Bombay High Field… Largest Oil FIeld in India

Credits: Talat Hussain, AAJ TV

Bombay High is an offshore oilfield 160 km off the coast of Mumbai (Bombay). Despite the name of Bombay being changed to Mumbai, the name of the rigs remains Bombay High.
The oil operations are run by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Bombay High field was discovered by a Russian and Indian oil exploration team operating from the seismic exploration vessel Academic Arkhangelsky during mapping of the Gulf of Khambat (earlier Cambay) in 1964-67. The naming of the field is attributed to a team including Mr. M. Krishnamurthy, from a survey run in 1965 analysed in the Rashmi building in Peddar Road, Cumballa Hill, Mumbai.

The first offshore well was sunk in 1974.

As of 2004, it supplied 14% of India’s oil requirement and accounted for about 38% of all domestic production.

Crude oil produced from Bombay High is of very good quality as compared to crudes produced in middle east. Bombay High crude has more than 60% paraffinic content while light Arabian crude has only 25% paraffin.[1]

Source

Question: What if the attackers attacked the bombay high field?

Bombay High Field… Largest Oil FIeld in India

Credits: Talat Hussain, AAJ TV

Bombay High is an offshore oilfield 160 km off the coast of Mumbai (Bombay). Despite the name of Bombay being changed to Mumbai, the name of the rigs remains Bombay High.
The oil operations are run by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Bombay High field was discovered by a Russian and Indian oil exploration team operating from the seismic exploration vessel Academic Arkhangelsky during mapping of the Gulf of Khambat (earlier Cambay) in 1964-67. The naming of the field is attributed to a team including Mr. M. Krishnamurthy, from a survey run in 1965 analysed in the Rashmi building in Peddar Road, Cumballa Hill, Mumbai.

The first offshore well was sunk in 1974.

As of 2004, it supplied 14% of India’s oil requirement and accounted for about 38% of all domestic production.

Crude oil produced from Bombay High is of very good quality as compared to crudes produced in middle east. Bombay High crude has more than 60% paraffinic content while light Arabian crude has only 25% paraffin.[1]

Source

Question: What if the attackers attacked the bombay high field?

The Mystery of Faridkot… Did the gunmen speak Hindi?

Dawn reports that

a Pakistani village named Faridkot is being mentioned in the Indian media as the place of origin of the lone gunman arrested by Indian commandos. He has been identified as Ajmal Amir Kasab.

The media, however, conveniently avoids mentioning that there is also a town with the same name in the Indian state of Punjab.

In Pakistan, there are several villages named Faridkot, but three of them — one each in Khanewal, Pakpattan and Okara — attracted the attention of intelligence agencies and media to ‘prove’ that the terrorist was a Pakistani.

One of the commentators Warraich was indicating this and he was right.

The media also reports that

Interestingly, the Indian media is not even sure whether the alleged attacker is named Ajmal Amir Kamal, Muhammad Ajmal, Muhammad Amin Kasab, Azam Amir Kasav or Azam Amir Kasab.

Are there any Pakistani muslims who have KASAB or KASAV as their surname? KASAB means skills this word is used in Kashmir. I did not find this on these muslim names websites here
or here. However, I suggest that Indian government use a terrorist name generator so that they wont embarrass themselves again.

It comes as no surprise that the Kashmiri word was used to name terrorists who apparently were “Punjanbi”. This is because CNN reports that some of the commandos participating in the operations were from Kashmir temporarily visiting Mumbai.

Hindi speaking terrorists!

Dawn and Yahoo News also report that

They opened the doors and dumped five slumped officers’ bodies into the streets, then piled into the van. What they did not know was that two officers, including constable Arun Jadhav, were in the backseat, alive.

Jadhav was then taken on a chilling 10-minute ride through the dark streets of Mumbai with two of the gunmen who had launched a siege that would last for 60 more hours and leave at least 174 people dead.

The young gunmen said little during the harrowing drive, but spoke Hindi with a strong Punjabi, north-Indian accent.

This is getting weird!

The Mystery of Faridkot… Did the gunmen speak Hindi?

Dawn reports that

a Pakistani village named Faridkot is being mentioned in the Indian media as the place of origin of the lone gunman arrested by Indian commandos. He has been identified as Ajmal Amir Kasab.

The media, however, conveniently avoids mentioning that there is also a town with the same name in the Indian state of Punjab.

In Pakistan, there are several villages named Faridkot, but three of them — one each in Khanewal, Pakpattan and Okara — attracted the attention of intelligence agencies and media to ‘prove’ that the terrorist was a Pakistani.

