Mining
March 22, 2013
Coal Deaths in India India gets more than 50% of its energy requirements from coal, of which the country has got billions of tons in reserves. […]
February 19, 2013
ONGC Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited or ONGC as it is known commonly is Indian state-owned oil and Gas Company. ONGC produces around 77% of […]
November 30, 2012
Illegal Mining and Environmental Degradation has been a major problem in India with corruption spread across the political and business spectrum. Millions of tons of iron […]
August 14, 2012
State owned Indian companies have trodden over minority shareholder rights for a long time now. Ever since these companies were listed, minority shareholders have been getting […]
June 22, 2012
However India's biggest capital good equipment company BHEL owned by the government is plannning a $500 million investment to build a solar cell factory in at Sakoli which is part Union heavy industries minister Praful Patel's constituency Bhandara.Talk about how dumb you can get. BHEL hardly has too much expertise in the solar panel industry and with solar cells in massive oversupply,it is almost sure to lose money. However that is how things work with Indian government companies where investment is made at the whims of ministers rather than rationality and business sense.BHEL is currently trading at one of the lowest valuations in its 10 year history and its not a big wonder why. The company has benefited in the past as did other machinery and engineering companies from an infrastructure invesment boom. However those glory days are over for the company as it faces competition from the Chinese companies and decreasing orders flow. Praful Patel the minister has already spent a few years in the airline ministry presiding over the conversion of the state owned carrier Air India ino a basket case. Now its the turn of BHEL to be turned into a basket case as well.
February 9, 2012
US Coal Companies are being forced to close coal mines and reduce production because of a massive glut of cheap natural gas and emission standards . Note Coal Disadvantages are much more than that of other fossil fuels making it the dirtiest form of energy. While India and China face massive coal shortages , USA on the other hand faces a glut . Coal has been coming under increasing attact in the West with few new thermal plants being opened and many closed due to tougher pollution standards. Note Clean Coal Technolgies and CCS is being promoted to prolong the use of Coal but they are not getting much traction.
January 14, 2012
The Indian Solar Power has been one bright spot in the gloomy infrastructure and engineering sectors in 2011. With share prices crashing with growing corruption, land acquisition and financing problems, Solar Energy has surged in India thanks to government support and subsidies . While a number of Green Technology companies have started up to capitalize on the growing renewable energy trend, the established constuction companies in India have not been far behind . While utilities like Tata Power, Adani, Reliance Power, NTPC have already built or are setting up power plants based on solar panels , L&T has become a major solar EPC players . L&T is now raising debt with a $100 million issue to fund its solar expansion plans .
January 9, 2012
Coal Stealing and Pilferage by the Coal Mafia has always been done on a massive multi million dollar scale. In the coal rich states of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Chattisgarh, Stealing of Coal is a major illegal industry. Everyone knows about it and nothing is done as most officials and politicians get a cut of the illegal gains. Corruption in India is institutionalized as governing bodies remain weak and powerless. Despite India's much touted growth story,all these needling problems have contributed towards the Indian GDP slowing down sharply. Unless governance is improved,its tough to see how India can achieve its potential.
January 4, 2012
Adani Power,which is a leading Indian electricity company and part of the Adani Group is set to invest big money in the solar power in India.The company plans to set up 140 MW of energy capacity according to news reports with an investment of $600 million.Given the current costs of solar equipment and solar panels ,the price tag looks high at almost $3.5 million/MW when the current prices are more like $2 million/MW for large power plants in low cost locations like India.
January 3, 2012
Shale Gas Technology has completely changed the Oil and Gas Picture in North America.Natural Gas prices have touched new low below $3/mmbtu as massive discoveries and production of shale gas has led to a glut.With the Technology being exported to other countries,it is expected that Natural Gas may take over from Coal as the preferred choice of electricity power generation.China and India are already taking out tenders for shale gas blocks.However Shale Gas has a nasty side effect which is normally not talked about.The cases have kept increasing though the mainstream media and the powerful oil lobby has tried its best to supress it.The first one is water contamination which I had written about earlier
October 7, 2011
In the past ten years, cement consumption in India grew by approximately 7.5% per year. The building industry developed very dynamically, driven by the strong growth of population and the quick expansion of infrastructure. In 2005, India was after China the second largest cement consumer with around 135 million tonnes.
