Tanzania Oil companies want fuel testing Galp wants ... - ErpecNews

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Public oil companies
receive compensation
Several public oil companies in India will
receive compensation of 15 000 rupee
from the government for having to sell
fuel below market prices in the last fiscal
quarter. Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat
Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation are obliged to sell
domestic LPG, diesel and kerosene at a
controlled price based on a government
subsidy programme. Over the course of
this year the three companies are estimated
to lose 1.38 rupee lakh because of the
subsidy, although the government has said
that more compensation will be paid out
over the course of 2012 – 2013 and that a
budgetary provision has been made. The
government has given no indication that
the private sector-only subsidy will be
removed, despite public companies like
Oil India and ONGC having to shoulder
some of the burden.
Korean government
wants more discount
fuel stations
The Korean government is stepping up
its push for discount fuel stations to help
lighten household utility bills despite continuing
scepticism over its efficacy and state
intervention in petrol prices. State-backed
self-service stations are a showpiece of the
government’s battle against skyrocketing
oil costs and a supply oligopoly by major
refiners. It aims to set up some 1 300 outlets
by 2015, of which about 430 are in operation
now. However, a growing number of
Koreans are casting doubt on the ambitious
campaign’s effectiveness, calling instead
for a fuel tax break.
Guyana takes a firm
stand on health & safety
As part of efforts to ensure that consumers
receive value for their money and at the
same time protect their health and safety,
the Guyana National Bureau of Standards
(GNBS) announced that it will continue
its surveillance at fuel stations. This
was disclosed by the head of the Legal
Metrology and Standards Compliance
Department, Shailendra Rai who also
reported on an update on the bureau’s
weights and measures activities for the
first quarter of this year. He said that a
total of 771 petrol pumps, 66 bulk metres,
25 storage tanks and 54 wagon compartments
were verified of which 197 petrol
pumps were calibrated.
CNPC pursue venezuelan joint venture
The Chinese State Council has granted China
National Petroleum Corporation approval
to pursue a joint venture with Venezuela’s
Petroleos deVenezuela. The venture will see
CNPC and PDVSA work together on building
a $ 9.29 billion refinery in Guandong
Province, capable of processing 20 million
tonnes of crude oil annually. CNPC will hold
a 60 percent stake in the new refinery, with
PDVSA controlling the remaining 40 percent.
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The refinery, which the companies hope will
eventually produce 50 billion tonnes per year,
will allow CNPC to increase its presence in
the south of the country. CNPC and China
Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec, together
control 80 percent of the country’s oil industry.
The Chinese government is in the process of
implementing an ambitious five-year plan that
it hopes will lead to the country being capable
of refining 650 million tonnes of oil per year.
samsung Total plan budget fuel stations
Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co. is set to
break into the tightly controlled retail petrol
market as part of the government’s across-theboard
drive to rein in skyrocketing gas prices
and revamp Korea’s fuel supply structure. A
pan-governmental task force headed by the
Ministry of Knowledge Economy unveiled the
proposal, which also envisages an upsurge in
electronic transactions and tax cuts and other
incentives for new operators of “discount”
Taiwan fuel price subsidy ends
The Taiwanese government has announced
the end of fuel subsidies pushing up prices by
around 10 percent and drawing condemnation
from opposition parties. “This is a difficult
decision, but we have to do this”, said Economic
Affairs Minister Shih Yen-shiang. “As
a minister, I have to take into consideration
the country’s long-term development, which
has been threatened by the subsidies.” Main
fuel stations. The package is the latest in a
string of the government’s measures to boost
competition and pricing transparency in the
local retail fuel industry as sky-high pump
prices squeeze budgets of low-income earners
and everyday drivers. The announcement
comes less than a week after President Lee
Myung-bak ordered ministers at a meeting to
look into “if constantly creeping fuel prices
stem from an oligopolistic distribution system”.
opposition group the Democratic Progressive
Party demanded the government overhaul the
state-run CPC Corp. Taiwan, the island’s main
oil supplier, rather than hike prices. Minister
Shih said that since the subsidy was introduced
in late 2010, CPC Corp., which controls some
75 percent of the island’s petroleum market,
had generated a loss of 48.6 taiwan dollar
billion ($ 1.64 billion).
TOTAL Philippines plans expansion of network
Fuel retailer TOTAL (Philippines), Inc. will open
20 new stations this year as part of its growth
program. The company currently has 174 retail
stations nationwide with majority of the stations
located in Luzon. The estimated cost for one
station is 30 million peso, according to earlier
reports, an investment which partly goes into
meeting safety standards. The company wants to
grow its market share in the country particularly
in areas near its depots. TOTAL earlier said it
wants to build more stations so it can eventually
reach a critical mass of 300 to 350 stations. The
company’s market share is about 4.3 percent according
to data from the Department of Energy. If
it meets the critical mass of stations, the company
could grow its market share to about 10 percent.
Qatar Petroleum considers Macedonia
Qatar Petroleum is considering opening
fuel stations in Macedonia, a Macedonian
newspaper has reported. The news broke
after a recent visit of a Macedonian government
delegation to Qatar headed by Prime
Minister Nikola Gruevski. The company,
which plans to open 20 fuel stations in
the territory of the Balkan country, says
the location of the new fuel stations have
already been chosen. Qatar is also interested
in launching studies for possible oil and
natural gas fields in Macedonia, but also
in acquiring 49 percent shares in ELEM –
Macedonian Power Plants.
essar Oil renews agreement with Bharat Petroleum
Essar Energy plc, announced that its subsidiary
Essar Oil Ltd has renewed a major product sale
and purchase agreement with Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Limited (BPCL). The agreement
gives the two companies the option of sharing
each other's distribution infrastructure.