TATA Power to bid for more UMPP when market is good

Private power producer TATA Power said that it would bid for ultra mega power projects only when the market conditions are favorable and the company would only bid for domestic coal based projects as import of the dry fuel is quite expensive.

Mr S Ramakrishnan ED of TATA Power told reporters "We would bid for the 4,000 MW ultra mega power projects only under two conditions. It should not be imported coal based project and the financial market should be good.”

He added that "We are already importing coal for the Mundra project. We are sourcing it from Indonesia where we have 30% stake in the coal blocks.”

As imported coal is expensive, Mr Ramakrishnan said that "We cannot go for another imported fuel based project, at least in the near future."

TATA Power is currently executing the 4,000 MW Mundra UMPP in Gujarat. Out of the five 800 MW units of the project, two (2x800 MW) are scheduled to come up during the current XIth Five Year Plan 2007-12 period. The project entails an investment of INR 17,000 crore and is being funded on a debt and equity ratio of 75:25.

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/09/24/MTEzMTcz/TATA_Power_to_bid_for_more_UMPP_when_market_is_good.html)

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No large scale oil spill from MV Black Rose - Mr Raghuramaiah

Mr K Raghuramaiah chairman of Paradip Port Trust refuted the report that the sunken ship, MV Black Rose is spilling huge quantities of furnace oil posing threat to the marine life in the Bay of Bengal in and around Paradip.

Mr Raghuramaiah told Business Line over phone from Paradip that “Large scale spillage from the ship is not possible for two reasons, First the bulk of the furnace oil of the sunken ship about 900 tonnes was contained in three sealed chambers which the inspection revealed, were intact and, therefore, with little chance of oil leaking from there.”

He added that “The furnace oil stored in the chambers was in semi solid condition and would become liquid only after heating and, therefore, the oozing of semi solid oil from the sealed chambers was remote.”

The PPT Chairman however did not rule out some spillage of furnace oil and lube oil from the engine room in negligible quantity, but as of now, there was no sign of that oil surfacing and thus causing problem.

Mr Raghuramaiah said that “We have posted two vessels, one PPT’s own and the other belonging to the Coast Guard, in the area to keep 24 hour vigil on the probable oil spill.”

He pointed out that the vessels were carrying necessary equipment, including boomers to tackle spill, if any. He added that “If there was some spillage, the port authorities could not help it adding that after all, it was an accident over which we had no control.”

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/09/24/MTEzMTc0/No_large_scale_oil_spill_from_MV_Black_Rose_-_Mr_Raghuramaiah.html)

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Tube Investments plans to acquire companies overseas

Bloomberg reported that Tube Investments of India Ltd plans to buy companies locally or overseas by the end of March to benefit from spending on infrastructure in the world’s second fastest growing economy.

Mr L Ramkumar MD of Tube Investments said that “We are looking at companies that have technologies we do not have. The growth in infrastructure will require some chains, tubes, boilers, those kinds of things.”

Mr Ramkumar said that “The budget for acquisitions will be known when we decide. We have scope for leverage without fuss. We are looking at options in all areas.”

But he declined to said that whether Tube Investments is in negotiations to buy any companies.

He added that “It is going to be more of the non-auto sector that will drive growth. Auto companies want more for less all the time. Over the next two to three years, we’d like to reduce it by 10% to 15%.”

(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/09/24/MTEzMTc1/Tube_Investments_plans_to_acquire_companies_overseas.html)

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Steel Strips gets Mr Singhal as TATA Steel nominee director

Steel Strips Wheels Ltd has announced that in terms of the Share Subscription Agreement dated January 11th 2008 entered into between Steel Strips Wheels Ltd and Kalimati Investment Company Ltd, TATA Steel Ltd has nominated Mr Rajeev Singhal chief of marketing and sales long product as its nominee director on the board of the Company.

Kalimati Investments Company Ltd. owns 9.6% shareholding in Steel Strips Wheels Ltd.

(Sourced from www.steelguru.com)

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TATA Steel blows in Jamshedpur BF No C after modernization

TATA Steel added another glorious moment in the annals of its history with the blow in of the upgraded C Blast Furnace. The event was graced by Mr H M Nerurkar ED India & South East Asia of TATA Steel as chief guest.

The newly inaugurated C BF holds a special place for the task force of Jamshedpur. For this is the first time that the entire project from building to commissioning of the upgraded unit has been designed and implemented internally by the Jamshedpur Works team.

Adding feather to the cap is the fact that TATA Steel is the first steel company in the world to incorporate GIMBAL technology in this furnace. This technology, sourced from Seimens, is primarily for the purpose of providing total flexibility in material distribution, enabling customers to make significant cost savings and benefit from improvements in blast furnace operations and maintenance.

The furnace is part of the A-F Blast Furnace chain within the Jamshedpur Steel works. Structured on the lines of TATA Steel’s expansion plans, the capacity of the C Blast furnace has been increased from 0.4 million tonne per annum to 0.7 million tonne per annum.

Mr Nerurkar said that "The re modelled C Blast Furnace compliments the technical know-how and dedication of both the Seimens as well as TATA Steel teams. I am sure that our operations at C Blast Furnace and production as a whole will now greatly be enhanced with the implementation of the GIMBAL technology. In this journey of restructuring and capacity enhancement, we have learnt quite a few lessons ourselves which will help us understand our work processes and perform even better."

www.steelguru.com

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