May 18, 2021: Crude Oil demand will increase by a significant margin in 2021 despite the second phase of Covid-19 which continues to play havoc in several countries. The reason being cited is the economic rebound and OPEC has marshalled data to substantiate its forecast. Click column Special Database for details.

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May 17, 2021: Normally the rig count which represents the total number of active drilling rigs in the world goes up when crude price increases. Crude price has been on the rise in recent months but rig count in the month of March went down. Click column Special Database for details.

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May 10, 2021 | ONGC: It Is Not A Toss-up Between Privatisation And Atomisation | Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s experts have been taking the country for a ride with periodic vision papers which promise a bright future in comparison to the dull present. ONGC had one such vision paper called the ONGC Vision 2030 that sparked no change. It was replaced with a Vision 2040. As a first step to a meaningful initiative on the subject, ONGC should be advised to stop such wasteful expenditure in producing Vision papers which have helped only to mislead the country. Petroleum industry experts have been caught up in a lively debate lately over the need to re-shape Oil and Natural Gas Corporation whose fortunes have been sinking for quite some time now. Several proposals have been tossed around. Some experts want to split up ONGC into five or six companies; others want it to be privatised. It is pretty evident that a toss-up between privatisation and dismemberment presents a Hobson's choice that cannot achieve the ultimate objective of raising oil production. Such a policy can only further mess up the situation. Click Free Access Column Petro Intelligence for comprehensive piece on the subject.