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Jatinder Cheema

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Partner in the Projects, Energy and Natural Resources practice at the Delhi office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Jatinder has extensive experience of more than 20 years in advising project developers, investors, lenders, regulators and suppliers & contractors on diverse commercial/ transactional, litigation and arbitration issues. Jatinder is qualified to practice law in multiple jurisdictions, i.e. India, Canada and Africa. He can be reached at jay.cheema@cyrilshroff.com.

 

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City Gas Distribution Bidding - Oil and Gas Laws

In part one of this two-part blog series, we looked at the challenges and new approaches that are being devised to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy market, including some of the challenges faced in effectively implementing the “Authorising Entities to Lay, Build, Operate or Expand City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks – Amendment Regulations, 2018” (2018 Amendment Regulations).

In this piece, the second part of this two-part blog, we look into how the 2018 Amendment regulations will work in practice, to provide a balance between expansion of the natural gas industry and consumer interest – while also supporting the development of the right infrastructure to ensure the smooth supply of gas.…
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City Gas Distribution bidding - CNG

Just as the bidding closed on the 10th Round of the City Gas Distribution (CGD)[1], fundamental changes have been made to the bidding criterion to create a regime that strikes a balance between the for-profit enterprises, and public interest and accountability.

In this first part of a two-part blog series, we assess these changes and the challenges faced in meeting targets to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy market.…
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DECOMMISSIONING OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION FIELDS ON HIGH SEAS

The Exploration and Production (E&P) basins usually mature in about 20-30 years. What is left after the prolonged E&P phase are the abandoned installations and wells (onland), sub-sea infrastructure, platforms, and wells (offshore). Once the hydrocarbon resources are exhausted or it becomes unviable to extract them further, the E&P project moves to an abandonment phase, and the project is decommissioned. Decommissioning ensures that the E&P installations and infrastructure are removed subsequent to their abandonment and the site is restored in an environmentally sustainable way.

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LNG as transport fuel in heavy vehicles India

According to World Health Organization (WHO), seven cities in India are positioned among the most polluted cities in the world. In these circumstances, the need of the hour, among other solutions, is to switch to a cleaner and more sustainable fossil fuel, for instance, liquefied natural gas (LNG). The combustion of natural gas does not emit soot, dust or fumes, and thus it makes it one of the cleanest fossil fuels with high energy to carbon ratio.…
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Through this short post, we seek to examine the current downtrend in oil prices, and what it means from an Indian context. As in any downtrend, the intent ought to be to maximise opportunities and isolate effects of any threats and the author accordingly seeks to analyse how these threats may be turned into opportunities. This short piece further examines how, despite the usual market rhetoric, India could position itself to take advantage of the current downturn.

 Global Response

In the wake of the downtrend, the immediate response of global exploration and production (E&P) companies was to hold off large capital investments in new projects and capital-intensive exploration activities. These decisions now stand vindicated as barrel prices have hovered around the US$45-50 mark. Several of the big companies made retrenchments and streamlined costs across the supply chain.…
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Offshore Drilling

The regulatory regime governing the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in India is a complex one that has undergone a plethora of change in recent times. This post examines the many developments as well as the past discourse that has set the context for change. .

Brief Background of the Regulatory Regime Governing the Hydrocarbon Sector

In post-1991 India, regulatory reforms in the hydrocarbon sector were implemented through a royalty-cost recovery regime initially under a set of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) (Pre-NELP PSCs) and thereafter under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Both regimes presented challenges for contractors as well as the Government. Cost recovery meant that the contractor would spend money upfront to explore and recover the same from the revenue generated from the block, then sharing any balance revenue, i.e. “profit”, with the Government.

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