Indian Oil to Invest INR 61,000 crore for Petrochemical Complex Setup at Orissa

Indian Oil Corporation is set to make an investment of INR 61,077 crore, the company's largest investment at a single location, towards building a petrochemical complex at Paradip, Orissa. The complex is expected to include a world-scale cracker unit along with downstream process units for producing several petrochemical products. The project will be a growth driver in making the company a major player in the petrochemical industry, while strengthening India's self-reliance in the sector and catalyze the growth of PCPIR and a plastic park at Paradip, Orissa.

Mar 23, 2023

State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation shared news of their upcoming investment of INR 61,077 crore in building a petrochemical complex at Paradip, Orissa. This is the company's largest-ever investment at a single location as a part of its transition plan, including boosting petrochemical intensity to help protect against volatility. IOC's petrochemical intensity — the percentage of crude oil converted into chemicals — is low at 5-6 per cent at present. The company intends to take it up to 10-12 per cent.

The petrochemical complex is expected to include a world-scale cracker unit along with downstream process units for producing several petrochemical products including polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and poly vinyl chloride (PVC). It shall also facilitate the production of niche chemicals and petrochemicals such as phenol and iso-propyl alcohol. The project will catalyze the growth of PCPIR and a plastic park at Paradip, Orissa. On the commissioning of this project, domestically available petrochemicals are expected to provide, feed and vitalise industrial growth in key downstream industries and is expected to create employment opportunities in eastern India.

Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, the chairman, IndianOil said:

“This mega project is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Purvodaya that is sure to accelerate the development trajectory and fuel prosperity in Eastern India. “This cutting-edge, state-ofthe-art petrochemical complex will undoubtedly be transformative in its impact, significantly advancing the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative.”

Nigeria: Over USD 1.1 Billion Invested for AjaokutaKaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline Project

Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has already spent over USD 1.1 billion for the construction of the AKK Gas Pipeline and Station project. The project on completion shall transport 2 billion cubic feet of gas.

Apr 25, 2023

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)

Limited has spent over USD 1.1 billion towards the under-construction Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Station project, as claimed by Mr. Malam Mele Kyari, CEO of NNPC Limited Group, while touring the Kogi project site accompanied with officials from Oilserv Limited (Pipelines and Facilities), the project contractor.

He further shared that 70 percent of welding work, 222 kilometers, was already completed and the rest, 27 kilometers, once completed will allow 2 billion cubic feet of gas transportation, powering industries, powering power plants, and creating gas-based industries. The gas pipeline is expected to provide support to power plants as well for generating 3,645 MW of energy. The Abuja- Kaduna power plants are expected to get commissioned soon as well.

Nigeria's under-construction gas pipeline project has already seen an appropriation of USD 1.1 billion.

Mr. Kyari commented, “To date, none of the project activities is abandoned as reported and we reassure all stakeholders that we have a line of sight to project delivery on schedule. NNPC Limited remains highly committed to the delivery of strategic National infrastructure projects through responsive project delivery, active collaboration with government security agencies and communities as well as deployment of technology for delivering the project.”

He shared, “This is one of the most massive projects of proportion value to our country for economic growth. It is a must-deliver project and we have continued to fund it in spite of not having third-party finance support, we will deliver this project. We do not owe a dollar to our contractors, there are over 30 sites that are active today in this project, we are very hopeful and optimistic to deliver this project.” he assured.

Mr. Steve Nnorom, Project Manager at Oilserv Limited, shared that three schematic pipeline and station installations, namely Brovo, Chalie, and Alpha, certified the project's progress, “We are crossing rivers, railways, existing pipelines. We have other sites where various work activities are ongoing, our target is that concurrently all works will be going on at different spread.”

India-Iran Strategic Partnership: Possible Extension of Oman Natural Gas Pipeline upto Porbandar

The interactive meeting at MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai was attended by Iranian diplomats. Looking forward to furthering the trade and strategic relations of India-Iran, they announced the possibility of extending the natural gas pipeline for Oman up to Porbandar.