One of the commentators Warraich was indicating this and he was right.

The media also reports that

Interestingly, the Indian media is not even sure whether the alleged attacker is named Ajmal Amir Kamal, Muhammad Ajmal, Muhammad Amin Kasab, Azam Amir Kasav or Azam Amir Kasab.

Are there any Pakistani muslims who have KASAB or KASAV as their surname? KASAB means skills this word is used in Kashmir. I did not find this on these muslim names websites here
or here. However, I suggest that Indian government use a terrorist name generator so that they wont embarrass themselves again.

It comes as no surprise that the Kashmiri word was used to name terrorists who apparently were “Punjanbi”. This is because CNN reports that some of the commandos participating in the operations were from Kashmir temporarily visiting Mumbai.

Hindi speaking terrorists!

Dawn and Yahoo News also report that

They opened the doors and dumped five slumped officers’ bodies into the streets, then piled into the van. What they did not know was that two officers, including constable Arun Jadhav, were in the backseat, alive.

Jadhav was then taken on a chilling 10-minute ride through the dark streets of Mumbai with two of the gunmen who had launched a siege that would last for 60 more hours and leave at least 174 people dead.

The young gunmen said little during the harrowing drive, but spoke Hindi with a strong Punjabi, north-Indian accent.

This is getting weird!

Defence of Gujrat…

In a very interesting turn of events The Mid-day reported that

However, shockingly, that mysterious vessel slipped past a major naval exercise codenamed ‘Defence of Gujarat’. A large number of naval and Coast Guard ships had taken part in the exercise. Even all the port trusts and gram panchayats were included in the exercise, which lasted between November 17-22. Their task was to track all vessels and check their identities.

In fact, it was a mock exercise to track down al Qaeda and Pakistani vessels. The threat to offshore installations was also part of the drill.

Various security agencies were aware of intelligence reports indicating that around 90 fishing boats were impounded by Pakistani officials. These vessels could infiltrate Indian waters after the monsoon spell was over and the sea was near normal.

Not only is it ironic that the exercises failed to prevent infiltration, they also raise further questions regarding the mysterious appearance of inflatable raft amongst many ship.

This report is supplemented by Peoples Daily and The Hindu

Indian Navy conducted a 11-day exercise to demonstrate its preparedness under multiple threat scenario along the Coast of Gujarat that concluded on Friday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

“Defense of Gujarat Exercise”, which began on November 7, was held by Western Command of the Indian Navy with the participation of Indian Air Force and Coast Guard in two phases — work-up and tactical phases, PTI reported from Mumbai, 1400 kilometers southwest of here.

Over 40 ships and submarines participated with sea harriers and islanders from the navy and coast guard along with aircraft of the air force and special forces comprising marine commandos.

Of Fishing Boats Vs Indian Navy History

I have searched for a history of confrontations between Indians and Pakistani fishing boats (AndhraNews, ICSF, Indopia, maplandia, Indian Express 1 2

It is interesting to note that of the 4 encounters major reports suggest any incursions within 10-20 km of the Indian border were detected (exact co-ordinates unavailable, approximations used).

Please do also note that the Nov 11 2008 incident was around the same time indian press reports the terrorists hijacked the fishing boat.

Apparently, the Indian Navy seemed to have missed the hijacking of Indian boat, while simultaneously capturing Pakistani boat during its naval exercises.

Certainly, this leads us into an interesting phase.

Defence of Gujrat…

In a very interesting turn of events The Mid-day reported that

However, shockingly, that mysterious vessel slipped past a major naval exercise codenamed ‘Defence of Gujarat’. A large number of naval and Coast Guard ships had taken part in the exercise. Even all the port trusts and gram panchayats were included in the exercise, which lasted between November 17-22. Their task was to track all vessels and check their identities.

In fact, it was a mock exercise to track down al Qaeda and Pakistani vessels. The threat to offshore installations was also part of the drill.

Various security agencies were aware of intelligence reports indicating that around 90 fishing boats were impounded by Pakistani officials. These vessels could infiltrate Indian waters after the monsoon spell was over and the sea was near normal.

Not only is it ironic that the exercises failed to prevent infiltration, they also raise further questions regarding the mysterious appearance of inflatable raft amongst many ship.

This report is supplemented by Peoples Daily and The Hindu

Indian Navy conducted a 11-day exercise to demonstrate its preparedness under multiple threat scenario along the Coast of Gujarat that concluded on Friday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

“Defense of Gujarat Exercise”, which began on November 7, was held by Western Command of the Indian Navy with the participation of Indian Air Force and Coast Guard in two phases — work-up and tactical phases, PTI reported from Mumbai, 1400 kilometers southwest of here.

