The Union Cabinet has cleared proposals to establish three petrochemicals hubs at Dahej in Gujarat, Haldia in West Bengal and Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The government has been evaluating six sites for development as Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) after the policy to build such regions was introduced in May 2007.

The proposed PCPIR would be a delineated investment region with an area of about 250 square kilometres earmarked for manufacturing facilities producing petroleum, chemical and petrochemical products - either for domestic consumption or for exports.

Tehran  - Iran will come up with new nuclear developments by the beginning of April this year, Iranian Vice-President Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh said Wednesday, indicating a probable increase of the number of centrifuges.

"We will have good nuclear news again on April 9," said Aqazadeh, also head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in a news conference in Bushehr, southern Iran.

Vienna - Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG on Wednesday reported that its annual net income fell 17 per cent to 1.53 billion euros (1.95 billion dollars), with the company turning into the red in the fourth quarter.

The drop in net earnings came despite a 7 per cent rise in operating income to 2.34 billion euros.

Annual sales rose to 25.54 billion euros, an increase of 27 per cent, said OMV, the Central and South-eastern European market leader in refining and marketing.

Vilnius  - The Lithuanian government is to sell off its remaining 10 per cent stake in the only oil refinery operating in the Baltic states, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said Tuesday.

The buyer is Polish energy giant PKN Orlen, which already owns the other 90 per cent of the Mazeikiu Nafta facility in northern Lithuania, which is one of the biggest commercial enterprises in the Baltics.

State-owned natural gas major GAIL India is set to benefit from the increasing LNG capacities of Petronet LNG plants and commencement of production from the KG-D6 field.GAIL straddles the entire value chain from exploration and production to transmission and distribution, to marketing and processing of gas. 

Analysts anticipate gas demand in India to rise substantially in the days to come, breaking with the underutilisation of gas-based capacities in fertiliser, power and other industries.