Apr 15, 2023

Mr. Mehdi Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister for

Economic Relations of Iran, during his address at the MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai interactive meeting, announced, “Already, Iran is building this natural gas pipeline to Oman, which can be extended to India up to Porbandar,” he further stated, “Our export to India has grown 60 percent in 2022 and in the last two months it has grown 90 percent. This implies diversification of trade away from crude oil. Iran is committed to meeting the energy needs of India.” Iran is facing US-imposed economic sanctions for over 40 years, however, India is among its top five trade partners.

Mr. Safari was attending the meeting to promote the “Iran Expo 2023” and explore possible trade and investment collaborations. The Iran Expo 2023 is to be held in Tehran from May 7 to May 10. He also proposed to India the Chabahar port, South of Iran, as a gateway to access Central Asia, Caucasian and European markets through the International NorthSouth Transit Corridor, “We are also working with Persian Gulf countries, including Emirates and Qatar to promote trade through this corridor.” He added, "There are also other opportunities to invest in infrastructure, tourism as well as manufacturing projects in this region,” seeking Indian investment for the development of Shahid Beheshti port.

Mr. Iraj Elhai, the Iranian Ambassador to India, acknowledged India as a major trade partner for crude oil and fertilizer for energy and food security, “Today, we have created an alternative SWIFT payment settlement mechanism with 10 countries to bypass US sanctions. We are also engaged in barter trade in energy, biomedicine, medical equipment, and other products with foreign countries,” he further said, “Today, we have created an alternative SWIFT payment settlement mechanism with 10 countries to bypass US sanctions. We are also engaged in barter trade in energy, biomedicine, medical equipment, and other products with foreign countries.”

Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman of MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai, stated “Iran can be the gateway to Central Asia and Europe. The current bilateral trade has declined from the high level of USD 18 billion in 2018 to less than USD 2 billion last year because of US sanctions. We need to promote trade settlement in local currency to increase trade volume to the previous high level. Both countries can address bottlenecks in trade by improving connectivity, fast-tracking road, port, and the 600 km railway line from Chabahar port to Zahedan."

East-European Countries Agree to Boost Natural Gas Transfers from Azerbaijan

Certain east-European countries have recently agreed to boost the natural gas transfer from Azerbaijan utilizing their existing infrastructure. Following the EU's aim to steer Europe's energy sources away from Russian gas, the EU signed an MoU with Azerbaijan

3 for doubling the Azeri gas imports volume to 20 billion m per year by 2027.

Apr 25, 2023

The east-European countries of Bulgaria, Romania,

Hungary and Slovakia have recently agreed to boost the natural gas transfer from Azerbaijan. The countries' national gas system operators assented to the transfer utilizing their existing infrastructure which were until recently highly dependent on Russian energy. Bulgaria is linked to the multi-segment pipeline project Southern Gas Corridor, for natural gas supply from Azerbaijan to Italy, through an inter-connector with Greece. The connector facilitates delivery of 1 3 billion m Caspian gas to Bulgaria, covering nearly onethird of the country's needs, and has capacity to 3 increase the volume to up to 5 billion m annually.

The European Union is aiming to steer Europe's energy sources away from Russian Gas. Following this aim, the EU has signed an MoU in July with Azerbaijan for

3 doubling the Azeri gas imports volume to 20 billion m per year by 2027. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's president, attended the signing ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria and said that the signing of the agreement between the European nations and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan is “a very timely step” expected to bring bigger and more secure gas supplies to many more countries in Europe.

Saudi Arabia to Create 12,000 km Water Project, longer than the Nile River

Saudi Arabia has recently shared plans to create the world's largest source of drinkable water. Their plan involves digging a river with dimensions of 12,000 km in length, 11 metres in width, and four metres in depth, which will surpass the length of the Nile River. It is reported that the large-scale project will require anti-corrosion pipes, each with a diameter of 2.25 metres. The resulting 'river' will be one of the world's largest desalinated water networks.