Over 40 ships and submarines participated with sea harriers and islanders from the navy and coast guard along with aircraft of the air force and special forces comprising marine commandos.

Of Fishing Boats Vs Indian Navy History

I have searched for a history of confrontations between Indians and Pakistani fishing boats (AndhraNews, ICSF, Indopia, maplandia, Indian Express 1 2

It is interesting to note that of the 4 encounters major reports suggest any incursions within 10-20 km of the Indian border were detected (exact co-ordinates unavailable, approximations used).

Please do also note that the Nov 11 2008 incident was around the same time indian press reports the terrorists hijacked the fishing boat.

Apparently, the Indian Navy seemed to have missed the hijacking of Indian boat, while simultaneously capturing Pakistani boat during its naval exercises.

Certainly, this leads us into an interesting phase.

Mumbai Attacks… II (the post, no offence)

I must say I am surprised by the response I got. Like you I too am patriotic, like you I too tend to get emotional when others unjustly accuse my country. I am not an expert just a skeptic.

I must also say I had no intention of creating a stir in an already emotional situation. No matter who did this, regardless of the reason, did an act is unjustifiable and inhuman.

I will not remind you that we are paying the price as well.

I will only ask questions:
-Was it a big failure on the part of Indian Navy to let visually different “fishing boats” (inflatable rafts) to enter a restricted area by sea, even if they managed to get to the fishing trawler.

Everything said there were interesting comments that I would like to respond to:

I know i would be called racist, but, if you look at the entire world right now, wherever you see unrest or terrorism, it has been created by Muslims.

Not once am i saying that the whole lot is screwed up, but isnt this food for thought.

-aditya

Food for thought Well please do not let the media distort your perception. I would like to say that Palestinians are called terrorists just because they are fighting to get their land back. LTTE (in Sri Lanka), IRA (in UK), Lord’s Salvation Army, which trains the young children to conduct terrorist attacks, and many other non-Muslim terrorist outfits, the lives claimed by these outfits are more than the ones by the Muslim terrorists. Naxalites/Maoists across India and the LTTE in Sri Lanka were non- Muslim terror organisations. Japanese Red Army, Lord’s Salvation Army and the ETA in Spain were also non-Islamic in character and composition. (adapted from here). I would not like to bring in some controversial events of Gujrat and Samjhota Express, but lets focus on the general perception.

Lokesh Awasthy Terrorists haveno religion, they are neither hindu nor muslims. If I accuse Pakistani government to be incapable of controlling extremists inside, I also codemn the Government of India for such an intelligence failure, nobody is pointing fingers, these are facts.

I do too. However, the main problem I wanted to address when the post was published was the knee-jerk reaction of the Indian government and media to blame Pakistan without evidence. Regarding the ISI the army was of the view that no country in the world would comply with “orders” for a department head to explain the situation. Would India let its RAW chief come to Pakistan based on suspicion?

Last Questions
Why do you think the intensity of these acts have increased lately? What is driving these acts?

Update
-Indian home minister has presented its resignation

My Response
-To Omkar Was it a big failure on part of Indian Intelligence?
-It appears that certain high value targets are not adequately secured… Should we be concerned about “other targets” such as installations that may threaten regional peace?
-Isn’t your bolg with your fancy screen shots and indicator of a “Knee Jerk” was your response a measured one? My blog entry was a simply based on the analysis of news reports and facts hovering in Indian Media.

Note to ALL
-Browsing through the comments, I seem to have learnt a lot regarding the differences in Human Anatomy across the subcontinent. Certainly this is not the topic of discussion. Please refrain from posting such items since it reflects poorly regarding the contrbutor.
-Due to unusual interest in the blog, the servers are constantly going into defensive mode. If you find your comments disappear you can still access them through post comment link. Some updates may not be displayed, blogger.com is working on the issue

Mumbai Attacks… II (the post, no offence)

I must say I am surprised by the response I got. Like you I too am patriotic, like you I too tend to get emotional when others unjustly accuse my country. I am not an expert just a skeptic.

I must also say I had no intention of creating a stir in an already emotional situation. No matter who did this, regardless of the reason, did an act is unjustifiable and inhuman.

I will not remind you that we are paying the price as well.

I will only ask questions:
-Was it a big failure on the part of Indian Navy to let visually different “fishing boats” (inflatable rafts) to enter a restricted area by sea, even if they managed to get to the fishing trawler.

