Solar Panels Made in USA – Which Photovoltaic Modules have Buy American certification

7 Jul, 2011 by
Solar Panels

Solar Panels have recently become a point of trade friction between USA and China as a massive oversupply of solar panels has resulted in the prices of solar panels dropping by almost 50% in one year.This has caused great distress amongst solar panel manufacturers in the USA particularly the high cost ones which have been forced to close.Falling prices of solar panels are great news for customers and American Solar Installers but bad news for the producers of these solar panels.Now US and European companies are selling their solar panels advertising their “made in USA” credentials.This is to help them sell the solar panels which cost more but according to them have better quality and appeal to the patriotism of the Americans.

Note the 2009 Economic Stimulus American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Act  which promoted renewable energy had in fact “Buy American” provisions as well as the defense law passed in 2011.This means that a small part of the solar market is reserved for US Solar Panel Manufacturers who are being besieged by the low cost Chinese solar panel producers around the world.In fact Photovoltaic Module player Solarworld (which is German) is spearheading an effort to pass anti-dumping duties against the import of Chinese solar modules.So which companies have “Made in USA” label.The surprising thing is that many of the solar companies are in fact foreign mostly European and Japanese though there are a native US companies as well.Note the most successful US Solar Companies First Solar and Sunpower (now Total) have always had the majority of their production outside the US in Asia.

What is Buy American Certification

A Solar Panel can  quality for “Buy American” provision if a substantial portion of the value added is done on American soil.A Solar Panel goes through a number of steps and it is not required that all the steps be done in the USA.Just like Solar Panels in Ontario have to meet some domestic content requirements so does Buy American solar panels.

