July 2010 - Market Cap of £6bn ; Founded in 1969.
Floated on the LSE in May 2010
Indian parent Company Essar Group comprising Essar Oil & Gas, Essar Power.
Specialising in power generation & oil & gas operations in India

http://www.essarenergy.com/

StockMarketWire.com
Essar Energy subsidiary Essar Oil has completed its optimisation project, which has taken the capacity of its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat to 405,000 barrels per day.

The project has been completed four months ahead of schedule.

The company now accounts for about 10 per cent of India's total refining capacity.

Essar Oil says it has completed the refinery at a low capital cost of US$12,746 per barrel, which is around half the global average.

Operating costs of US$3 per barrel are also amongst the lowest globally.

though INR seems to have recovered its poise a bit, i really cannot get excited about this stock, not least because the market has clearly lost confidence in the company ..... from a chart point of view, note that sp is trading in a very narrow range between 25 an 50 dma, and struggles badly to break north

I agree. Very disappointing from the floatation. Have so far resisted any temptation to invest.

Essar Energy receives final approval for Indonesian coal block
June 8, 2012: Essar Energy plc [LSE: ESSR], the India-focused integrated energy company, today announced that it has received final 'Pinjam Pakai' forest approval for its Aries coal mine in Indonesia. This is the final approval needed ahead of commencement of mine development activities.

Essar Energy acquired a 100% interest in the Aries coal mine in April 2010 for US$118 million. The mining area comprises approximately 5,000 hectares located in the West Kutai region of East Kalimantan. A Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant resource assessment estimates that the block contains approximately 64 million tonnes of mineable reserves with an annual potential production of 4 million tonnes of coal with an average gross calorific value of 5,400 to 5,500 Kcal/kg. This is sufficient to provide a dedicated fuel supply to the Salaya I, 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant located in Gujarat, India.

The Company has already commenced the construction of supporting road and port infrastructure and it is expected that first coal will be available within 9-12 months of today's announcement.

Until coal from the Aries coal mine becomes available, fuel for the Salaya I power project is being supplied under a fixed price coal contract with Essar Shipping and Logistics Limited, Cyprus. Unit 1 of Salaya I (600 MW), has already entered commercial operations, and unit 2 (also 600MW) is near to completion

India focused Essar Energy (ESSR) has begun operations at unit 2 of the Salaya I power project, which has a power capacity of 600 megawatts. The news follows on from the commissioning of the 600 megawatt Salaya I unit 1 in April, and brings the energy company's total capacity to 2.8 gigawatts. The power plant cost 1.1 billion dollars (0.7 billion pounds) and is the first of three projects scheduled for completion in 2012 which are expected to raise the firm's capacity to 4.51 gigawatts. Essar shares rose by 7.8p to 119.5p.

StockMarketWire.com
India-focused energy firm Essar Energy posts a pre-tax loss of $1,147.7m for the 15 months to the end of March.

This compares with a profit of $365,5m in the year to the end of December 2010.

The group said the latest results included negative impact of exceptional items totaling $1.28bn.

Chief executive Naresh Nayyar said: "We are now very much an operational energy business, with many construction projects completed and our capex investment programme having peaked.

"The expansion of our Vadinar refinery has been very successful, putting the plant into a league with the best in the world where it can produce high value fuels from lower cost, ultra heavy crudes.

"Coupled with our low cost base, this will permit a step change in margins. We are also making good headway at our Stanlow refinery with a number of initiatives to improve margins by at least US$2 per barrel over the next 18 months."

"In our power business we have commissioned 1,580MW of capacity since January 2011 and expect to commission a further 3,900MW in the next 24 months.

"We have been encouraged by the provisional forest clearance on the Mahan coal block which moves us further forward in developing the low cost generation assets which India badly needs.

"However, significant further progress is still required in a number of areas and we will be continuing our dialogue with both state and central government to try and ensure this momentum is not lost."

