Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 19

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Indian oil and gas demand plummets 70%
INDIA
INDIAN Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said this week that the country’s energy demand had fallen by 70% since the nationwide lockdown began on March 24.
But with demand having fallen the country has capitalised on low oil and gas supplies to stock up on oil products, the official said during a social media conference on May 4.
“India has also seen almost 70% decline in oil and gas demand. The oil and gas sector is going through unprecedented challenges. Despite challenges, our refineries are operating, [the] supply chain [is] working. India has been able to fill its strategic reserves of petroleum products,” he said.
Pradhan added that the country’s state majors had bought 7mn tonnes (51.31mn barrels) of oil at “low prices”. He said: “almost 20% of our demand has been stored. This has also led to [a] reduced import bill, which will help us free more resources for public welfare measures.” India extended its lockdown for the second time on May 1, setting a new deadline of May 18 before social distancing measures can be lifted.
The country had originally aimed to lift the lockdown on April 14, but this was postponed until May 4.
The country’s imports of crude rose by just 1.8% year on year in March to 19.52mn tonnes (4.62mn barrels per day (bpd)), according to Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) data published on May 1. Oil product imports expanded more than 7% y/y to 3.92mn tonnes, while exports climbed by 7.4% on the year to 5.93mn tonnes.
Diesel exports climbed by 11.7% y/y, the slowest rate since August, while gasoline ship- ments declined by 5.2%. Overseas demand for fuel has shrunk as other countries have imposed social quarantine measures, with energy consul- tancy Rystad Energy projecting that the coro- navirus (COVID-19) pandemic will cut global diesel demand by around 5.2mn bpd in the sec- ond quarter.
India’s refinery runs shrank by 5.7% on the year in March to 21.2mn tonnes, producing 22.9mn tonnes of oil products.™
AfDB finds Chinese firm guilty of fraud
CHINA
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has banned Sinotec, a Chinese transmission and distribution equipment firm, from taking part in bank-funded projects across Africa for three years.
The bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Cor- ruption found that Sinotec had submitted fraud- ulent information about its experience, the value and dates of its contracts and its relationship with other bidders when taking part in three tenders in East Africa.The tender covered the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project in Rwanda, the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project and the Last Mile Connectivity Project in Kenya.
The AfDB’s decision also applies to Sino- tec’s affiliates and also to projects funded by other multilateral development banks that have signed the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions.
These include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank.
After three years, Sinotec will only become eligible to participate in bank-financed projects if it implements an integrity compliance pro- gramme consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.
The Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project involves the construction of a generation plant, transmission lines and substations and aims to develop sustainable infrastructure to increase access to power levels in Rwanda.
The Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project seeks to improve access to electricity by building medium and low-voltage distribution networks and last mile connections to the grid.
Kenya’s Last Mile Connectivity Project covers the supply of distribution material, construction of low- voltage distribution lines as well as capac- ity-building activities. Sinotec was contracted by Kenya Power to design, supply and install 3,000 km of low-voltage single-phase lines and supply cables in Kisumu, Western Kenya and Mount Kenya regions.
Despite the decision, China is still a major investor in Africa, even though there are con- cerns in many governments about over-exposure to Chinese debt..
Chinese commitment to power investment in sub-Saharan Africa has brought considerable capital to the region, but at the risk of high rates of indebtedness. China said in 2018 it aimed to make $60bn of new investment and loans avail- able to Africa.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 19 13•May•2020