List of Solar Panel Brands with “Made in USA” Label

  1. Kyocera – Kyocera is one of the oldest solar panel manufacturers and is second only to Sharp amongst the Japanese companies.It  also manufactures industrial ceramics, telecommunications equipment, office document imaging equipment, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools, and components for medical and dental implant systems.Kyocera Solar Corp. in Japan was founded in 1996, and Kyocera Solar, Inc. in the U.S. in 1999.The company has production bases in Japan, Mexico, Europe and China and is planning a factory in California as well.The company plans to reach 1000 MW of production by 2013.The Kyocera KD P Series of Modules come in 135 Watts to 315 Watts range Kyocera gives a  standard 20 year power output warranty and 5 year workmanship warranty.It has UL and IEC Certificaitons.It also qualifies for “Buy American” since its made in San Diego.
  2. Sharp is the biggest company in the world in terms of making revenues from sales of solar panels so it seems counterintuitive for someone to recommend not buying Sharp Solar Panels.However this Japanese Conglomerate has been losing marketshare rapidly to cheaper Asian competitors
  3. Sanyo Solar is one the biggest Japanese solar companies along with Sharp,Kyocera and Mitsubishi.After Panasonic bought Sanyo,the emphasis on the renewable energy green division has been increased by Panasonic..Sanyo had been already been metamorphizing into a Green company from an Electronics company before Panasonic bought it for a very cheap price.Sanyo Sells PV Solar Panels under the HIT Brand which is derived from the Technology it uses.The HIT Solar Panels from Sanyo are one of the highest efficiency solar panels availabe on the market today
  4. Sunpower sells the highest efficiency solar panels made from its record breaking monocrystalline solar cells which have more than 24% efficiency.Sunpower Solar Panel Prices are priced at a premium to the normal crystalline solar panels because the efficiency of the solar cells made by Sunpower are higher
  5. First Solar Solar Panels use Cadmium-Tellurium Thin Film Solar Technology while the majority of the Solar Industry uses Crystalline Silicon Technology.Despite the difference First Solar is the most valued solar stock in the world and has been for a long time.First Solar Solar Panels efficiency has also increased in the last few years such that First Solar is now targeting commercial segments of the market.Note First Solar earlier used to sell solar panels mostly to developers and utilities to build ground mounted solar panel farms where the lower efficiency of the Cd-Te solar panels did not matter.
  6. Uni Solar – After First Solar,Energy Conversion Devices seemed the mostly likely viable company in Thin Film Technology.After a few quarters of profits in 2008,the company went into the red as its flexible a-Si modules failed to cut costs as fast as others.It has been shutting factories in the US and shifting to low cost locations.Still one of the biggest independent Thin Film Producers.Seems more likely that it will be bought out then survive independently.
  7. Miasole – Miasole made a major splash announcing a record breaking 13.8% efficiencythin film module which it will ship in 2011.The company still is not a major commercial player despite having shipped 100 mw of solar panels now.It faces stiff competition from the mainstream crystalline silicon solar panels.
  8. Nanosolar – This secretive CIGs startup has big backers in the form of Google and others.The company is planning to build a massive plant in US but till now there has been little news about its commercial shipments,efficiency or costs.Remains to be seen if it manages to succeed or joins the long list of thin film deaths.
  9. Abound Solar – Abound Solar which is a CdTe startup has also received a massive loan guarantee like Solyndra earlier.This money is going to be used to set up manufacturing facilities in Indiana and Colorado.Abound Solar has been heavily supported the the US government’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and is in the process of starting a 200 MW plant in Colorado.
  10. Global Solar Energy opened in 1996, and in 2008 finished another phase of development as it expanded its CIGS production to a new 40 MW facility in Tucson, Arizona and a second 35 MW facility in Berlin, Germany
  11. General Electric – GE has invested in a Cadmium Tellurium Startup Prime Solar which is ramping up production.Note Cd-Te is the same technology which is used by First Solar.GE has said that it has managed to attain 15% efficiency on commercial glass.Don’t know how much of it is true since First Solar only manages around 12% efficiency despite around 10 years of dedicated R&D.However if GE can even manage to get near to that level then it would surely give First Solar a run for its money.GE has also tied up with Japanese Solar Frontier to market its CIGs based modules
  12. Suniva was spun out of Georgia Institute of Technology’s University Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics (UCEP)  using  the work of Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi in 2007 who is the founder and director of the photovoltaic (PV) research program.Suniva produces 17+% – 20% efficient cells. Currently, Suniva is producing 20%+ in the lab, and the world’s highest commercially available cell efficiency in full-scale low-cost production
  13. Solarworld is the Biggest German producer of solar panels,the company is one of the few to still have operations in Europe and USA.Solarworld producers its own wafers,cells and modules making it one of the few vertically integrated companies in Europe.This ensures higher quality control and lower costs.The company has been battered by low cost competition from China and has recently led efforts to bring anti-dumping against Chinese imports to USA.Solarworld is strongly expanding in USA as growth slows down in Germany.
  14. Schott – The German Glass Maker is a big component supplier to the CSP industry but does not provide a turnkey solution.Schott is also involved in the Solar PV Technology area producing both crystalline silicon panels as well as thin film panels.It recently established a JV with Chinese company Hareon and plans to build 700 MW of solar panel capacity in emerging markets around the world.It has won a contract to supply 20 MW of thin film modules to Indian Solar Company Premier Solar with 10 MW of supply in 2010 and 10 MW in 2011
  15. Suntech was  the world’s biggest producer of solar panels in 2010 and was one the first companies to set up operations in China.Its example was followed by a host of other Chinese companies.Suntech has been slow to expand compared to the fast growing small companies in China and has lost marketshare to them.It has started to vertically integrate in order to meet the low cost challenge from Trina and Yingli.The company has opened a small 30 MW factory in the USA which it plans to expand .

ET Solar Group Panels(190W,280,235) Review of Prices,Cost,Where they are Made – Are they Good in UK,Australia

6 Jul, 2011 by
Solar Panels

ET Solar Group

The ET Solar Group was founded in 2007.The company is relatively small compared to the biggest solar panel producers like Yingli,Suntech as its capacity is one/fifth the size of these big panel producers.It is more comparable to small Chinese solar companies like CEEG Solar,Eging and Sunlink..ET Solar is a quasi vertically integrated solar equipment manufacturer  with  presence in Europe, North America and Australia. ET Solar iis not fully integrated like LDK,Yinglie which makes polysilicon as well.However it does make  silicon ingot, wafer, cell, module and a variety of BoS component products. ET Solar offers high-quality modules, inverter, tracker, BIPV, PV Kit and other solar products in more than 50 countries and regions in the whole world. Worldwide more than 500MW projects are already finished.The company is not publicly listed but is funded from Private Equity Sources.In these tough conditions it is questionable whether ET Solar can survive as it is not a Tier 1 producer.ET Solar has a good presence in the UK and Australian Markets.However Australian Solar Power Industry has seen a number of solar panel producers entering the industry and there are good alternatives available from Trina and Suntech

ET Solar Panels Review

ET Solar sells solar panels in a wide variety of power ratings and their quality is generally regarded as decent without being great.Here is a list of solar panels being solar by ET Solar.ET Solar Panels are manufactured in China like the rest of the Chinese solar panels because of the much lower costs of capital and labor.China has around 60% marketshare of the solar panel industry which means that unless you are buying a solar panel from a completely unknown small company,you will in general get a good solar panel.

