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Crude oil imports pegged at 110Mt
By agencies
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Monday, 13 March 2006, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: India is likely to import 110 million tones (Mt) of crude oil in 2006-07, the Petroleum Secretary, M S Srinivasan said. Our crude oil import is projected to increase to 110 million tones, he told media persons on the sidelines of the promotional road show for the sixth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).
The Government estimates the domestic demand for oil products in the next financial year at around 118 million tones compared with 112 million this year. India's oil product exports in the next financial year are expected to touch 21 million tones, up from 18 million tones in the current year.
As regards supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the Ratnagiri Power and Gas Ltd (RP&GL), Srinivasan said Qatar had indicated its willingness to help India meet its requirement of 2.2 million tone of LNG for RP&GL, formerly known as the Dabhol power plant.
The supplies are expected to start from December. Stating that the talks were progressing well, Srinivasan said Rasgas had agreed to supply an additional 2.2 million tones of LNG, which is the requirement for full operation of the 2,150-MW Ratnagiri plant.
This is to be a short-term supply for two-and-a-half years till mid 2009 by which time GAIL (India) Ltd should have tied up long-term supplies.
By mid-2009 there is expected to be some spurt in global LNG production followed by the next increase in production expected in 2011-12. Australia, Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia, besides Qatar, are being looked at for additional LNG supplies by India, which is currently facing a 50 percent shortfall.
The Secretary, however, declined to comment on the price. "We hope to start receiving the LNG supplies for the Ratnagiri terminal by December. It depends on our preparedness to receive that LNG. We are
gearing up for that," he added.
The work on the Ratnagiri terminal, which is of five million tonnes capacity, would be monitored on a fortnightly basis to ensure its preparedness by November to begin trial runs before the first shipment arrives from Qatar in December.