July 6, 2011
Coal is the biggest source of Energy for Electricity Production in the world and its use is expected to continue to grow to 44% of the Electricity Production by 2030 (IEA).Despite Coal having many dangerous disadvantages,its Advantages of cheapness and abundance have made it the Fossil Fuel of choice.With global reserves estimated to be around 200 years,it does not have the "peak oil" characteristics as well.Though not a Coal Fan,nonetheless Coal stocks are a great investment choice due to the fact of its growing demand which is outstripping supply.China and India are massively growing their electricity,steel and cement production which requires billions of tons of coal.China consumers almost 45% of the global coal production while Indian demand is growing by leaps and demands as well.Indian Power Utilities are grabbing up Coal Mines in Africa,Australia and Asia to secure feedstock for their gigawatt thermal power plants.Despite its growing importance Coal does not have a lot of choice in terms of investment unlike Fossil Fuels like Oil and Gas.Here is a list of Coal Stocks which one can invest in and the sole Coal ETF - Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL).
July 6, 2011
The Indian economy has performed strongly over the last few years, regularly hitting 8% and above growth rates . This rapid economic growth has led to a significant increase in demand for crude oil and natural gas, to the extent that India is currently the sixth largest consumer of oil and gas. India is one of the biggest importers of crude oil and natural gas as it has to import 2/3rd of its requirements of Oil. Upstream activity in India has rapidly grown post liberalization with 42 active offshore rigs and several seismic vessels engaged in operations offshore on the east and west coasts. Several significant discoveries have been announced since the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) was introduced. The commercial discovery of the Dhirubhai field by Reliance in the deepwater Krishna Godavari basin has demonstrated the existence of significant reserves in the basins of India. As India imports about two-thirds of its crude oil requirement, Exploration and production of oil and gas is critical for India's energy security and economic growth. Over the years the E&P industry has registered significant growth, primarily due to spiraling crude oil and gas prices.
July 5, 2011
Steel 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 particularly Middle East.The boom times seem to be over for the sector and competition has become higher.
July 5, 2011
Stainless steel production in India increased from 0.5 million tonnes in 1994-95 to 1.76 million tonnes in 2004-05. India has emerged as one of the top ten stainless steel producer in the world. With a production of 1.1 million tonnes during 2002, the country was ranked 8th in the world. With the economy booming, there is increasing demand for a wider range of products and services in stainless steel.Stainless Steel is manufactured by the mainstream Steel Companies in India beside there are some focused stainless steel companies as well.The Mining Industry in India supplies most of the raw materials used in the production of Stainless Steel.
July 5, 2011
Production of iron ore in the country is through a combination of large mechanised mines in both public and private sectors and several smaller mines operated in manual or semi mechanised basis in the private sector. During 2001-02, 215 iron ore mines were operating in a total 638 leases which increased to 261, during 2005-06 operating in 505 leases. During 2006-07, India produced 172.3 MT of iron ore including lump, fines & concentrate. Normally, iron ore mining in India is done by opencast method and on the basis of mining methods, the mining can be broadly divided into two categories, i.e., manual and mechanized. Majority of the large mechanised mines are in the public sectors whereas manual mines are mainly in the private sector. In order to support steel production of 110 MT by 2019-20, the requirement of iron ore is placed at 190 MT & exports have been estimated to be around 100 MT. World iron ore production was 1,690 MT in 2006. Although iron ore is mined in more than 50 countries, the bulk of world production comes from just a few countries. The five largest producers are Brazil,China, Australia, India & Russia.
July 5, 2011
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.