ET Solar Panels

The Monocrystalline Solar Panels are sold with  aluminum frames0 and 0 to +5W positive tolerance for mainstream
products.They have a 25year linear performance warranty and 10-year warranty on materials and workmanship.ET Solar Panels are sold in the 185 to 300 Watt Ranges .ET Solar 235 Watts and ET Soalr 280 Watts Solar Panels are some of the more popular panels that the company sells.The company recently introduced new antireflective modules to the global market.The company says the dense coating on the surface of the antireflective modules delivers higher light absorption and slows the power degradation, which compares favorably to conventional glass-based modules.

The company sells both black and standard blue color solar panels.They made mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline cells in 5″ and 6″ sizes and the solar modules with 6 inch cells have 60 solar cells while the 5 inch cells come in solar modules of 72 cells.

  1. ET-M572 (185W-205W)
  2. ET-M572BB (180W-195W)
  3. ET-M660 (235W-250W)
  4. ET-M660BB (235W-250W)
  5. ET-M672 (280W-305W)
  6. ET-M672BB (280W-300W)
  7. ET-P660 (220W-250W)
  8. ET-P660WB (220W-245W)
  9. ET-P672 (270W-300W)
  10. ET-P672WB (270W-295W)
  11. ET-M572BBZ (180W-195W)
  12. ET-M572WWZ (180W-205W)
  13. ET-P660WBZ (220W-245W)
  14. ET-P660WWZ (220W-250W)
  15.  ET-M572 (185W-205W)
  16. ET-M572BB (180W-195W)
  17. ET-M660  (235W-250W)
  18. ET-M660BB (235W-250W)
  19. ET-M672 (280W-305W)
  20. ET-M672BB (280W-300W)
  21. ET-P660 (220W-250W)
  22. ET-P660WB (220W-245W)
  23. ET-P672 (270W-300W)
  24. ET-P672WB (270W-295W)
  25. ET-M572BBZ (180W-195W)
  26. ET-M572WWZ (180W-205W)
  27. ET-P660WBZ (220W-245W)
  28. ET-P660WWZ (220W-250W)

ET Solar Panels Prices

ET Solar Panel Prices have reduced quite sharply with the fall in industry pricing of solar panels.Being a Tier 2 producer ET Solar Panels can be bought cheaper than Suntech Solar panels or panels from Western producers like REC.With massive inventory buildup,there is currently a hugely discounted sale on solar panels.ET Solar Panel Prices were around $1.4/watt in retail which means that in large quantities you can buy ET Solar panels for prices as low as $1.1/watt.ET Solar 280 Watt Panels are being sold for $400  which is a good deal.But there are other equally good solar panels from companies like CEEG ST,JA Solar,Sunlink and SunEarth as well.So you should compare the prices of these solar panels before buying them.

ET Solar Panels Warranty

Most of the solar panel manufacturers have increased their 5 year product warranty to 10 years in recent times with increased competition.With prices of solar panels having fallen to as low as Euro 70c/watt,the only way solar panel producers can shine in the crowd is by giving additional quality and features.ET Solar like other Chinese solar panel manufacturers has extended the warranty to 10 years.

The new module product warranty commitment, ET Solar extends the warranty term for defects of modules in workmanship and materials from 5 years to 10 years for its core module products since May 2011

ET Solar BIPV and Solar Systems Review

ET sells Solar Stand-alone system designed for facilities located in remote and rural areas(telecommunications, water pumping, etc).The company also sells a ET Kit which is a package of  inverters and system components which has a All-in-one design that  reduces installation efforts

ET Solar offers BIPV modules as well in addition to its line of standard solar panels.BIPV modules are building integrated solar panels and have a different structure and technology in comparision to solar panels. BIPV modules can be integrated to new buildings and retrofitted onto existing buildings.

ET Solar sells frameless solar modules,transparent solar modules as well as double glass solar modules.

