RIL discovers 7 TCF of gas in KG basin, names it Dhirubhai

MUMBAI, Oct 31: In one of the largest finds of natural gas in the country, oil and gas exploration major Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) today announced discovery of seven trillion cubic feet in place volume of natural gas in the Krishna-Godavari basin of Andhra Pradesh.

‘Reliance has discovered natural gas in the very first well it drilled in the deep water block of D-6 in the KG basin’, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said at the company’s annual general meeting here.

RIL had achieved 100 per cent success in all the five wells it had drilled so far in the block with inplace volumes of natural gas in excess of seven trillion cubic feet, which is equivalent to about 1.2 billion barrels or 165 million tonnes of crude oil, he said.

Ambani said ‘we have decided to name the discovery in memory of our late father as Dhirubhai-1, 2 and 3+.

RIL, in consoritum with Niko Resources of Canada, was awarded two deepwater blocks in KG basin under the first offering of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

‘Based on the recoverable reserves of over five trillion cubic feet, the gas availability to consumers in the country will be increased by almost 60 per cent’, Ambani said adding, the E&P major will strive to deliver about 40 million standard cubic meter of gas per day to consumers in three to four years time after obtaining necessary Government approvals’.

The success of this discovery comes in an aggressive schedule of 20 months from the reciept of the exploration licence, he added.

Ambani said the company continues to explore this block and expects to see a further upside in the discovery.

‘It would signal a great step in ensuing energy security for India as the gas production from this block would now be almost four per cent of the Indian energy needs’, he stated.

Ambani said RIL commenced its exploration programme straight in the deep waters and drilled its first well at a depth of more than 2,100 feet.

‘We are now drilling in water depths of about 6,000 feet, which is the deepest ever so far accomplished in India’, he said.

RIL is the largest private sector E&P major in India with over 1.77 lakh sq km of exploration acreage in 23 offshore and onshore blocks obtained under the nelp rounds.

‘This is likely to go up further by one lakh sq km with success expected in the third round of bidding under NELP’, Ambani added.

With just under 2,000 sq km of total acreage explored so far, Reliance envisages a significant potential in the upstream oil and gas business and cosequently the company would be making significant investments in the E&P blocks over next two years, he said.

Incidentally, Reliance’s block is adjacent to the Scottish explorer Cairn Energy’s KG-dwn-98/2 (d2) block where a couple of gas discoveries have been made.

Reliance has contracted Houston-based Transocean Sedcoforex for the ambitious deep sea drilling. Of the five wells drilled in KG-basin, Transocean Sedcoforex’s deepwater drillship discoverer 534 faced technical problems in two of them. (PTI)

IOC to sign agreement with Malaysian company by Nov-end

NEW DELHI, Oct 31: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is close to sign an agreement with a Malaysian company for exploring natural gas in Kakkinada, Andhra Pradesh, eastern cost of the country, according to its Chairman M S Ramachandran.

"We are close to sign the agreement with Malaysian group petronas," Mr Ramachandran told newspersons here last night at a function organised by Tata Honeywell, which secured an information technology project of IOC at a value of Rs 50 crore.

He said, "the agreement is likely to be signed towards the end of November."

The exploration of gas in Andhra Pradesh would increase the availability of natural gas in the country, with the demand was rising at a faster rate because of its cheap cost.

Talking about the higher refining margins in the current financial year, Mr Ramachandran said they were higher than three dollars per barrel as against less than 2.8 dollars in the same period a year ago.

The higher refining margins were also reflected on the financial performance of the fortune 500 company with its net profit in the first half recording an increase of 307 per cent and stood at Rs 3,139 crore as against Rs 1,019 crore.

The company has earned a net profit of Rs 2,885 crore in the previous financial year. The IOC chief said the corporation liquidity has increased substantially with the sale of oil bonds worth Rs 5,200 crore to State Bank of India at a discount of 53 point basis. The IOC has lost Rs 60 crore in the deal, which took place last week.