Essar Energy sells stake in Vietnam gas block to ENI
2 July 2012: Essar Energy plc today announced that its subsidiary Essar Exploration & Production Limited has agreed to sell a 50 per cent stake in Vietnam's offshore gas exploration block 114 to ENI International B.V.

The reduction in Essar Energy's stake in block 114, which was previously 100 per cent, is in line with the strategy for its exploration and production business of introducing strategic partners to help manage risk and of focusing on the development of its core assets.

Essar Energy acquired the 100 per cent stake in block 114 in 2007 and a production sharing contract with the Vietnam Government became effective in 2010. Further investment is required to establish gas reserves in the block and no gas is being produced at present. Under the terms of the transaction, ENI is also assuming operator status for the block.

The transaction is subject to agreement from the Vietnam Government.

Essar Oil notes Supreme Court order regarding sales tax petition
July 17 2012: Essar Energy plc [LSE: ESSR], today announced that its subsidiary Essar Oil has today been directed by the Supreme Court of India to pay Rs.10 billion (c.US$182 million) to the Government of Gujarat by July 30 in relation to its deferred sales tax liability.

The Court also today ruled that once the Rs.10 billion has been paid, any other coercive steps being taken by the Government of Gujarat to force immediate payment of the remaining principal amount owed, of Rs.51.69 billion (c.US$939 million) would be stayed.

Essar Oil is seeking guidance from the Supreme Court on a repayment schedule and the waiver of interest in relation to the deferred sales tax liability of Rs.61.69 billion (c.US$1.12 billion). Essar Oil had offered to pay the Rs.10 billion (US$182 million) sum as part of its submission to the Supreme Court, which is due to hear Essar Oil's petition on July 31 2012.

As previously announced, Essar Oil is also in advanced discussions with Indian lenders to put in place a Rs.50 billion (c.US$909 million) loan facility as a contingency measure for use in the event that the sales tax liability becomes payable immediately or that Essar Oil is not able to negotiate a satisfactory repayment schedule. This facility is expected to be finalised shortly.

Essar Oil secures loan to repay deferred sales tax liability
StockMarketWire.com
Essar Energy subsidiary Essar Oil has secured a new credit facility with its Indian banks of up to Rs.50bn to meet the deferred sales tax liability of Rs.61.69bn owed to the Gujarat government.

Essar Oil continues to pursue the matter of a schedule for repayment of the sales tax liability both by legal means and with the government of Gujarat.

Essar Oil is confident that with this Rs.50bn facility in place it will be in a position to meet its entire repayment obligations.

At 9:48am: (LON:ESSR) share price was -0.55p at 112.45p


Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

Essar Energy agrees new oil and product inventory arrangements for Stanlow refinery
July 25, 2012: Essar Energy plc [LSE: ESSR], the India-focused integrated energy company, today announced that its subsidiary Essar Oil UK has entered into new arrangements with Barclays Bank plc covering the supply of crude oil to its Stanlow refinery in the UK.

Under the new arrangements, Barclays will hold the inventories of crude oil and petroleum products at Stanlow and will supply crude to the refinery in line with its requirements.

The new arrangements allow Essar Oil UK to repay its existing working capital revolving credit facility, provided by 13 banks. In addition, they allow Essar Oil UK to reduce its costs by reducing its crude oil inventory holdings and also permit greater operational flexibility. The customer relationships and product sale processes will remain with Essar Oil UK. These arrangements with Barclays are for three years and take effect immediately.

StockMarketWire.com
Essar Energy subsidiary Essar Oil has made an initial payment of Rs.10bn to the Gujarat government in respect of the deferred sales tax liability from the Vadinar oil refinery of Rs.61.69bn.

Essar Oil continues to pursue the matter of a schedule for repayment of the overall sales tax liability both by legal means and with the Government of Gujarat.

Essar Oil announced on 23 July that it has secured a new credit facility with its Indian banks of up to Rs.50bn to meet the deferred sales tax liability as required.