Reviews of other Solar Panel Brands

Solar Lighting in India Guide- List of Suppliers (Tata BP Solar) and Products(LED) for Home and Commercial

6 Jul, 2011 by
Green Investing,Solar Energy

Solar Lighting in India

Solar Power in India has been growing at an explosive pace due to declining costs of Solar Energy and incentives given by the Government of India under JNNSM.While most of the subsidies for solar energy in India are going to large solar farms,Solar Lighting is also growing steadily without any support.This is due to the fact that Solar Lighting saves on electricity costs and is also environment friendly.Solar Lighting in India is gaining traction not only in the upper income segments but also at the bottom of the pyramid.Solar Lanterns and Lamps are replacing expensive,GHG emitting kerosene lamps in poor rural as well as urban India.Despite shoddy subsidies,solar lamps have become economic to compete with fossil fuel alternatives.Solar Lighting is also being heavily used for Street Illumination in places where the electricity grid is not present.Solar Lighting is also gaining acceptance in use  in gardens where they can capture sunlight in the morning and light the gardens in the night using the stored energy.

Types of Solar Lighting in India

1) Solar Lamps/Lanterns

Solar Lamps or Solar Lanterns have seen astounding growth in India driven mainly by the lack of access to electricity and the high costs of Kerosene or gas lamps.Note Solar Lamps have been so successful in India mainly due to their economic utility rather than their Green Characteristics.Note 100,000 Indian villages do not yet have electricity which means that the productivity comes to a complete stop in the dark.Note Kerosene a dirty oil refined product is the main source of energy for millions of Indian citizens.Kerosene is a health hazard resulting in accidental fires and causing a lot of smoke which can lead to various respiratory diseases.The Kerosene is given in limited quantities and is not sufficient to Light the Darkness for a month or more.The advent of Solar LED Lamps has been a godsend solution to this problem.

2) Solar home lighting systems

Solar home lighting system consists of the Solar Panels, Mounting structure, battery, battery box, Solar charge-controller, luminaries, cables and switches. The Solar Lighting Fixtures have inbuilt DC to AC inverter converters.Solar Lighting Home Systems can also run TVs and Fans though running of Solar Air Conditioners is not possible because of high wattage requirements.

3) Solar Street Lighting

Solar Street Lighting System is a lighting system for the illumination of streets & squares and cross roads located in areas that are not connected to the power grid.The standalone solar street lighting system comprises of a Solar Panel ,Lead acid battery for Energy Storage, Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) as light source, suitable electronics and hard-ware like pole, battery box  for fixing of these sub system.The system is controlled by a controller with automatic ON/OFF time switch, which control the light from dusk till morning or other setting time.Note high end Solar Street Ligthing can consist of LED Lamps instead of CFLs.

4) Solar LED Lighting

The falling prices of LEDs has made it possible to couple these two green technologies together. Solar LED Lighting can be used anywhere as a replacement for normal Solar Lighting which used CFLs.

Solar Lighting Suppliers

Selco India SELCO Solar Pvt. Ltd, a social enterprise established in 1995.SELCO employsabout 170 employees in Karnataka and Gujarat spread across 25 energy service centers. Selco sells most Solar Products alongwith Financing Packages as well.

D.light Design – D.Light Design was started with the socially responsible goal of bringing light affordably to millions of poor.Its flagship product is S250 which is a dual purpose solar light and mobile charger. Its b It provides 10 times more light than a kerosene lantern.

It also charges the most popular mobile phones on the market. It keeps personal mobile phones fully charged even when AC power is unavailable or inconvenient.

Tata BP Solar – This Tata Company has one of the biggest and oldest solar panel manufacturing operations in the country.Tata BP Solar also manufactures a wide variety of Solar Product which includes different types of Solar Sodium,Solar CFL and Solar LED Lamps .Tata BP Solar is perhaps the best solar lighting provider in India given the brandname and inhouse manufacturing of solar components.It has a range of Solar Lighting Solutions based on LED and non LED lights.