Mr Ramachandran said the Government was also considering the request of oil companies to offer shares to the public to raise funds for the on-going projects.

He, however, did not give any time-frame for the issuance of public offer.

He said the IOC was also gearing up itself for selling petroleum products in Bangladesh but the sale of products would be linked with the gas deal.

Haldia and Chennai refineries would supply products to Bangladesh, if the IOC was able to secure the deal, he added.

Earlier, Tata Honeywell Ltd Chairman R Gopalkrishnan said the Rs 50-crore award to his company envisaged implementation of supply chain management, scheduling and operations management solutions for the entire supply chain of its fuels business.

The scope of the project was also likely to be further enhanced in future to cover additional areas and operations of IOC, he added. (UNI)

Reliance Q2 net spurts to Rs 1,002 crore

MUMBAI, Oct 31: India’s largest private sector conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has registered a substantial rise of 25.09 per cent in net profit at Rs 1,002 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 as compared to Rs 801 crore in the same period last year.

The net turnover for the period under review stood higher by 7.41 per cent at Rs 11,519 crore as against Rs 10,724 crore in the Q2 of Fy’02, RIL said in a statement here today.

The company’s other income for the quarter was, however, down by 21.53 per cent to Rs 204 crore over Rs 260 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

For the half-year ended September 30 the net profit was also up by 25 per cent at Rs 1,920 crore over Rs 1,536 crore and net turnover was marginally higher at Rs 22,169 crore as against Rs 21,830 crore in the Fy’02.

The company had revalued its plant and machinery at Patalganga and Naroda in 1997-98 and consequently, there has been an additional depreciation charge of Rs 58 crore for h1’03 and an equivalent amount has been withdrawn from the general reserves, it said adding there was no impact on the profit for the period.

The paid-up share capital of RIL has increased to Rs 1.39 crore on allotment of shares on October 23, 2002 to the shareholders of erstwhile Reliance Petroleum Ltd, after the merger of the petroleum major with its parent, it said.

Attributing the company’s performance to late patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said the achievement was a tribute to the great vision, inspiration and dedication of the founder. (PTI)

OVL buys Talisman’s 25pc in Sudan Oil field for USd 720 mn

MUMBAI, Oct 31: ONGX Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), has bought 25 per cent stake of Canadian Talisman Energy Inc in greater Nile oil project in Sudan for US dollar 720 million (Rs 3,600 crore).

"We were able to successfully complete the deal at USd 720 million instead of the upper limit of US 750 million and the deal was signed between OVL and Talisman in New Delhi on October 29", senior Petroleum Ministry sources told PTI here today.

Sources said an announcement to this effect will be made later today simultaneously by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Ram Naik in Mumbai and Talisman Energy in Canada.

The oil field has reserves of 150 million metric tonnes per annum which translates into production of 1,050 million barrels, they said adding it was almost equal to production of India’s prime Mumbai high field.

"Currently, the Sudan field is producing 12 million tonnes per annum (2.40 lakh barrels per day from its heglig and unity fields), and as of august 31, 2002 ovl has bought three million tonnes from it", sources added.

China National Petroleum Corporation holds 40 per cent stake, Malaysia’s petronas 30 per cent and Sudan’s Sudapet the remaining 5 per cent in the project.

However, sources said, these two foreign partners are yet to approve OVL’s entry into the project. (PTI)

Call rate stable, G-secs up in range-bound trading

MUMBAI, Oct 31: The interbank call money rate orbited around the new repo rate of 5.50 per cent and closed steady at 5.45-5.55 per cent amid abundant liquidity and heavy subscriptions to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today.

Call rate opened flat at 5.50-5.60 per cent and remained confined in a narrow band of 5.40-60 per cent during the session with state-run banks, awash with liquidity, actively offering funds just below the repo rate.

The rate closed at 5.45-5.55 per cent, unchanged from its yesterday’s close.

