By increasing crude oil imports from Iran, India plans to save over $ 8.5 billion in foreign exchange this fiscal, said the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Marpadi Veerappa Moily. Moily told this to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a written communication on August 30. India, which paid about $144.29 billion last fiscal for importing oil, is renewing imports from Iran and, unlike imports from other countries, it pays Iran in rupees.
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Q1 profit of ONGC Videsh up 72% to Rs 837 cr
On the back of higher crude oil and natural gas output, Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) overseas subsidiary ONGC Videsh on September 1 reported a 72 per cent jump in its net profit in the June quarter. The firm's net profit in April-June quarter rose by 71.9 per cent to Rs 837 crore from Rs 487 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement in Delhi.
Govt hikes fuel prices, but Moily seeks more hikes
The Union government has hiked petrol prices by Rs 2.35 a litre and diesel by 50 paise a litre (excluding State levies) on the evening of August 31. A further raise could be on the way as per the indication of the Union Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily. Though he did not indicate the quantum of hike, the wide expectation is that the companies are pitching for an increase of almost Rs 3-5 a litre for diesel, PDS kerosene Rs 2/litre and domestic LPG Rs 50/cylinder.
RBI opens window for daily dollar needs of oil firms
To meet the daily dollar requirements of Indian oil marketing companies-IOC, HPCL and BPCL and stabilise the falling rupee, the Reserve Bank of India has now opened a special window to issue dollars.
Gulf Cooperation Council members to face gas crunch
A recent report called, 'Gas shortage in the GCC - How to Bridge the Gap', by global consultancy firm, Booz & Company, says gas shortage in the six resource-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will become more evident 2015 as demand is on the rise and supply struggles to keep pace. Increasing power consumption, depleting oil fields, gas exploration and long-term gas export commitments have limited the local supply of gas in the region, the report says.
Cabinet to discuss shale oil and gas exploration policy
A top official of the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has stated that the ministry has finalised a shale oil and gas exploration policy, which will be tabled before the cabinet soon after the oil minister Marpadi Veerappa Moily approves it. However, in contrast to the Oil Ministry's statement, the Ministry of Environment and Forest said that exploitation of shale resources could lead to water crisis in India.
OMCs see little gain from RBIs dollar window
The public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) have said that they do not look for any direct gains from the Reserve Bank of India's foreign exchange swap window. Such window was announced by RBI on August 28. The RBI announced the window to meet their daily dollar requirements to import crude oil. But the oil companies agreed the apex bank's measure would bring down rupee's volatility.
Nod to Reliance, its partners to invest $4 bn in D-6 block
The Union government has on August 29 gave its approval to Reliance Industries and its partners to invest $4 billion in the R-Series gas-field of KG-D6 block. BP Plc and Niko Resources are the Reliance Industries partners. R-series is a cluster of four discoveries in the block, of which, D-34 has been declared commercially viable.
Rupee gains on RBIs dollar swaps measure for OMCs
The Indian rupee's brisk fall against the US dollar was halted on August 29 with the Reserve Bank of India's move to directly supply dollar swaps to oil marketing companies (OMCs). The Indian currency on the day appreciated 225 paise to close at 66.55 per dollar, logging its biggest single-day gain in percentage terms in 26 years.
Cairn India Hopeful of Securing Nod
Cairn India, which plans to invest $1.6 billion (around Rs 9,500 crore) over the next three years, is hopeful of securing mandatory clearances for additional exploration and production in its Rajasthan oil and gas fields.