  1. Jugnu Solar Home Lighting  Compact home lighting solutions, primarily in rural areas where there is an absence of a grid or where grid power is unreliable.
  2.  Venus Solar Home Lighting – Venus Solar Home and Space Lighting Systems are cost-effective, yet reliable lighting systems for home use in rural areas.
  3. Solar i2 LED Lighting – Revolutionary home lighting solution based on LED technology that consumes 50% lesser energy and lasts longer.
  4. Solar Street Lighting – Margadeep Solar Street Lighting Systems are standalone systems that provide reliable outdoor lighting for campuses, roads, villages, open spaces]
  5. Solar iBEAM – LED Lighting- Solar powered LED street light for outdoor application.

Hiramut Energies  manufactures and exports Solar Energy Products,  under the brand name of “Sun-Ray”. and is  based in Gujarat.They sell Solar Cooker, Solar Home System, Solar Led Lantern, Solar Led Street Light, and Solar Water Heating System.

Neutech Solar Systems is mainly focused on solar water heaters but is also sells solar street lighting systems

Anu Solar started 1979 and has a manufacturing unit for Solar Water Heating Systems and Solar Photovoltaic Systems .They sell solar lighting systems for streets and residential purposes.

Deepa Solar Lighting Systems has been around for 10 years.The company also sells a wide variety of solar products like solar fans,solar street lights,solar lamps,solar garden lights etc.

Tilak International is a manufacturer of LED signals, solar charge controllers, solar lighting system, solar home lighting system, solar street lighting system .

Aditya Energy Systems established in the year 2000, is a  manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic lighting systems. Aditya Energy Systems manufactures solar lighting systems of various capacities ranging from few watts to kilowatts catering to domestic and international customer requirements

Luminous Power Technologies Limited/Schneider Electric has LED (light emitting diode) based Solar Lighting Solution The energy efficient LED based design of this new product with a single light output is at par with 11 watts CFL. ging between 11 to 12 hrs.

Topsun Energy makes a host of products like Solar Refrigerators,solar pumps etc. is mainly known as Solar Telecom System Manufacturers and Led Solar Street Light Suppliers

Read more about Solar Cookers in India and buying Solar Panels in India.

Steel Pipe Manufacturers in India – Welspun,Man,Jindal Saw Expanding into Foreign Shores

5 Jul, 2011 by
Indian Markets

Steel PipeSteel is an essential material used in many industries – it’s the backbone to countless products, structures and services that shape the everyday lives of people throughout the world.One of the major uses of Steel is in the Manufacture of Pipes which are used to transport energy products.Pipelines are a transportation system that enables the safe movement of inordinate quantities of energy products to industry and consumers, literally fueling our economy and way of life. They are arteries of any Nation’s energy infrastructure, as well as the safest and least costly ways to transport energy products.

In general Steel Companies in India with the exception of the Jindal Group are not involved in the Steel Pipe production .Most of the Steel makers in India have major operations in foreign countries particular Middle East.The boom times seem to be over for the sector and competition has become higher.

Steel Pipe Manufacturers in India

Jindal Saw Ltd. – Jindal SAW Ltd. is a part of the USD $ 12 billion O.P. Jindal Group, the foremost indigenous steel producers and exporters. It was the first company in India to use U-O-E technology to manufacture Submerged Arc Welded (SAW) Pipes. With a turnover in excess of Rs. 7000 crore, the company enjoys leadership in India’s tubular market. At Jindal SAW Ltd., the business operations are highly structured with three strategic business units: Large Diameter Pipes, Seamless Tubes, and DI (Ductile Iron) Pipes. It has diversified from a single product company to a multi-product company, manufacturing large diameter submerged arc pipes and spiral pipes and bends for the energy transportation sector; carbon, alloy and stainless steel seamless pipes and tubes manufactured by conical piercing process used for industrial applications; and Ductile iron (DI) pipes for water and sewage transportation. Besides these, the company also provides various value added products like pipe coatings, bends and connector castings to its clients.

Welspun Corp Ltd. – the flagship company of Welspun Group, is today probably the Largest Large Diameter Line Pipe Company in the World. It is ranked as the 2nd Largest (Large Diameter) Pipe Producer by Financial Times UK. WCL manufactures and supplies some of the most critical pipelines in the World from its India and U.S. plants. With an installed line pipe capacity of nearly 2.0 MTPA, the company has supplied pipes for World’s deepest pipeline project (Independence Trail’, Gulf of Mexico), Highest Pipeline project (Peru LNG),  to the longest pipeline (Canada to US) and the heaviest Pipeline (Persian Gulf). WCL client list includes Transcanada, Enterprise, Kinder Morgan, Texas Gas, Hunt Oil, Saudi Aramco, Elpaso, Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petro DOW.

