Global oil demand to increase by five million bpd: Kuwait

Global oil demand will increase by five million barrels per day in the next five years, and China and India will lead the growth in emerging markets, the Kuwaiti oil minister said at the opening ceremony of the 18th Middle East Oil and Gas Conference here Monday.

“The fastest growth will be in Asia, where consumption is expected to account for more than 30 percent of the global demand,” Xinhua reported quoting Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al—Abdullah Al—Ahmad Al—Sabah.

Mr. Sheikh Ahmad said the Middle East countries, which together hold 65 percent of the world’s proven reserves, would remain the main provider for the growing world demand.

He said China and India will lead the growth in emerging markets, with China’s crude imports expected to reach around seven million barrels per day by 2015.

Kuwait, the fourth largest exporter of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has inked an agreement with China to build a joint refinery in China’s southern Guangdong province.

Expected to be completed in 2013, the unit would have a crude oil refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day and produce one million tonnes of ethylene per year.

More than 550 participants, including government officials and oil company representatives, are gathering for the three—day Mideast oil and gas conference focusing on the latest concerns and developments in the oil and gas industry.

Source:http://beta.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article410825.ece

IOC to market bio-lubricant next year

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's biggest oil marketer and refiner, will launch its first biodegradable lubricant next year. The company is conducting trial runs on the lubricant and would soon evolve a marketing and branding strategy for the product.

The product would be marketed as a separate brand. "Lab tests for the product are over. We are doing extensive engine trails at present. In the next one year, the product should hit the market under a suitable brand name," said a senior executive from IOC. The research on the product had begun two years earlier.

A biodegradable lubricant can be vegetable oil-based or based on synthetic esters manufactured from modified renewal oils, from mineral oil-based products. Most liquid lubricants used at present all over the world are petroleum-based mineral oils. "Use of biodegradable lubricants which are mainly derived from genetically modified vegetable oils, would be used in agricultural and forest machinery, and the transport sector," said a Mumbai-based analyst.

There are 44 lubricant companies in the market including Total, Gulf, Shell and Vedol, besides brands from the three government-controlled oil companies - IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation - which together hold over 50 per cent share. IOC, however, is the dominant company in the country's lubricant market, with its Servo brand of lubricants. The Servo range includes over 500 lubricants and 1,200 formulations.

The total lubricant market in India is 1.6 billion litres, of which automotive use is about 950 million litres. Castrol India, the other dominant player, claims to have 27 per cent of the market. While analysts say Castrol cannot match public sector units in coverage due to their 30,000-strong petrol station network, it has strong distribution presence through workshops and spare parts suppliers-over 70,000 outlets, which compares well with the 40,000-plus for IOC's Servo.

IOC is also conducting research in areas like oil refining technology and producing diesel from algae. The company will shortly commission a project at its Faridabad centre, where it will install technology for coal gassification and production of ethanol from biomass. The company is also in talks with international energy institutes to tie up for research and development.

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Electric car “filling station”

The first public trial of a system that “refills” electric cars in minutes will be launched this month. The Californian company Better Place will test its automated battery-swap stations in Tokyo.

It is the latest element in the company's ambitious plans to build the world's first infrastructure networks for electric cars by the start of next year.

Globally, road vehicles generate around a fifth of carbon dioxide emissions. The figure is the same for the U.K. According to a study for the country's Department for Transport, widespread adoption of electric vehicles with a range of 48 km or more could halve road transport emissions.

One of the biggest challenges, however, to the large-scale implementation of electric cars is the problem of infrastructure for recharging.

Better Place has come up with a model which involves building networks of charging points and battery-switch stations. At these a robotic mechanism will swap the empty battery in a car for a fully charged one. This means electric cars can be “refilled” in minutes, rather than taking several hours to charge their batteries.

On April 26 in Tokyo, Better Place will begin the first public trial of its battery-switching stations.— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010