RBI today accepted all the 10 bids it received for Rs 11,680 crore in its one-day repo auction at a cut-off rate of 5.50 per cent.

The secondary market for Government securities witnessed lacklustre trading with bond prices gaining marginally by 3-10 paise.

Government bonds, which staged a smart rally in the last two days pulling down the yields to their record lows after the monetary policy announcement, stayed range-bound with players booking profit, dealers said.

The 11.50 per cent, 2011 and 11.03 per cent, 2010, bonds were up by seven and four paise at Rs 130.44 and Rs 128.13 respectively. The 9.85 per cent, 2015 and 8.07 per cent, 2017 papers moved up by five and seven paise to Rs 122.69 and Rs 107.42 respectively. (UNI)

Punjab agri report moot ways to come out of rice-wheat rotation

CHANDIGARH, Oct 30: The Chief Minister’s committee on agriculture policy has made several recommendations for taking the economy of Punjab out of vortex of rice-wheat rotation and put it on a sustainable growth path.

The report, compiled by Committee Chairman Dr S S Johal and making 95 recommendations, was presented by the Chairman to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at a press conference here today.

Briefing about the recommendations made in the report, Johal said that the state should aim at replacing at least one million hectares of land from under rice-wheat rotation with other crops which consumes lesser water and are compatible ecologically.

One million hectares of land produces 8.04 million tonnes of food grains (4.69 million tonnes wheat and 3.35 million tonnes or rice) annually, he said adding that these grains become marketed surplus in total and were all sold to the Government at Minimum Support Price (MSP) costing about Rs 6976 crore to procure these grains.

He said that if these grains get disposed off at BPL prices or are exported the Government looses over Rs 5000 crore in one year.

"It is advantageous to the Central Government that at this stage eight million tonnes of grains or even more are not produced till the foodgrains stocks get reduced to manageable levels of 20 to 25 million tonnes," he suggested in his report.

"The target of shifting of one million hectares of land from under rice-wheat rotation to other crops can be achieved at a cost of Rs 1280 crore only by providing compensation to farmers for not growing rice and wheat and shifting the area to other crops under a crop adjustment programme which is consistent with wto provisions," Johal said.

India imports oils, oilseeds and pulses costing more than rs 10000 crore annually, he said adding that if this land area of one million hectares was even partially put under oilseeds and pulses this would result in substantial reduction in foreign exchange requirement of these imports.

He said that once oilseeds and pulses are grown in irrigated area it would reduce year to year violent variations in the production of these crops and supplies of oilseeds and pulses would be put on comparatively more sure footings.

Johal recommended that in order that shift from wheat-rice rotation becomes economically sustainable, the alternative crops must yield income higher than that promised by rice-wheat rotation.

Johal said that some income support programmes must be put in place to encourage the cultivation of alternative crops.

"If the income support programme is put in place, crops like maize, pulses and oilseeds will yield matching income for farmers and it will become economical for them to shift to the cultivation of these crops," he said.

He said that emphasis of research and extension education, since India is short of oilseeds and pulses, must shift from wheat and rice to these crops.

Johal said that the guiding force for diversification within the crop sector has to be the emphasis on reduction of cost of production, improving productivity and profitability of alternative crops as well as assuring the market clearance for these commodities.

He said that research work on vegetables has to be given due priority. The research approach must be oriented to evolve and adopt varieties that are suitable for processing into products of international standards rather than varieties meant for table purposes.

There is a need to specify areas for production of vegetables of processing qualities and invite food companies of credibility to set up processing units, he recommended.

Johal said that the productivity in dairy sector needs to be improved through improvement in animal breeds, proper health coverage and better feeding.

"For the purpose of improving animal breeds, it is suggested that around 20 lakh doses of best quality semen may be imported in two to three installments annually for at least five years," he said.

The fodder crops planting should be planned such that lean period availability of green fodder -May and June and September and October is reduced to the minimum, he said.