Man industries – It is a leading manufacturer and exporter of large diameter Carbon Steel Line Pipes for various high pressure transmission applications for Gas, Crude Oil, Petrochemical Products and Potable Water. The Company has manufacturing facilities for LSAW & HSAW Line Pipes and also for various types of Anti-Corrosion Coating Systems.

PSL Limited – With a production capacity in excess of the 1 million ton mark, PSL is India’s largest manufacturer of HSAW pipes. The market share is not only confined to the domestic market but is also reflected in the huge orders from the US. The company has a  300,000 MT capacity plant in Missisipi.

Ratnamani Metals and Tubes Ltd. – In just two decades, Ratnamani has grown to become a multi-product, multi location public limited company providing total piping solutions to a diverse range of industries. Ratnamani manufactures Carbon Steel Pipes in following construction: High Frequency Welded [HFW] Pipes Submerged Arc Welded [SAW] Pipes.
The manufacturing facilities have the technology to produce a wide range of Stainless Steel Welded, Seamless Tubes & Pipes and Carbon Steel Welded Pipes. The company caters to the niche markets of almost all the emerging sectors like oil and gas, refineries, petrochemicals, process industries, power plants and water distribution. Ratnamani ensures high degree of flexibility in production and planning, making possible economical manufacture especially of small and medium sized production lots.

Suraj Stainless Ltd. – has specialization in tubing for Heat exchangers, Heater, Condensers, Heating Elements and Instrumentation with facility of annealed, pickled, cold rolled and weld bead removed tubes upto 22-meters long tubes. Suraj Stainless is a Govt. of India recognized Export House and is selling its premium products in India and abroad to more than 53 countries in all over the world. The company is well known for its Stainless Steel, Seamless & Welded Pipes, Tubes & ‘U’ Tubes which are manufactured and tested to international Standards. Because of the product availability in various sizes, grades and specifications, it is used by various industrial houses for their applications.

Zenith Birla India Ltd. – Zenith Birla (India) Limited is a Multifunctional Organisation having a turnover of US$.100 million per annum, manufacturing a wide range of products like Steel Pipes, Dyestuff Inter-Mediates, Synthetic Textile Yarns and Steel Cutting Tools.
Its Steel Pipes Division located at Khopoli (Mumbai), went into production in a record time of eighteen months. This Division ranks as one of the pioneers amongst Steel Pipe manufacturers of India. The manufacturing Process used is the latest technology of High Frequency Induction Welding process. The products are used in various applications like Water and gas, Line Pipes, Structural Pipes, Conveyor Idlers, Bore well Casing, Scaffolding Tubes, Electric Pole, Telecommunications, Conduits, Precision Tubes, Automobile Chassis etc.

Prakash Steelage Ltd. – Prakash Steelage Limited a company of the Prakash Group, is a leading manufacturer of High Quality Stainless Steel Seamless and Welded Pipes, Tubes & U-tubes, available in various sizes.  Length of tubes is as per customer requirement. PSL’s welded and seamless tubes confirm to ASTM / ASME standards. The customer base includes a diverse set of industries including Oil & Gas, Power, Pharmaceutical, Petrochemical, Sugar, Dairy, Automobile, Desalination etc. Our products have found wide acceptance in the markets of North America, South East Asia, Africa, Middle-East and Europe.
Oil  Country Tubular Ltd. – Oil Country Tubular Limited (OCTL), is one of the leading companies in the world processing a range of Oil Country Tubular Goods required for the Oil Drilling and Exploration Industry. The Products are manufactured to the relevant American Petroleum Institute (API) Specifications and carry API monogram. OCTL’s wide product range covers Drill Pipe, Heavy Weight Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Production Tubing, Casing, Tool Joints, Couplings, Pup Joints, Subs, and Cross Overs. OCTL Drill Pipe and Tool Joints are manufactured from the finest quality steel available. OCTL can also manufacture and supply in large numbers finished Tool Joints and API Couplings for Tubing and Casing of all grades.

