July 21, 2017: Any change in the retail selling prices of petroleum products influences the general price level in the economy. For instance, a significant hike in the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) which accounts for close to 50 per cent of the total petroleum products sold can have a cascading effect on the economy. Each petroleum product has a weightage in the Wholesale Price Index. Click column Special Database for details.

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July 20, 2017: A few weeks ago, www.indianoilandgas.com reported that during the first three quarters of FY 2016-17 (April-December 2016), ONGC did not drill any shale well though it had ambitious targets. Our report was based on ONGC's own performance data. The situation changed in the fourth quarter. On the basis of official data, it now appears that Oil India drilled one shale gas well and ONGC four in the fourth quarter. Click column Gas Scene for details.

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July 19, 2017: What has been price behaviour of Indian basket of crude? The Indian Crude basket is used as an indicator of the price of crude imports in India, and is one of the elements watched by the Indian government when deciding on domestic price issues. Click column Special Database for details.

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July 18, 2017: India's import of LNG registered a sharp decline in May 2017. Could it be the beginning of a trend? No, says, NGS India, the country's think tank on gas industry and maintains that this is mostly an aberration and import will increase in coming months. Click column Gas Scene for the latest figures on gas production, consumption and imports.

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July 10, 2017: The price of natural gas has been moving consistently in the reverse gear since the beginning of 2015. The slide is unlikely to be reversed in the near future as the world is glutted in LNG. This is not the right time to make huge investments in new gas development projects. However, the RIL-BP combine has announced an investment of $ 6 billion in three fields of KG D 6. BP’s global boss Bob Dudley and RIL’s supremo Mukesh Ambani are known to be shrewd businessmen. They would not have made such an announcement without being confident of making attractive returns from the investment. The existing gas pricing formula of the Indian government does not permit such returns in the present market conditions. These business leaders cannot afford a situation of being  roasted by their shareholders either. Obviously, they have done some deep calculations. Bob Dudley enjoys a good equation with the political leadership and Mukesh Ambani prefers a slight strategic distance. Click Free Access column Petro Intelligence to read an exciting story.