July 5, 2011
By definition it goes that Solar Energy is renewable. The sun rises every morning & sets every evening. It has continued like this since last billions of years & will continue for more billions of years. Hence there is an unlimited supply of sunlight. Unlike coal & oil which is fast depleting, there is an abundance of sunlight. Hence the prices of these products are getting dearer, whereas the solar energy will definitely be very reasonable in the near future. The day is not far off when all our homes & offices will be lit by this solar energy & that too for almost free.
Strictly speaking nothing in this universe is renewable but if the time-line of the energy source is sufficiently long for example in the case of the sun which will be billions of years then it is renewable.Solar Energy is definitely more renewable than Hydro or Geothermal sources of energy .
July 5, 2011
Solar energy usage is an excellent, eco-friendly and cost-effective way to "Go Green". It is a very effective measure to save energy & money. We use the solar energy every day in many different ways.Solar Energy is indirectly responsible for other forms of Energy that we use as well like Coal,Oil,Gas,Hydro Energy etc.The biggest use of Solar Energy is in Agriculture where Sun Light is used by plants to grow and provide food for us.Solar Energy despite many years of development is not used in the generation of Electricity due to its higher costs.However that is going to change as Solar Energy is the only form of Energy whose costs are continuously declining compared to other forms of Energy.This is one of the biggest advantages of Solar Power over other renewable and non-renewable forms of energy.Solar Energy forms just 0.1% of the the total energy supply of the planet currently and analysts and decision makers don’t think that Solar Energy can form a big chunk in the future as well.However I differ strongly in that aspect.The main reason for my very bullish opinion on Solar Energy is based on the simple fact that Solar Energy is the only form of Energy whose costs are declining rapidly on a secular basis.In a world facing the prospects of “peak commodity”,solar energy remains vastly abundant and it remains upto human technology to capture it at the lowest costs
July 5, 2011
In 2007 the World Crude Steel output reached 1343 million metric tons and showed a growth of 7.5% over the previous year.China remained the world’s largest Crude Steel producer in 2007 also (489 million metric tons) followed by Japan (112. million metric tons) and USA (97 million metric tons). India occupied the 5 th position (53million metric tons) (Source: IISI). According to an estimate by Credit Suisse, India’s steel consumption will continue to grow at nearly 16% rate annually, till 2012, fuelled by demand for construction projects worth US$ 1 trillion. The scope for raising the total consumption of steel is huge, given that per capita steel consumption is only 40 kg – compared to 150 kg across the world and 250 kg in China.
July 4, 2011
Fly Ash Pollution of nearby water bodies had forced the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to issue a notice to the massive 3000 MW NTPC Talcher Thermal Power Plant.While the notice asked for immediate shutdown of 4 untis of 500 MW,NTPC has only closed down 1 unit citing that closing more units will lead to massive power disruptions in nearby states.The action comes following NTPC bad fly ash managment system which has led to two past incidences of water pollution.There was a danger that the massive amounts of fly ash being generated would lead to breakdown of the storage dykes and lead to more pollution.
July 4, 2011
Indian Electricity Companies are crying for a bailout from the government after coal prices surged last year amidst shortages of coal.Note before the Lehman crisis,Indian private […]
July 4, 2011
Japan is now looking to develop mines in Vietnam and Kazakhstan to secure these minerals which are essential to the green and defense industries.The desperation seems high amongst the Japanese as they are also looking to prospect for these minerals in the seas surrounding Japan.Besides these efforts to secure these minerals from newer sources,METI is also looking to recycling and efficiency measures.A University of Tokyo geologist has said that around 100 billon of rare earth deposits have been discoverd on the sea floor of the Pacific in international waters.Note around 100-150,000 tons of rare earth minerals are used per year which would imply that just using this deposit would keep the global rare earth demand supplied for 10,000 years.