Natural Gas and LNG Supply and Demand in India – List of Companies and Gas Market Review

5 Jul, 2011 by
Energy,Gas

Introduction

Natural gas is rightly termed as the Fuel of the 21st Century, has emerged as the most preferred fuel due to its efficiency and cost effectiveness. The demand of natural gas has sharply increased in the last two decades at the global level. The production of natural gas is around 87 million standard cubic meters per day. The main producers of natural gas are Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), Oil India Limited (OIL) and JVs of Tapti, Panna-Mukta and Ravva. Even private parties from some fields produce gas under Production Sharing Contracts. Government has also offered blocks under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) to private and public sector companies with the right to market gas at market determined prices. In India most of the production of gas comes from the Western offshore area. The on-shore fields in Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat States are other major producers of gas. Smaller quantities of gas are also produced in Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan States. OIL operates in Assam and Rajasthan States, whereas ONGC is operating in the Western offshore fields and in other states. Prior to 1987, gas prices were fixed by ONGC/OIL. since 1987, the price is being fixed by Government. The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has been regulating the allocation and pricing of gas produced by ONGC and OIL by issuing administrative orders from time to time. The gas produced by the JVs and by NELP operators is governed by the respective production sharing contracts between the Government and the producers. Under the existing policy, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed for both LNG projects and natural gas pipeline projects.

Natural Gas Allocation & Supply Scenario:

As against the total allocation of around 118 MMSCMD, the gas supplies by GAIL is of the order of 63 MMSCMD spread over about 300 major consumers. Around 32% is supplied to the fertiliser sector, 41% to power, 4% to sponge iron and the balance 23% goes to other sectors. Around 8.5 MMSCMD of gas is being directly supplied by the JVs/private companies at market prices to various consumers. This gas is outside the purview of the Government allocations.

Liquified Natural Gas:
Natural gas at -1610C transforms into liquid. This is done for easy storage and transportation since it reduces the volume occupied by gas by a factor of 600. LNG is transported in specially built ships with cryogenic tanks. It is received at the LNG receiving terminals and is regassified to be supplied as natural gas to the consumers. LNG projects are highly capital intensive in nature. The LNG trade started in mid 60’s and has increased rapidly.World trade in LNG is currently in the range of 150 BCM. The major exporting countries of LNG are Algeria, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, whereas, the major importers are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Western Europe. Geographically, India is very strategically located and is flanked by large gas reserves on both the east and west. India is relatively close to four of the world’s top five countries in terms of proven gas reserves, viz. Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The large natural gas market of India is a major attraction to the LNG exporting countries. In order to encourage gas imports, the Government of India has kept import of LNG under Open General License (OGL) category and has permitted 100% FDI.Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), a JV promoted by GAIL, IOCL, BPCL and ONGC was formed for import of LNG to meet the growing demand of natural gas. Shell’s 2.5 MMTPA capacity LNG terminal at Hazira has been commissioned.

List of Natural Gas and LNG Companies in India

Note most Oil and Gas Majors in India are involved in Natural Gas production as well as Oil and Natural Gas are generally found together.Below is the list of companies which have major natural gas and LNG production and distribution operations as compared to crude oil

GAIL India – GAIL (India) Limited, is India’s flagship Natural Gas company, integrating all aspects of the Natural Gas value chain right from exploration to marketing.It emphasizes on clean fuel industrialization, creating a quadrilateral of green energy corridors that connect major consumption centers in India with major gas fields, LNG terminals and other cross border gas sourcing points. With a market cap Rs. 58,000 crores GAIL is expanding its business to become a player in the  International Market. . The revenue earned was 24,000 crores (2009-10) with a net profit margin of 11%.The business has achieved laying of Natural Gas high pressure trunk pipeline, LPG Gas Processing Units & Transmission pipeline network, oil and gas Exploration blocks, OFC network offering highly dependable bandwith for telecom service providers etc. GAIL has been entrusted with the responsibility of reviving the LNG terminal at Dabhol as well as sourcing LNG.GAIL is one of the best performing stocks in the Energy Industry in India in the last couple of years.It is a well managed fast growing company in one of the best sectors in India with high competitive barriers.

Oil India Ltd.– With a market capitalisation of Rs. 31,000 crores, OIL is engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of LPG. It became a wholly-owned Government of India enterprise in 1981. The revenue earned by the company was 2,400 crores & with a net profit margin of 36% in Dec ’10. Very similar in profile to ONGC it  presently produces over 3.2 million tons pa of crude oil, Natural Gas and over 50,000 Tones of LPG annually. Most of this emanates from its traditionally rich oil and gas fields concentrated in the Northeastern part of India and contribute to over 65% of total oil & gas produced in the region. It has emerged as a consistently profitable international company with exploration blocks as far as Libya and sub-Saharan Africa.