He said that there is need for providing insurance cover to animals on reasonable rates and simplification of procedures for claims.

He said that new milk processing companies should be invited and the existing companies encouraged to expand milk processing facilities to larger areas ensuring that milk handling capacity increases consistent with the increase in milk production.

Johal said that there is need to identify suitable medicinal, aromatic and spice crops for different climatic zones of Punjab along with setting up of proper processing facilities, quality testing laboratories and marketing facilities.

He also recommended a separate ministry for diversification with required authority over the agencies involved. (PTI)

MLL promoters plan to consolidate holding in merged company

NEW DELHI, Oct 30: The promoters of Matrix Laboratories Ltd (MLL) are contemplating to consolidate their holding in the company from the current level of 38.26 per cent on base of Rs 7.18 crore to 46.18 per cent on the expanded equity base of Rs 9.72 crore.

The MLL board has approved a resolution to offer 25.3 lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 107 per share to the promoters on a preferential allotment basis, according to sources.

As a result, the public holding in the company will come down to 39.72 per cent from the existing level of 53.17 per cent, they added.

The sources said it will enable the Matrix promoters to consolidate their holding in the company.

The sources said the MLL promoters will invest over Rs 27 crore in the company — Rs 2.53 crore towards equity and the balance as premium.

Last month, Vorin Labs (VLL) and Medicorp Technologies India Ltd (MTIL) had merged with Matrix Laboratories.

While the Rs 168-crore Vorin Labs is controlled by Ranbaxy Labs, the Chennai-based Shriram Group and the Hyderabad-based Rs 102-crore pharma company Matrix Laboratories jointly control the Rs 42-crore Medicorp Technologies.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed MLL, VLL and MTIL to call meetings of their respective shareholders on November 10 and seek their approval for the proposed merger.

Subject to the required approvals from various regulators, the merger will be effective from April 1, 2002, the sources added. (UNI)

UTI, SEBI, Delhi metro ordinances notified

NEW DELHI, Oct 30: President A P J Abdul Kalam has promulgated the ordinances to repeal UTI Act, amend SEBI Act and regulate Metro Railway of Delhi.

The ordinances, which come into immediate effect, would be replaced by bills in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament, an official release said today.

The restructuring of Unit Trust of India and repeal of UTI Act ordinance seeks to repeal the Act of 1963 and restructure the country’s largest mutual fund by splitting it into two — UTI-I, comprising US-64 and assured return schemes, and UTI-II, comprising net asset value schemes.

"The assets and liabilities of UTI will, henceforth, vest in these two entities. It also seeks to rationalise the process of UTI. There is no bail out," the release said.

While seeking to corporatise the two units, the ordinance seeks to pave the way for a permanent and final solution by fencing in the liabilities of UTI.

SEBI (Amendment) Ordinance seeks to provide extra teeth to the market regulator by conferring powers of search and seizure with court approval and enhancing penalty limit to Rs 25 crore besides enlarging its board and that of Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

"This is intended to stabilise capital market and build confidence of investors for an effective regulation of listed companies to save them from predatory manipulations in tune with emerging globalisation of Indian economy," it said.

The Metro Railway (Operation and Maintainance) Ordinance seeks to provide a legal frame for regulation of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

"Patterned on the Indian Railways Act 1989, the ordinance will regulate operation, maintenance and upkeep of DMRC in orderly ways," the official release said.

It provides for a metro railway administration, with a provision for a Metro Railway Safety Commissioner to regulate operational and otherwise safety standards of DMRC, and a Claims Commissioner for accidents and resultant compensation in its operation.

"The provisions for offences and penalties to be prescribed are in consonance with those in the Calcutta Metro Railway and in the Indian Railways Act 1989 with suitable enhancement," he said.

Metro Railway in Delhi would be operated by DMRC, jointly incorporated by Central and Delhi state Governments.

The Chairman of DMRC is a nominee of Central Government and the Managing Director a nominee of Delhi Government.(PTI)

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