July 4, 2011
Not only that but with the loss of political power,Sun TV executives can no longer manage to intimidate the industry.The Sun TV COO Saxena was hauled off to jail in a cheating case filed by a film producer.Note this would have never happened in the earlier DMK regime as the police would have refused to even lodge a case let alone put Saxena in jail.Crony Capitalism is not without its dangers and betting on these stocks is not a great idea.The reason is that once the political party loses power which happens quite frequently in India then the businesses close to that party come under serious fire.Note Dayanidhi Maran is also facing the heat in the 2G Scam where he has been accused of amassing huge amounts of money by favoring close promoters.When he was the Telecom Minister the whole Sun TV group of companies used state telecom infrastructure for free.The whole lesson from this is that betting on stocks/companies close to the ruling party might not be a good idea.In fact opening an event driven hedge fund might be a good idea using power changes in crony capitalist democracies.Thanksin stocks are rallying Thailand today as his sister has won the elections.
July 3, 2011
Natural Gas in USA is seeing massive investments and interest due to very large shale gas discoveries enabled by improvements in Gas Drilling and Extraction Technology.Billions of Dollars have been invested by domestic and international oil and gas companies.Plans are being made to Export Natural Gas from America as the price of Natural Gas in USA has now become considerably lower than other parts of the world.While prices of other Fossil Fuels like Oil and Coal are rising at steep rate,Natural Gas Prices have fallen even below the 2008 crisis levels and are now at around $3.5/mmbtu.With production increasing Natural Gas is increasingly looking to garner marketshare gains in the energy sector in the US.Countries around the world like India and China are also looking to tap shale gas deposits as Energy Scarcity increases around the globe.
June 30, 2011
Note Indian ministries and regulators have been found to be massively corrupt with the 2G Telecom Scandal facing the glare from the Supreme Court .Huge loss has been caused by ministers,corporate CEOs and various politicians a number of which are in jail right now.The CAG report had said that Reliance had doubled its cost in the KG-6 Basin leading to a huge loss for the Indian government.A number of other lapses (intentional) has been found by the DGH and the Ministry each time favoring the private oil and gas companies in India.Now the CBI has filed a case of corruption against the the former chief of the DGH V K Sibal for scuttling a probe by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for showing undue favors to the private companies.Note India has been stuck by a number of scams in the stock market pertaining to mid cap and small caps.This has led to huge losses for investors with some companies like Reliance Telecom,Unitech having over 90% of their share values eroded.Reliance the biggest Indian company by market capitalization might be facing the same fate if the investigative agencies and the courts do their jobs.
June 21, 2011
Now India's Largest Company Reliance too has seen its stock fall to a post Lehman low on concerns that it has colluded with the Oil Regulator and Ministry to gold plate its costs in the KG 6 Gas concession.Reliance is India's biggest oil and gas company with interests throughout the supply chain.Note its nothing new as Reliance has always been known to be the most powerful corporate in India .However with the government's own auditing department CAG raising allegations of collusion and corruption,Reliance too may find itself snared in the corruption scandal.Note the infamous Nira Radia tapes had ample proof of how the powerful Reliance group manages the appointment of its favored persons in key federal ministries.The company must now by hoping that the Supreme Court which is already preoccupied with a ton of corruption cases does not take a keen interest and gets the CBI to investigate the allegations.
May 31, 2011
India and China are largely dependent on Coal for fueling a majority of their energy needs despite the evident disadvantages of coal.China derives almost 80% of its electricity from coal while India uses Coal for 50% of its Energy Needs.Most of the new power plants being built in India have plans to use thermal power which means that the coal demand is going to skyrocket even as these 2 Asian giants are already suffering from coal shortages.India's Coal Production is falling short as the Environment Ministry makes it tough for the coal miners to dig up virgin forest areas even as private Indian power companies keep on building gargantuan thermal power plants of more than 4,000 MW capacity.Most Indian companies are now racing to acquire coal mines abroad joining the Chinese companies.Seeing the massive potential in coal,international resource giants such as Rio Tinto and others are trying to access coal assets as well.
May 30, 2011
Coal has become the hottest energy topic in the world’s fastest growing economies India and China which depend on Coal for a majority of their Energy […]