domestic LPG sales. 'The #ExciseDuty increase of Rs. 2 per litre on #petrol and #diesel by Central Government will not be passed on to the consumers. On one hand, this will insulate the customers from the price hike while on the other hand, the collected amount may be utilised towards under-recovery of #LPG, providing relief to Oil Marketing Companies,' IOC had posted on social media platform X on April 7.
Times of Oman
10-07-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
India aims to increase hydrocarbons exploration acreage to 1 million sq km by 2030: Hardeep Puri
Vienna: India aims to increase its hydrocarbons exploration acreage to 0.5 million sq km by 2025 and 1.0 million sq km by 2030, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri said. With 2.5 lakh sq km open for exploration under OALP Round-10, and being close to discovering a Guyana-scale oilfield in the Andaman Sea, India is in the midst of one of the most ambitious plans to enhance the efforts to drill for more and further enhance hydrocarbons exploration in the country, said the Minister at 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna. India is making significant efforts to increase its traditional fossil-based energy production, and the latest push is to explore the Andaman region. India plans to explore and drill for hydrocarbons with renewed momentum by exploring 2.5 lakh sq km under OALP-Round 10. The minister interacted on 'Oil Markets: Energy Security, Growth and Prosperity' with an audience of leaders, captains and professionals of global energy sector at the Seminar. This ambition to double exploration acreage, according to the Minister, is supported by a series of policy reforms including shifting from a Production Sharing Contract regime to a Revenue Sharing Model under HELP, and amendments to ORD Act 1948 to provide a robust framework for managing leases, improving safety, enabling dispute resolution, and supporting the integration of renewable energy sources in hydrocarbon projects. In addition, the government is reducing 'No-Go' areas by 99 per cent, and in the process freeing up over 1 million sqkm for exploration and production (E&P), and significant investments in basin data acquisition through national projects such as the National Seismic Program (NSP), Andaman Offshore Project, Mission Anveshan, and the Extended Continental Shelf Survey. India is the world's third-largest energy consumer with a demand of about 5.4 million barrels of oil per day. "India's energy strategy is rooted in pragmatism, resilience, and fairness. India is both a structural growth engine and a long-term stabilizer of global oil markets," the minister said. At the Seminar, the minister said India will contribute 25 per cent of the incremental global energy demand growth in future. "We are navigating today's volatile global energy landscape through a multi-dimensional approach that includes diversifying our crude import sources from 27 to 40 countries now, enhancing domestic production, developing alternative fuel sources, transition towards gas based economy and aiming to become a global refining hub by increasing our refining capacity to 310 MMTPA by 2028 and augmenting petrochemical capacity to be a USD 300 billion industry by 2030," the minister said. Even as the world was dealing with geopolitical difficulties, Puri said India successfully navigated the trilemma of energy availability, affordability, and sustainability; and was the only major economy in the world to reduce fuel prices even as oil prices skyrocketed globally. He apprised the Seminar that India aims to achieve energy independence by 2047 and reach Net Zero emissions by 2070. He also highlighted India's green energy transition, referring to biofuels. India launched the Global Biofuels Alliance which has over 29 countries and 14 international organisations, working together to scale up sustainable biofuels. Domestically, India is accelerating the use of ethanol, CBG, biodiesel and SAF as part of its decarbonization roadmap, the minister added. India today imports 80 per cent of its oil and 50 per cent of its natural gas needs. India is now importing oil and gas from as many countries as possible to meet its demand.
Zawya
09-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Egypt: Electricity, Petroleum ministers discuss plans to boost electricity supply
Arab Finance: Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi discussed the latest developments and implemented measures to meet the rising energy demands, according to a statement. The two ministers reviewed joint plans to enhance the quality of the electricity supply and ensure the stability of the unified grid throughout the day, especially during peak periods amid increased loads and high temperatures. The meeting also highlighted the electricity sector's efforts to change operating patterns, increase the return on used fuel, reduce conventional fuel consumption, improve performance and energy efficiency, and promote reliance on renewable energy. They also discussed the addition of 2,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy to the unified grid before this summer. Esmat noted that the current plan aims to cut fuel consumption rates to less than 65 grams of fuel equivalent per kilowatt. For his part, Badawi outlined the measures taken by the petroleum sector to meet the electricity sector's needs for gas and diesel, as well as working to provide the necessary diesel according to the needs of power plants determined by the ministry. © 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
