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Saudi Arabia promises to meet India’s oil needs; keen to invest in downstream

Agencies
October 16, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 16: Saudi Arabia on Monday committed to meeting India's rising oil demand and said it is keen to invest in fuel retailing and petrochemical business in the world's fastest-growing energy consumer.

Speaking at India Energy Forum, its oil minister Khalid al-Falih heaped lavish praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for making it easier to do business in the country and ushering in "acche din".

"My frequent visits to India are indicative of the importance Saudi Arabia attaches to this great nation as a critical energy and a strategic global player," he said calling the county an "emerging superpower".

Saudi Arabia is India's second-biggest oil supplier behind Iraq and is committed to meet any shortfall that may arise due to sanctions on Iran, he said.

"I had the privilege of meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan today. I assured them of our full and continued commitment of meeting India's oil demand as well as continuing to invest here in India," he said adding Saudi Arabia will maintain close contact with major consumers and seek their views.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, is facing record high retail prices as international crude rate soared and value of rupee dipped.

He cited his country's national oil company Saudi Aramco together with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signing up for taking 50 per cent stake in the proposed $44 billion, 60 million tonnes Ratnagiri refinery and petrochemical complex in Maharashtra as "early example of growing partnership" between India and Saudi Arabia.

"But it is not going to be the only one. This is indeed just the start," he said. "Saudi Aramco's desire is also to invest in consumer-facing segments such as retail fuels and petrochemicals, building an integrated downstream business spanning India as well as our commitment to invest in crude oil storage here in India in order to be more responsive and closer to the demand needs".

The government has announced plans to build two strategic storage facilities to hold 6.5 million tonnes of oil costing around Rs 11,000 crore through a joint partnership between state-owned firms and private companies.

Also, SABIC, the petrochemical giant of Saudi Arabia, is keen to invest in Indian petrochemical segment.

He went on to praise the present government for its policies and vision.

"Under Prime Minister Modi's stewardship, today I am glad to note that doing business in India has become significantly easier. FDI has grown and inflation is under control. In other words, Prime Minister Modi is making good on his promise of 'Achhe din' ... good days are here. We see good days in India," he said.

The minister said India's accelerated economic growth is playing a major role in rebalancing the distribution of global economic growth. "India is the world's fastest-growing energy and oil consuming nation. And this trend is playing an important role in driving future demand for oil and gas for decades to come."

Talking of global oil markets, he said there could be another round of unanticipated disruptions because of events in places like Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela. "And we have seen sanctions on Iran. These supply disruptions need a shock absorber and the shock absorber to a large extent has been Saudi Arabia," he said. "We have invested tens of billions of dollars to build the spare capacity of 2-3 million barrels per day over years."

But for this spare capacity that Saudi Arabia has used to deliver extra barrels in the market, oil prices would "easily be at the three-digit range", he said.

Oil prices hit a four-year high of $86.74 a barrel earlier this month as the market grapples with the expected loss of Iranian exports due to US sanctions. Rates have cooled to $81.23 on Monday.

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News Network
August 8,2020

The Kozhikode International Airport located at Karipur is not safe for the landing of flights in rainy season, according to an air-safety expert, who had warned the aviation ministry and the civil aviation regulator about this in 2011. 

The warning was particularly about the dangers of permitting passenger aircraft to land on runway 10 of the airport during rains and unfavourable wind conditions. 

Nine years later, on August 7, 2020, the warning became a reality when an Air India Express pilots landed in tailwind conditions and the aircraft overshot the tabletop runway to drop off the end and crash.

 “An aircraft landing on runway 10 in tailwind will experience poor braking action due to heavy rubber deposits … All such flights … are endangering the lives of all on board,’’ said Capt Mohan Ranganathan, in a letter sent on June 17, 2011 to then director general of civil aviation Bharat Bhushan and Nasim Zaidi, chairman of a civil aviation safety advisory committee, which was formed after the May 2010 Mangaluru air crash which killed 158 people.

“My warning issued after the Mangaluru crash was ignored. It is a table-top runway with a down slope. The buffer zone at the end of the runway is inadequate,” Capt Ranganathan said. Given the topography, he pointed out, the airport should have a buffer of 240m at the end of the runway, but it only has 90m (which the DGCA had approved). “Moreover, the space on either side of the runway is only 75m instead of the mandatory 100m,” he added.

Capt Ranganathan said there is no guideline for operations on a table-top runway when it is raining. “Runway 10 approach should not be permitted in view of the lack of runway end safety area (RESA) and the terrain beyond the end of the runway. RESA of 240m should be immediately introduced and runway length has to be reduced to make the operations safe,” his letter said.

If an aircraft is unable to stop within the runway, there is no RESA beyond the end. The ILS localiser antenna is housed on a concrete structure and the area beyond is a steep slope. “The Air India Express accident in Mangalore should have alerted AAI to make the runway conditions safe. We have brought up the issue of RESA during the initial Casac-sub group meetings. We had specifically mentioned that the declared distances for both runways have to be reduced in order to comply with ICAO Annex 14 requirement,” Capt Ranganathan said.

He said the condition of the runway strip was known to DGCA teams that have been conducting inspection and safety assessments. “Have they considered the danger involved? Did the DGCA or the airlines lay down any operational restrictions or special procedures?”

The letter also refers to Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) training, which is supposed to be mandatory before every monsoon, but airlines don’t follow it, he said. “70% of accidents take place during approach and landing and that is why this training is essential,” he added.

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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on hailed accredited social health activists, auxiliary nurse and midwives and anganwadi workers for their role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying they are "true patriots" who toil to keep communities safe in the midst of this grave crisis.

In an environment where fear and misinformation pose a bigger danger than the virus itself, community workers have a key role to play in educating people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the manner in which it is transmitted, Gandhi said.

In a message for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives (ANMs) and Anganwadi Workers, he said they are working with dedication and courage, putting their lives at risk, on the frontlines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The greatest form of patriotism is to serve our country in her hour of need. Our community workers are true patriots, our unsung heroes, who toil tirelessly away from the limelight, to keep our communities safe in the midst of this grave crisis," the former Congress chief said.

"As a nation, we owe them and their families a huge debt of gratitude for the tremendous personal sacrifices each of them is making. I hope that when this crisis is over their exemplary service will serve as a catalyst for deep-rooted change in their conditions of work," he said.

Gandhi said he salutes each and every community worker for their service to the nation and prays that they and their families will remain safe during this pandemic.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Feb 28: The best economic tonic for the coronavirus shock is to contain its spread and worry about stimulus later, said Raghuram Rajan, former head of the Reserve Bank of India.

There’s little central banks can do, and while more government spending would help, the priority should be on convincing companies and households that the virus is under control, he said.

“People want to have a sense that there is a limit to the spread of this virus perhaps because of containment measures or because there is hope that some kind of viral solution can be found,” Rajan told Bloomberg Television’s Haidi Stroud Watts and Shery Ahn.

“At this point I would say the best thing that governments can do is to really fight the epidemic rather than worry about stimulus measures that comes later,” said Rajan, who is currently a professor at the Chicago Booth School of Business.

The spread of coronavirus is pushing the world economy toward its worst performance since the financial crisis more than a decade ago.

Bank of America Corp. economists warned clients Thursday that they now expect 2.8% global growth this year, the weakest since 2009.

“We have moved from extreme confidence in markets to extreme panic, all in the space of one week,” said Rajan, who previously was chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.

The virus outbreak will force companies to rethink supply chains and overseas production facilities, he said.

“I think we will see a lot of rethinking on this, coming on the back of the trade disruption, now we have this,” Rajan said. “Globalization in production is going to be hit quite badly.”

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