Supreme Court decides on sales tax repayment schedule and interest due

September 13, 2012:

Essar Energy plc [LSE: ESSR], the India-focused integrated energy company, today announced that in respect of its subsidiary Essar Oil, the Honourable Supreme Court of India has today passed a judgement in the Gujarat sales tax case.

The judgement directs Essar Oil to repay the sales tax balance owed in instalments spread over two years. This balance of Rs.51.65 billion (c.US$939 million) is now payable in eight quarterly instalments beginning on 2 January 2013.

A demand by the Gujarat Government for approximately Rs.18 billion (c.US$327 million) in respect of interest for the period up to 17 January 2012, has been dismissed by the Hon Supreme Court.

In respect of interest for the period subsequent to 17 January 2012, the Supreme Court directed Essar Oil to pay at a rate of only 10% per year, as against 18% per year demanded by the Government of Gujarat.

The Supreme Court judgement brings to an end the deferred sales tax repayment issue in respect of Essar Oil.

Todays news about refinacing the Rupee dept in to Dollar is good for investors.
At least it means the books have been fully checked over and approved.

Some news about the Raniganj gas field should move the SP up.

Put on your watch list

More news

Looks like some of the Indian interests are not so keen on being so far in chinese pockets. Market forces v politics.

Essar Seeks Permission to Explore For Shale Gas In Cambay Pre-NELP Block Under Existing PSC.
The Production Sharing Contract for the pre-NELP block CB-ON/3 which Essar signed with the government of India permits exploration in ‘Crude Oil & Natural Gas existing in their natural conditions’. Thus, this definition per se includes the Shale Gas/Oil which is ‘Crude Oil & Natural gas’

Positive news and outlook from Essar Oil

Every penny counts

This news on Essar from the India times. Moving their debt to dollars is a step change to making better margins.

MUMBAI: The Essar group, owned by billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, will sign agreements with a leading Chinese bank and its largest oil and gas producer and distributor, deepening the BPO to steel conglomerate's engagement with the world second largest economy.
During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's state visit to India -- his first overseas since taking office in March - Essar Group flagships Essar Oil and its London listed parent Essar Energy Plc will enter into a multi-level financial agreement with China Development Bank (CDB), the world's biggest policy bank and PetroChina Company, the oil and gas producer and distributor, said multiple sources aware of the plans. This, according to some of the sources, could even be a precursor to a deeper relationship between the two sides, possibly culminating in an equity deal involving Essar's mega 20 million tonnes per year (MTPA) coastal refinery at Vadinar, Gujarat.
On Tuesday, Essar Energy and its locally listed refining subsidiary Essar Oil will sign an agreement with CDB to raise $1 billion by way of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) from the Chinese banking system. In return, PetroChina will sign a long-term 'off take' agreement with Essar for 7 to 10 years for a fixed quantum of products linked to the loan amount.

"Typically these off take arrangements or coverage ratios in industry parlance are two to three times the loan amount. Such trades are quite common for global commodity traders like Glencore or even a premier political and policy bank like the CDB," said a London- based corporate finance banker, specializing in energy trades who is aware of the upcoming transaction. "The price discovery mechanism is benchmarked to prevailing international prices or a pre-agreed pricing formula," he added.

Responding to a detailed questionnaire, an Essar Oil spokesperson said: "As part of our initiative to dollarize our debt, we have been in discussion with several international banks, including Chinese banks. CDB is part of that conversation. After our expansion, we have been sourcing a significant portion of our crude from Latin America with a view to meet our increased requirement of ultra heavy crudes. PetroChina is a strong player in this region and will thus continue to be an important trade counter party for us."

Mails sent to CDB and PetroChina did not get any response. However, CDB's new Chairman Hu Huaibang is expected to attend Tuesday's deal signing in Mumbai along with the CEO of PetroChina International - the group's arm for global business and energy trading.

Positive news continues for Essar

Essar Energy announces US$125 million bond issue in power business.

Essar Power was assigned a credit rating of A+ by ratings agency Credit Analysis and Research Ltd (CARE), of Mumbai, in October 2012 in respect of the proposed Rs.50 billion bond issue.