Aiyar: Rosneft offers OVL participation in oil projects
Moscow: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, has stated that Russia's state-owned oil major Rosneft has offered India's ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) stake in eleven oil and gas projects in Russia including Yuganskneftegaz.

The minister said that the two countries had agreed on a basket of discovered fields and oil producing property in Russia, which might include Sakhalin-3, Vankor and a number of others. He also said that Rosneft had indicated that they would want to take ONGC along on eleven identified projects. Aiyar was speaking to Indian mediapersons at the end of his two day Moscow visit. He said that in due course OVL and Rosneft are to issue a joint statement identifying these projects. He also indicated that some of these projects might require President Vladimir Putin's intervention.

The issue of Yuganskneftegaz was discussed by Aiyar during his talks with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko.
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S&P pegs GDP growth at six per cent
New Delhi: Ahead of the budget, global rating agency Standard and Poor's has warned India may not be able to reduce the targeted fiscal deficit. It has also projected a lower growth of six per cent this fiscal.

However, in its Asia-Pacific Sovereign Report Card, S&P said the Budget for 2005-06, to be unveiled on February 28, is "likely to re-emphasis its resolve for fiscal consolidation, but spending plans would require better revenue generation capability."

Observing that the overall fiscal deficit was better due to debt-swap with states, it said "the Central government is unlikely to meet its own fiscal rules of cutting the budget deficit by 0.3 per cent to 4.4 per cent of GDP this fiscal."

About growth, it said India's economic numbers showed a mixed picture, but the underlying strength in the economy remains.

"GDP for fiscal ending March 31, 2005 is expected to be about 6 per cent," it said, adding the country had potential to grow by seven per cent due to the gradual reforms undertaken.
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World Bank to offer financial support to Orissa
Bhubaneshwar: The World Bank will extend financial support to Orissa for programmes pertaining to socio-economic development during 2005-06.

Michael F Charter, World Bank country director, has written a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik informing him about the bank's willingness to help the government in extending loan for such programmes and projects.

Charter said that he was highly impressed with the developmental works undertaken by the government during his field visit to different places in Orissa, particularly Ganjam district, during December.
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Indo-Pak JSG sets up sub-groups for specifics
New Delhi: The Indo-Pak Joint Study Group (JSG) on Trade and Economic Cooperation has constituted two sub-groups on Customs cooperation, trade facilitation and non-tariff barriers.

A joint statement issued here and in Islamabad said that the terms of reference for the sub-groups were mutually agreed upon during the first meeting of the JSG. During the two-day meeting, the two sides identified issues relating to bilateral trade and deliberated upon the future roadmap to enhance trade and economic cooperation. The recommendations of the JSG will be submitted to the respective governments for consideration under the framework of composite dialogue.

Bilateral trade during the current fiscal is estimated to touch $500 million (Rs2,150 crore) from $340 million (Rs1,460 crore) in 2003-04.
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NTPC to go ahead with Rs8,693 crore Barh power plant
New Delhi: The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has approved investments of about Rs8,693 crore for the 1,920-MW Barh Super Thermal power plant.

The board of directors of the company approved the investment proposal comprising Rs4,887.12 crore and $864.96 million for the 3x660 MW project, NTPC has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The first unit is expected to be commissioned within four years from the placement of main plant order, it said, adding that the subsequent units would be made operational at an interval of ten months after the first unit.
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Investors lukewarm to Govt. taking gas profit in kind
New Delhi: The Government is under pressure to review its decision to take profit petroleum/gas in kind as part of the New Exploration Licensing Policy Round V (NELP-V), following strong opposition from potential investors.

The Gas Industry Group (GIG), an informal group of like-minded private companies in the gas sector, has come down heavily on the Government's proposal to take gas profit in kind in the draft pipeline policy.

"This clause will restrict the marketing rights of contractors and result in them being unable to commit volumes to customers," Mr Nigel Shaw, Convenor of GIG, told newspersons.

Stating that the system of taking profit petroleum/gas in kind has no parallel anywhere in the world, GIG said that the proposal was a "thoroughly bad idea" that has to be removed to attract investments into the petroleum/gas sectors.

In the case of all pre-NELP blocks, the Government had taken the profit petroleum/gas in kind and had nominated State-owned companies to market the fuel. However, during the first four rounds of NELP bidding, the Government had changed this system and took the profit petroleum/gas in cash by allowing the producers/operators to market the fuel.
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