July 30, 2010: India's largest cement producer, UltraTech Cement, plans to add 9 million tons (mt) of new capacity over the next three years to meet the requirements of a rapidly growing domestic economy. For this, the company is looking to spend $1.8 billion, as per a recent Reuters report.

July 30, 2010: Essar Oil today said it was looking at the retail fuel assets BP had put for sale in five to six African countries. BP plans to sell assets worth up to $30 billion over the next 18 months to fund the mounting costs of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

July 30, 2010: Global copper mine performance deteriorated further in the first part of this year, offering no prospect of relief for hard-pressed smelters and extending one of the key bull drivers of the refined copper market.

July 30, 2010: National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) sold 7,500 tons of aluminium ingots at a premium of $92.50/ton over the average LME cash price on a cost, insurance and freight basis, a company source said on Wednesday.

July 30, 2010: Essar Oil today said it will begin gas production from its Raniganj CBM block in West Bengal by September and will achieve peak output in late 2012. "Production will begin this quarter... either by end-August or early September," EOL Head of E&P Shishir Agrawal told reporters.

July 30, 2010: Essar Oil, Australia's Arrow Energy and Great Eastern Energy will invest $158 million in seven coal bed methane (CBM) blocks, for which contracts were signed with the government today.

July 30, 2010: Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power does not figure in the first six companies that will get gas on priority from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 when output from the block goes beyond the current capacity of 60 mmscmd, a power ministry official said.

July 29, 2010: Reliance Industries will be able to generate natural gas at peak capacity from its deep-sea field only by March 2013, as per India's oil secretary, S. Sundareshan. This means a delay of almost two years, according to a recent Reuters report.

July 29, 2010: The country's crude oil production rose 6.8% in June based on higher output from Rajasthan fields operated by Cairn India.

July 29, 2010: The global prices of natural rubber will remain steady in the medium term on account of tight supplies and growing demand.

July 29, 2010: Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) is learnt to have struck a huge cache of gas in the Cambay basin of Gujarat. GSPC, in a joint venture with Australian exploration & production (E&P) company Oilex, has found around 20-22 trillion cubic feet (tcf) natural gas reserve, probably the biggest onshore gas find to date, sources in Gujarat.

July 28, 2010: Reliance Industries (RIL) is set to drill two more wells in the KG-D6 block that may boost gas production from the field where output has stagnated since April at about 60 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd).

July 28, 2010: The government may give additional time to Cairn India for exploring more oil and gas in its Rajasthan oilfield provided the company agrees to pay levies in proportion to its stake in the energy asset.

India's energy behemoth, Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) unveiled grand plans to spend as much as a record $5 billion, in order to develop gas fields in India. This will provide a boost to gas output by as much as 60% in the next six years.

July 27, 2010: As the cement industry reels under high raw material costs and reduced coal linkages, companies are exploring alternative options such as rubber tyres and rice husk as substitutes for fuel.

July 27, 2010: The government may give additional time to Cairn India for exploring more oil and gas in its producing Rajasthan oil field provided the company agrees to pay levies in proportion to its stake in the energy asset.

July 26, 2010: India's mining sector is likely to see a slowdown in growth to 8% this fiscal, even as the overall economy is poised for higher growth the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has said.

July 26, 2010: As the cement industry reels under high raw material costs and reduced coal linkages, companies are exploring alternative options such as rubber tyres and rice husk as substitutes for fuel.

July 26, 2010: JSW Energy, part of the Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Group, has initiated the process to borrow over Rs 8,000 crore to finance its forthcoming power projects in Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh. The company plans to build a 1,320 megawatt coal-fired power project in Chhattisgarh and a 240 mw hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh.

July 26, 2010: The much talked about meeting of a ministerial panel on natural gas next week is likely to deliberate on availability of gas in the country over next few years but may not allocate any fuel to any new customers.

July 26, 2010: State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp plans to restart one of its crude units at its southern Indian refinery by mid-August, after a delay of a few weeks, leading to a cancellation of its latest crude tender, its head Arun Balakrishnan said on July 23. Source: The Economic Times

July 26, 2010: The Maharashtra government is considering having Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for wind energy farms where players from the segment will be encouraged to set up projects and supply power to the grid.

July 26, 2010: India will generate 1,000 MW of solar power by the year 2013, with financial assistance from Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corp. under the government's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.