Reliance  Industries – The Flagship Company of the Ambanis and India’s largest Private Company Reliance Industries is also an Oil and Gas Giant .The Company has seen very sharp growth in the last decade and is diversifying into Retail.With a market cap exceeding $30 billion it is India’s most valued company.The company is also one of the biggest exporters in India with one of the largest petrochemical and oil refining complexes in the world at Jamnager.It recently sold a stake in its valuable Godavari Basin to BP for a whopping $7.5 billion.Extremely cash rich with a horde of more than $15 billion,it has started on empire building through ventures in Finance ( DE Shaw) ,Communicatoins (buying of wirelss broadband spectrum),Shale Gas Buys in the USA,Hospitality (Buying up stakes in Hotel Companies).

ONGC Corp – With a market cap of Rs. 235,000 crores ONGC ranks 3rd in Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (E&P) Industry globally .It cumulatively produced 803 Million Metric Tonnes of crude and 485 Billion Cubic Meters of Natural Gas from 111 fields. ONGC’s wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) is the biggest Indian multinational, with 40 Oil & Gas projects in 15 countries. The company earned a revenue of approx Rs. 20,000 crores with net profit margin of 34% in Dec’10.It holds largest share of hydrocarbon acreages in India & contributes over 79 per cent of Indian’s oil and gas production. Created a record of sorts by turning Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) around from being a stretcher case at BIFR to the BSE Top 30, within a year.

Petronet LNG Ltd. –  It was formed as a Joint Venture by the Government of India to import LNG and set up LNG terminals in the country, it involves India’s leading oil and natural gas industry players. The promoters are GAIL, ONGC, IOCL & BPCL. The company has a Market cap Rs. 9,000 crores. The revenues earned in Dec’10 was approximately Rs.3,600 crores with a net profit margin of 5%.

British Gas – BG Group is a key player within the gas industry in India, with a presence in both the E&P and T&D segments. BG Group has increased its exposure in India’s growing natural gas sector by developing its upstream position through licensing rounds and acquisitions.BG Group has held a 30% interest in the Mid and South Tapti gas fields and the Panna/Mukta oil and gas fields since 2002. In 2009, the combined fields produced 13.7 mmboe.BG Group has a 65.12% controlling stake in Gujarat Gas Company Limited (GGCL), with the remaining 34.88% publicly owned. GGCL is India’s largest private sector natural gas distribution company in terms of sales volume. As at end June 2010, GGCL served more than 296 000 residential, commercial and industrial customers through a pipeline network of over 3 500 kilometres. GGCL also fuelled compressed natural gas (CNG) to more than 119 000 natural gas vehicles (NGVs) as at 30 June 2010

Indraprastha Gas (IGL) – Incorporated in 1998, IGL took over Delhi City Gas Distribution Project in 1999 from GAIL (India) Limited (Formerly Gas Authority of India Limited).The project was started to lay the network for the distribution of natural gas in the National Capital Territory of Delhi to consumers in the domestic, transport, and commercial sectors. The 2 main promoters of the company are  – GAIL (India) Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL)

Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. (GSPL) – It is  a Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPCGSPC Group company is a pioneer in developing energy transportation infrastructure and connecting natural gas supply sources including LNG terminals to growing markets. GSPL is first Pipeline Company in India operating on open access basis and is a pure transmission network.The transmission network of the company envisages development of systematic and seamless pipeline network across Gujarat connecting various suppliers and users.

 

Indian Court objects to Retail Banking Licence for Black Money Facilitator UBS

5 Jul, 2011 by
Finance

India’s Supreme Court took over the investigation of vast amounts black money stashed in foreign money accounts from the compromised government.The ruling Congress party has proven to be remarkably reluctant to take action against corruption and black money despite huge pressure from the civil society and the judiciary.The government itself has ministers who are highly corrupt with a telecom minister in jail and the textile minister who may be on the way as well.Other ministers like the Agricultural Minister Pawar has repeatedly surfaced in numerous scams rocking the country.The Supreme Court has also taken the government to task for granting a retail banking license to the Swiss giant bank UBS.Note UBS had not been given a license as it was under suspicion for facilitating the movement of ill gotten money into Swiss bank accounts.

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