Essar Oil, the country's second-biggest private refiner, announced on Tuesday that it was aiming to almost double its revenues in the next fiscal.

L K Gupta, managing director & chief executive officer of the refiner, said in a conference call after the company announced its third-quarter results that the company expected to cross revenues of Rs 1 lakh crore next fiscal.

In the last fiscal, Ruias-controlled Essar Oil generated Rs 58,336 crore in revenue; and in the first three quarter of the current fiscal, revenue jumped to Rs 64,928 crore.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) deputy general manager Shailendra Kumar Sharma on Friday launched a web-based LPG connection portability in Chandigarh.

The new online service aims to make distribution of cooking gas cylinders more flexible as well as to allow distributors to provide genuine service. The service is available to all LPG consumers on an intra-company basis.

India's State-run, GAIL has made its 5-million tonne a year import facility of the Dabhol power plant operational and is now looking into opportunities in shipping.

GAIL hinted that it is considering starting shipping operations in order to capitalize on the long term contracts with parties in Spain and the US. GAIL might be planning to acquire seven liquid gas shipping vessels on hire or outright purchase for its shipping venture.

TransCanada Corp. has bagged a contract to build a $5 billion pipeline to connect BC shale natural gas production sites to the West Coast.

The company based in Calgary said on Wednesday that it will design, build, own and operate the proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project for Progress Energy. Progress Energy, which is a unit of Malaysia's Petronas, will connect the reserves of BC shale gas to the western coast of country for exports.

The Petroleum Ministry has reportedly proposed to hike the cap on supply of subsidised LPG cylinders from the existing six to nine per household per year.

Citing sources, news channel NDTV has reported that Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has tabled the proposal before the cabinet with a suggestion that each additional LPG cylinder should cost Rs 100 more.

Around a week ago, Mr. Moily had announced that the government was considering increasing the cap on supply of subsidised cooking gas cylinders.

Price of diesel, which currently costs Rs 47.15 per litre in Delhi, was last revised on September 14 when it was hiked by a steep Rs 5.63 per litre. Kerosene rates have not changed since June 2011 and it currently costs Rs 14.79 per litre in Delhi.

State-owned oil companies currently sell diesel at a loss of Rs 10.16 per litre, kerosene at Rs 32.17 a litre and LPG at Rs 490.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder.

Oil Minister Veerappa Moily recently confirmed that the government was going through the Rangarajan report to determine a new pricing formula domestic natural gas, but many believe that mechanisms suggested by the report may prove too complex to implement.

The panel, headed by chief of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, Chakravarthy Rangarajan, last month recommended prices be linked to international rates.

The Government is considering Vijay Kelkar Committee recommendations on hiking fuel prices to slash soaring fiscal deficit, but the final decision is yet to be taken, Oil Minister Veerappa Moily said.

The Kelkar Committee, which was appointed by the Finance Ministry to sketch a roadmap for fiscal consolidation, has suggested immediate hikes in prices of subsidised fuels like LPG and kerosene, as well as de-regulation of diesel.

The US lawmakers agreed on a last minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff situation and as part of the deal also extended a tax credit system to the wind energy industry.

The lawmakers have agreed to extend another year of the renewable energy production tax credit, which was set to conclude in 2012. Bob Dineen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association said that the extension of the tax credit facility allows the industry to compete on a fair level as oil firms get exploration benefits from accelerated depreciation.

According to the latest statistics shared by AAA, the gasoline prices in the US touched a record-high level for the year 2012; with the costs chiefly been driven up due to severe weather as well as political tensions.

Going by the figures from Heathrow, Florida-based AAA, which is the biggest motoring group in the US, the average gas price in the country in 2012 was $3.60 per gallon; thereby marking a 9-cent increase over the previous annual record - of $3.51 per gallon - set in 2011.

Several activists from across the country have gathered at the coastal villages around Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu to mark New Year's Eve with the local people, who are engaged in a prolonged protest against the plant.

Several people from different sections of the society from across the country will join the local people in the local villages including Idinthakarai near Tirunelveli to be part of the struggle against nuclear power by the people of the region.

Motorists will gradual rise in prices of diesel and other petroleum products if the petroleum ministry has its way.

The petroleum ministry has proposed a slow and steady increase in prices of diesel, by Rs 1 per litre every month over a period of next ten months.

The ministry also tabled a proposal for an increase in kerosene prices by Rs 10 per litre over a period of next two years.

The UK government has said that the solar power is important for helping the county meet its carbon-reduction targets during the coming years.

The government has added solar photovoltaic power n the list of nine technologies that are crucial in meeting the climate related targets set by the country. The list of technologies also includes renewable energy sources like marine and offshore wind energy.

Indian government officials have said that the government is considering plans to increase the prices of diesel and kerosene, which are controlled by the authorities, in a phased manner in order to lower the burden of fuel subsidy on the state.

There are indications that the government might be looking to increase the price of diesel by 10 rupees a liter over a period of10 months, or by 1.0 rupee every month. The unnamed official also said that the government might increase the price of kerosene by 10 rupees a liter in two years.

The promoters of renewable energy major, Suzlon Energy sold a 2.11 percent stake in the company on Wednesday in order to facilitate a corporate debt restructuring plan backed by the banks. The promoters led by chairman Tulsi Tanti sold 3.75 crore shares for about 63 crore in the company.

The cap the number of subsidised LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders and direct cash transfer would lead to better functioning of oil and gas markets, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman & Managing Director R S Butola said.

In a recent interview, Butola said that if something is made available at a lower price than market level, there will be no restrain. He added that having market price or limited subsidy would resources to an optimal use.

Energy giant Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) has expressed its interest to acquire a 5.2 per cent stake in India's importing firm Petronet LNG, from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The new reports about the Persian Gulf country's state-run energy firm's interest in Petronet LNG followed Qatar's Minister of Energy & Industry Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada's November announcement in which he had confirmed that he had wrote to India's Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily acknowledging QPI's plans to buy a stake in Petronet LNG.

A high level committee headed by C Rangarajan has recommended linking omestically-produced natural gas to international benchmarks such as US' Henry Hub and prices of imports.

C Rangarajan is the head of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory and his recommendation might increase the price of natural gas produced in the country to around $8 billion per million British thermal units (mmBtu). At present, the gas produced from the Reliance Industries Ltd(RIL)-operated KG Basin offshore field is priced at $4.2 per mmBtu.

New Delhi, Dec 25 - A record hike in retail prices of transport fuels and the decision to slash subsidies on cooking gas were the high points of India's oil economy in 2012, as the sector awaited pricing reforms and a new thrust in the production of hydrocarbons to attain energy security.

While the price hikes bothered consumers of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, the industry awaited government policy reforms aimed at giving a boost to exploration activity and to the search for new fuel sources.

A federal court in the US has given a final approval to BP's settlement relating to the damages arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.