Mar 30, 2023

Saudi Arabia is planning to take up the major project of creating the world's largest source of drinkable water. Their strategy involves digging a river spanning 12,000 km in length, 11 metres in width, and four metres in depth, with the aim of surpassing the length of the Nile River. The resulting 'river' will be one of the world's largest desalinated water networks, producing 9.4mn cubic metres of water per day for Saudi Arabia.

According to the reports of popular Saudi journalist Ahmad Al Shugairi, the large-scale project will require anti-corrosion pipes, each with a diameter of 2.25 metres. “After a few years, the length of the water pipes will transport this fresh water from one place to another, he shared, indicating that this project is expected to be twice the size of the Nile, which is over 6,000 kilometres long.

It is reported that the pipes running beneath Saudi cities will extend for 126,000 kilometres, which is long enough to wrap around the world three times. The network will produce a massive quantity of water, with 9.4 million cubic meters being generated each day. If this water is distributed to the world's population, according to Al Shugairi, every person would get two gallons (two bottles) of water from the production of water sweetened in Saudi Arabia.

Nigeria-Morocco 5,600 Km Long Gas Pipeline Project Estimated at USD 25 Billion

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will buy a 50% stake in the USD 25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project. The pipeline shall be the world's largest offshore project spanning 5,600 kilometers.

Apr 7, 2023

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPCL) will invest USD 12.5 billion to secure a 50 percent stake in the USD 25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project. The project is the world's longest offshore gas pipeline, covering some 5,600 kilometers across 11 African countries.

The strategic Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project will run along the West African coast from Nigeria, through

Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania to Morocco. It will be connected to the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline and the European gas network and will also supply the landlocked states of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. NNPCL and the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) are jointly financing the project in equal parts.

The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline is one of the flagship projects linking the two countries through several West

African countries. Studies for this mega-project are at an advanced stage and MoUs have been signed in recent months. The first was signed between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Kingdom of Morocco. Two others were signed between Morocco, Nigeria, and Mauritania on the one hand, and Morocco, Nigeria, and Senegal on the other. Five other tripartite MoUs were concluded respectively and successively between Morocco and Nigeria, on the one hand, and Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, on the other.

Mr. Mallam Mele Kyari, MD of NNPCL, said that the Corporation's pipeline project, which will link Nigeria to Morocco, is already in Phase II of the preliminary design study, and is undergoing an environmental impact assessment and rights of way investigations.

According to Kyari, NNPCL is taking advantage of Nigeria's huge natural gas reserves of more than 200 billion cubic feet, which could grow to 600 billion cubic feet as more investment is expected due to the recent resolution of production sharing contract disputes with partners. He added that Nigeria's gas infrastructure network has the capacity to transport about 6.9 billion standard cubic feet of gas to support power generation.

US Govt Approves USD 39 Billion Alaska LNG Project for Gas Exports

The US government has approved the Alaska LNG project to export to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the nation. The project is yet to be examined for long-term viability and has no final decision on investment yet. The project is estimated at USD 39 billion.

Apr 13, 2023

The US Department of Energy has given its nod to the Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC) to export the project's LNG to countries, majorly Asian, that have no free trade agreement (FTA) with the US yet. The long-term viability of the nearly USD 39 billion project is yet to be determined. The final investment decision is pending as well, however, the project is expected to become operational by 2030.

The project includes the construction of a liquefaction facility on the Kenai Peninsula, South Alaska, and a proposed 807-mile (1,300-km) pipeline to transport gas stranded in northern Alaska across the state. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) an independent agency that regulates Alaska LNG's siting, construction, and operation approved the US project in 2020.

Frank Richards, President of AGDC, said that the company will review the approval, which will provide

Alaskans and U.S. allies with a significant source of low-emissions, responsibly produced energy consistent with international environmental priorities.

The US government had recently, last month, approved the ConocoPhillips USD 7 billion Willow oil and gas drilling project on Alaska's North Slope.