A draft law has been approved by a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which, if passed by the Cabinet, will make it mandatory for the coal producers to share 26 percent of their profits with the population affected by the project. The proposed law has raised objections from the mining industry, fearing that it would result in heavy taxation, which, in turn, would diminish the investments in the sector. However, there are many who are in favour of it, including the largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd.

The power ministry is unhappy with the CIL not meeting the fuel requirement of the power sector and has requested the government to put a temporary stop to the e-auction of coal by the state-run coal producer. CIL, on the other hand, says that power sector is only one of their customers and the right to allocate coal is their decision. Taking a balanced view, the Planning Commission says that e-auction of coal has become an important platform but suggests that the quantum can be brought down.

InfralineEnergy spoke to the concerned parties to get their respective views on the subject.

The under pricing of domestic coal compared to expensive imported coal has made power developers not so keen on importing the dry fuel to meet their requirements. This has adversely affected the Indian power utilities. The government has proposed to formulate a mechanism to pool the prices of the imported and domestic coal to ensure a uniform rate of coal across the country. The suggestion, however, has found very few takers in the industry.

InfralineEnergy spoke to the following experts to find out their reaction.

The country is facing a massive shortfall of coal and according to fresh estimates, is likely to import 142 million tonnes of coal in the current year. Domestic hurdles such as delays in environmental clearances and land acquisition problems are forcing Indian power developers to go abroad in search of coal.

InfralineEnergy spoke to the following experts to find out which major coal rich countries offer the most conducive environment to the Indian companies.

Both fertiliser and power sector are anchor consumer for gas. Since, these two sectors are also the key contributors to the economy and has got regulated pricing having large financial involvement of the Government, they enjoy the priority sector status and avail gas at subsidised prices.

With decline in production of domestic gas from existing fields and no new oil and gas discovery in sight, it is time to ponder whether these two sectors have the ability to absorb R-LNG. While domestic gas follows APM pricing – the R-LNG prices cannot be controlled and as they are market linked. InfralineEnergy talks to a cross section of stakeholders to bring out possibilities and challenges of this change.

In one of his interview to media, former petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar made an interesting observation when he remarked that since 2004, when he became the minister, oil prices have not been determined by supply and demand, but through speculation at the commodity exchanges like New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). According to Aiyar, supply and demand plays a very small role in determining oil prices in comparison to speculation.

Infraline Energy speaks to oil and gas industry's stalwarts to find out what determines crude oil prices and how big a role speculation plays in determining the oil prices.

CGD was rolled out in the country almost a decade back. In cities like Mumbai and Delhi, the implementation came by way of a Supreme Court judgement. With an aim to encourage CGD, a prominent player like IGL was allocated APM gas, which further contributed to its profit margin. However, with depleting production of gas from major oil fields such as KG-D6 and Panna-Mukti-Tapi (PMT) and no new oil discovery in near future, the availability of cheap domestic gas to CGD is increasingly becoming a difficult proposition.

However, within the industry, there appears to be an ambiguity regarding availability of domestic gas for CGD. There are some hopeful voices in the industry, who firmly believe that with NELP, shale gas and coal bed methane gas (CBM), there is no cause for worry for CGD players.

Besides gas availability, there are various other issues which are impacting the CGD industry. In this context, InfralineEnergy's Sangeeta Tanwar finds out what different stakeholders have to say on the issue.

The downstream oil industry regulator, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has put in place, the Zonal Telescopic Transportation Tariff System with an aim to determine tariff for all existing or under implementation pipelines. However, there are contradictory views in the industry, some pointing that the move is in variance from the national gas grid in the country. The critics fear that it might result in concentration of fertliser and gas based plants in few specific locations.

InfralineEnergy sought industry opinion on the issue.

It was in early 2000 that CNG (compressed natural gas) was introduced as city transport fuel in New Delhi, as it was found to be less polluting and hence environment friendly. However, with the introduction of EURO IV petrol with stricter emission norms, it is time to review CNG.

InfralineEnergy spoke to who's who of the oil and gas industry to find out the advantages and disadvantages of CNG as a city fuel.

A draft law has been approved by a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which, if passed by the Cabinet, will make it mandatory for the coal producers to share 26 percent of their profits with the population affected by the project. The proposed law has raised objections from the mining industry, fearing that it would result in heavy taxation, which, in turn, would diminish the investments in the sector. However, there are many who are in favour of it, including the largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd.

The power ministry is unhappy with the CIL not meeting the fuel requirement of the power sector and has requested the government to put a temporary stop to the e-auction of coal by the state-run coal producer. CIL, on the other hand, says that power sector is only one of their customers and the right to allocate coal is their decision. Taking a balanced view, the Planning Commission says that e-auction of coal has become an important platform but suggests that the quantum can be brought down.

InfralineEnergy spoke to the concerned parties to get their respective views on the subject.

The under pricing of domestic coal compared to expensive imported coal has made power developers not so keen on importing the dry fuel to meet their requirements. This has adversely affected the Indian power utilities. The government has proposed to formulate a mechanism to pool the prices of the imported and domestic coal to ensure a uniform rate of coal across the country. The suggestion, however, has found very few takers in the industry.

InfralineEnergy spoke to the following experts to find out their reaction.

The country is facing a massive shortfall of coal and according to fresh estimates, is likely to import 142 million tonnes of coal in the current year. Domestic hurdles such as delays in environmental clearances and land acquisition problems are forcing Indian power developers to go abroad in search of coal.

InfralineEnergy spoke to the following experts to find out which major coal rich countries offer the most conducive environment to the Indian companies.