After a prolonged slide, the price of each well below a euro, a 95% fall in 4 years, with no relief in sight

With the price of carbon credits continuing to slide in the global markets and the first commitment period for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, under which carbon trading is permitted) coming to an end this year, companies and investors holding carbon credits are worried at the prospect for investments in this regard.

The wait for the east coast to have a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal might get longer, with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC), the two state-run companies that had proposed to jointly develop a terminal in Mangalore, putting the plan on hold.

Senior executives in both companies say how far the two partners could sell the fuel in the domestic market is under doubt. Given that the Dabhol and Kochi terminals will be commissioned next year, Mangalore will be well-connected by pipelines, said a senior BPCL executive, who requested anonymity.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has fixed the capacity of Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd’s (RGTIL) East-West gas pipeline at 85 million standard cubic meters per day.

East-West pipeline, which ferries gas from Reliance Industries’ eastern offshore KG-D6 fields from its landfall point at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat, has been in operation since April 1, 2009.

IOC, the largest fuel retailer, will receive a government subsidy of about 161 billion rupees

India will pay 300 billion rupees to state-owned fuel retailers forced to sell at cheaper government-set rates in the first half of the year, said three sources who saw the finance ministry's confirmation letter. The government fixes retail prices of liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene and diesel to protect the poor, leading to revenue losses at state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) , Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) .

The district administration will soon chalk out recommendations on royalty for farm land use by the ONGC for its oil pipelines in the district.

This was among the significant agreements chalked out at ‘peace talks’ held between the stakeholders, in the presence of the Revenue Divisional Officer here late on Tuesday, ringing in a closure to the long-drawn struggle by farmers seeking damages for oil spill from the ONGC pipeline at Keezhvelur. “Provision for royalty to farmers will be in line with the policy of payment of royalty to the government for pipelines laid below a certain depth, and which was denied to farmers until now,” said Kaveri Danapalan of the Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, after the meeting.

Environment ministry could review the rules for green clearances and regulation of more than 40,000 km of oil and gas pipelines spread across the country.

The Union Environment and Forests Ministry will take up with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas the issue of according systemic protocol for monitoring pipelines to prevent oil spill, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan said here on Tuesday.

Taking suo motu cognisance of a report in The Hindu on the oil spill from an ONGC pipeline destroying paddy fields for the third consecutive year in Nagapattinam, she arrived here to inspect and ascertain the facts from the farmers.

Taking stock of the oil spill in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu where a leak from an abandoned ONGC pipeline affected a large area of under-cultivation farmland, Union Environment Minister Jay

Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan rushed to Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu on Monday night to inspect a massive crude oil spill from a pipeline belonging to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission.

Mumbai Soaring crude prices and pressure back home to keep rates lower is forcing government-run hydrocarbon firms to diversify into non-oil and gas sectors.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which supplies crude to oil refiners at a lower price as part of a government subsidy plan, said its board has approved a plan to enter nuclear power and will soon start discussions with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for partnering their projects.