Goa iron-ore mines in legal uncertainty over mine closure plans

Iron-ore mines in the western Indian province of Goa, which were closed under a Supreme Court order, have been caught in a legal grey area relating to implementation of mine closure plans. As per... 

India, Iran near a truncated deal on gasfield development

India and Iran are closing in on a deal for the development of the Farzad B gasfield, albeit of a much smaller size. Diplomatic negotiations between the two countries since early this year have... 

GAIL India likely to be split ahead of setting up natural gas exchange

The Indian government is likely to split national gas infrastructure and marketing major GAIL India into separate entities, with one controlling pipeline construction and operation and the other... 

Indian power stations told to stock up coal for monsoon season

India’s Coal Ministry has requested thermal power generation companies to increase plant level coal stocks to about 30-million tons, from 16.5-million tons at present, ahead of the monsoon season... 

India seeks consultants to frame regulations for gas trading hub

With the Indian government aiming to set up a natural gas trading hub in the country, sector regulator the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is seeking to appoint a consultant to... 

Coal India earmarks corpus for CBM foray

State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) has earmarked $462-million for its foray into exploration and production of coal-bed methane (CBM), following government’s announcement that it will relax rules... 

Coal India to scout for global CBM technology, production partner

With India’s Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday liberalising rules for coalbed methane (CBM), Coal India Limited (CIL) will shortly start scouting for global technology and... 

India proposes bringing LNG terminals within the PNGRB regulatory framework

India’s upstream oil and gas sector regulator, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), has proposed to bring all new liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification projects... 

Government, trade union talks fail to avert proposed Coal India strike

The Indian government’s assurance that State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) will “maintain its dominant industry position” after coal mining is opened up to private companies has failed to placate... 

Coal India lines up logistics investment to reduce transportation dependency

Starting the new financial year with a shift in focus from coal production to distribution and supplies, State-owned miner Coal India Limited (CIL) will invest $3.08-billion over the next five... 

Indian Mines Ministry pushes for expedited process towards timely auctions

The Indian government has set a deadline of April 1 next year for the completion of general exploration by 288 merchant mining leases that are slated to expire on March 31, 2020. In a statement,... 

Indian sand mining framework suggest ‘manufactured sand’ and imports to bridge supply gap

Indian demand for sand, categorised as a ‘minor mineral’, has been estimated at about 700-million tons a year and is growing by 6% to 7% a year, according to a Sand Mining Framework document of the... 

India extends last date of auction bids for oil and gas fields

Expecting greater response from international oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) majors, the Indian government has extended by a month the last date for submission of bids for 55 oil and... 

India mulls risky tweaking of laws defining illegal mining

In view of a spate of court-imposed penalties for illegal mining, the Indian government is working on tweaking the definition of ‘illegal mining’ risking a political and legal minefield. While no... 

NLC India appoints Adani subsidiary as MDO for Odisha coal blocks

NLC India (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation) has signed up Adani Enterprises’ subsidiary Talabira Odisha Mining Private as the mine-developer operator (MDO) for the Talabira II and Talabira... 

Coal India starts supplies to power plants under auctioned linkages

State-owned miner Coal India Limited (CIL) is expected to supply an estimated 27-million tons a year to thermal power companies through long-term supply agreements secured through bidding.... 

Indian iron-ore production and imports to rise in current FY

Indian iron-ore production during the current financial year is expected to have grown over the previous year, and imports too are showing tentative signs of a rise. According to preliminary... 

Only two Indian provinces ready for auction of expiring licences

With barely 24 months left before 348 mining leases expire, only two Indian states have been able to submit reports to establish a semblance of readiness to conduct fresh auctions and continuation... 

Goa iron-ore mine closure triggers protests and violence

The closure of iron-ore mines in Goa has triggered violence and widespread law and order problems at the start of the week as miners, families and workers from allied industries unleashed protests... 

Political convergence emerging against commercial coal mining in India

Trade unions operating in the India coal mining industry, irrespective of their political affiliations, are converging in opposing opening up coal mining for private miners, although their modes of... 

