Oil Market

As per an assessment of the gas market done by Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE), domestic gas price are expected to more than double to $6.6-7.6/million BTU in 1HFY23E from the current level of $3.2/million BTU available during 2HFY22.

Accordingly, the brokerage house's report, cited that Brent crude price which is currently at more than $75 per bbl has been driven by recovery in global demand with opening up of economies. "The US was hit by Hurricane Ida in July end, which has resulted in disruption of production from Gulf of Mexico (GoM) of 1.7mb per day in August.

Chief Financial Officer of EOUK, Satish Vasooja, stated: "With this time to pay arrangement, we now have a significant runway to stabilise our balance sheet which has been adversely impacted by the (Covid-19) pandemic."

Currently, the November contract of Brent crude futures on the Intercontinental Exchange is trading at $72.50 per barrel, higher by 1.47 per cent from its previous close. Similarly, the October contract of WTI crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) was trading at $69.13 per barrel, higher by 1.45 per cent from its previous close.

Still in the wait and watch mode, OMCs decided to keep fuel prices static on Friday, the third consecutive day of no price revision. Accordingly, in the national capital, petrol continued to be sold for Rs 101.49 per litre and diesel Rs 88.92 a litre. Across the country as well fuel prices remained unchanged on Friday .

The Oil Palm Developers and Processors Association (OPDPA) said the slew of measures announced by the government on Wednesday will make it viable for the industry to operate and ensure the country is self-sufficient in meeting its edible oil requirements. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the setting up the Rs 11,040 crore National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm to boost palm oil production in India and reduce dependence on expensive imports from Southeast Asia.

Presenting the company financials, IndianOil Chairman, S M Vaidya, said, "IndianOil sold 20,325 million tonnes of products, including exports, during the first quarter of financial year 2021-22. Our refining throughput for Q1 2021-22 is 16.719 million tonnes and the throughput of the Corporation's countrywide pipelines network is 19.875 million tonnes during the same period."

As per recent numbers on oil trade, the country's oil import bill has risen to $24.7 billion in the April-June quarter 2021-22, a whopping growth of over 190 per cent over $8.5 billion worth of imports made in Q11 of the last fiscal year FY21. And the high growth in oil bill during the first three months may just be the beginning as crude is set to get more expensive in coming months.

At the current historic high of fuel price levels in the country, the margin taken by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) on retail sale of petrol and diesel has touched a high of aground Rs 3 per litre. What this means is that while rising fuel prices burn a bigger hole in the consumer's pocket, the OMCs are increasing their earnings and getting a lift in the current difficult environment created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Official sources said that that all oil sector PSUs may be asked to exit from their investments made in equity shares of other state-owned entities. This could be done in phases, depending on the market conditions, so that the shares get maximum valuation. Experts said that a listed investment is as good as cash equivalent