Iron-ore mines in Goa close down

Iron-ore mining in the western Indian coastal province of Goa came to a halt on Thursday in accordance with an order issued by the Supreme Court last month. However, even as miners downed shutters... 

India’s Power Ministry seeks higher railway rakes count to avoid coal shortages

With power demand poised to peak during the summer months and coal shortages at thermal power plant looming large, the Power Ministry is seeking a sharp rise in the availability of rakes for coal... 

India, Venezuela to deepen hydrocarbon sector collaboration during Maduro’s New Delhi visit

India and Venezuela will push for deeper engagement and joint ventures (JV) in the hydrocarbon sector during Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s visit to New Delhi next month. Despite US... 

ONGC blames policies for Krishna-Godavari delay

India’s national exploration and production (E&P) major, ONGC has said that it would miss the June 2019 deadline to start production from its deep-water Krishna-Godavari (KG) oil and gas block on... 

CIL revives ‘own-your-wagon’ plans

Acknowledging transportation and logistical bottlenecks as large contributing factors to dry fuel shortages at end-users plants, Coal India Limited (CIL) is drawing up plans to acquire its own... 

India sets deadline for commercial coal block auctions

Close on the heels of opening up commercial coal mining for private investors last week, the Indian government has set a 2019 deadline for completing the auction process. While government officials... 

Indian govt pushing for JVs to acquire overseas battery mineral assets

The Indian government is considering pushing government-owned mining and mineral processing companies to form joint ventures (JV) to acquire strategic assets overseas. Senior official say that JVs... 

Coal India unlikely to face significant competition from commercial coal miners

Giving the final green light, the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) of the Indian government on Tuesday approved the methodology of auction of coal blocks to private miners, but analysts... 

Indian captive coal mines to achieve 105Mt production by 2021

Indian coal production from captive blocks allocated to thermal power plants has been estimated at 105-million tons a year by 2021/22, up from about 37-million tons a year at present, according to... 

Indian mineral royalty rate revision on the cards

Signaling an imminent revision in royalties payable, barring coal, lignite and sand, the Indian government has constituted a study group to review existing rates, recommend any revision and suggest... 

India approves policy for auction of small oil, gas fields

India’s Union Cabinet has approved the second round of the Discovered Small Field Policy, paving the way for 60 small oilfields to be put up for auction. These discovered small and unmonetised... 

No need for new coal block auction, says India’s largest coal producer

espite thermal power plants across India reeling from shortages of dry fuel and the government readying to open up the coal sector to private miners, State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) does not... 

Indian govt-owned thermal power companies allowed to swap coal

To ensure optimal use of coal blocks allocated to government-owned thermal power companies, the Indian government will now allow swapping of coal between two such companies. The swap will be... 

Deadline proposed for new exploration on expiring mineral leases in India

In a bid to derisk mineral production, the Indian government is working on amending rules and on setting a deadline for miners to complete exploration on the mineral leases that are set to expire... 

Coal India diversification strategy moves ahead

Coal India Limited (CIL) will complete the formation of a separate independent business to undertake diversified mining before the end of the current financial year. According to company sources,... 

Leeway proposed for exploration projects in existing oil and gas fields

The Indian government is likely to permit existing oil and gas field operators to undertake new exploration projects within their existing licensing area even as it goes ahead to woo new investors... 

Indian minerals companies consider entering mining services

In view of the Indian government’s proposal to implement paradigm shifts in the mining policy regime, several domestic mineral processing companies have started toying with options of entering... 

Indian iron-ore benchmark price proves elusive even as clamour mounts to check rising prices

Even as clamour mounts among various segments of India’s steel industry over a shortage of iron-ore availability and the high prices of domestic raw material, evolving an acceptable benchmark price... 

India likely to scrap import duties on coking coal

The Indian government is likely to scrap import duties on coking coal through the National Budget 2018/19, which is scheduled to be placed before Parliament on February 1. The Steel Ministry has... 

NMDC seeks fresh mining lease in Odisha to up iron-ore production

India’s largest iron-ore miner, government-owned NMDC, has sought new mining leases from Odisha to help it produce 45-million tons in 2018/19, up from the expected 35-million tons by the end of...