Everything said there were interesting comments that I would like to respond to:

I know i would be called racist, but, if you look at the entire world right now, wherever you see unrest or terrorism, it has been created by Muslims.

Not once am i saying that the whole lot is screwed up, but isnt this food for thought.

-aditya

Food for thought Well please do not let the media distort your perception. I would like to say that Palestinians are called terrorists just because they are fighting to get their land back. LTTE (in Sri Lanka), IRA (in UK), Lord’s Salvation Army, which trains the young children to conduct terrorist attacks, and many other non-Muslim terrorist outfits, the lives claimed by these outfits are more than the ones by the Muslim terrorists. Naxalites/Maoists across India and the LTTE in Sri Lanka were non- Muslim terror organisations. Japanese Red Army, Lord’s Salvation Army and the ETA in Spain were also non-Islamic in character and composition. (adapted from here). I would not like to bring in some controversial events of Gujrat and Samjhota Express, but lets focus on the general perception.

Lokesh Awasthy Terrorists haveno religion, they are neither hindu nor muslims. If I accuse Pakistani government to be incapable of controlling extremists inside, I also codemn the Government of India for such an intelligence failure, nobody is pointing fingers, these are facts.

I do too. However, the main problem I wanted to address when the post was published was the knee-jerk reaction of the Indian government and media to blame Pakistan without evidence. Regarding the ISI the army was of the view that no country in the world would comply with “orders” for a department head to explain the situation. Would India let its RAW chief come to Pakistan based on suspicion?

Last Questions
Why do you think the intensity of these acts have increased lately? What is driving these acts?

Update
-Indian home minister has presented its resignation

My Response
-To Omkar Was it a big failure on part of Indian Intelligence?
-It appears that certain high value targets are not adequately secured… Should we be concerned about “other targets” such as installations that may threaten regional peace?
-Isn’t your bolg with your fancy screen shots and indicator of a “Knee Jerk” was your response a measured one? My blog entry was a simply based on the analysis of news reports and facts hovering in Indian Media.

Note to ALL
-Browsing through the comments, I seem to have learnt a lot regarding the differences in Human Anatomy across the subcontinent. Certainly this is not the topic of discussion. Please refrain from posting such items since it reflects poorly regarding the contrbutor.
-Due to unusual interest in the blog, the servers are constantly going into defensive mode. If you find your comments disappear you can still access them through post comment link. Some updates may not be displayed, blogger.com is working on the issue

Americans Love to Hate

May that be due to the color of the skin, size of your toe or length of your fingernail, an average American will find a reason to hate you.

Take the following example (Monsters and Critics)

Washington – Americans are ‘impatient’ to see China slim its huge trade surplus, which is fuelling anti-China sentiment in the United States, the top US finance official said Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s warning came at the start of a US-China economic summit in Washington, where the US is seeking to ease trade tensions and prod China to boost imports from the US.

‘Our policy disagreements are not about the direction of change, but about the pace of change,’ Paulson told the opening session. ‘Americans have many virtues … but we are also impatient.’

Pressure in the US Congress to punish China, the world’s fastest- growing economy, is running high as Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi began two days of talks.

Many US lawmakers view China as an unfair trade partner that keeps its foreign exchange rate artificially low to boost exports and has killed hundreds of thousands of US manufacturing jobs.

Now that is a bit unfair don’t you think. It rather demonstrates the hypocrisy of Americans (as if thats news) but how? Allow me.

By the early 1970s, as the Vietnam War accelerated inflation, the United States as a whole began running a trade deficit (for the first time in the twentieth century). The crucial turning point was 1970, which saw U.S. gold coverage deteriorate from 55% to 22%. This, in the view of neoclassical economists, represented the point where holders of the dollar had lost faith in the ability of the U.S. to cut budget and trade deficits.

In 1971 more and more dollars were being printed in Washington, then being pumped overseas, to pay for government expenditure on the military and social programs. In the first six months of 1971, assets for $22 billion fled the U.S. In response, on August 15, 1971, Nixon unilaterally imposed 90-day wage and price controls, a 10% import surcharge, and most importantly “closed the gold window,” making the dollar inconvertible to gold directly, except on the open market. Unusually, this decision was made without consulting members of the international monetary system or even his own State Department, and was soon dubbed the “Nixon Shock“.

Wikipedia

So, basically US blasted the Bretton Woods system when it could not repay in gold.

The point being, US “reserves” the right to act in its self-interest, while others do not. An interesting ethnocentric logic. Iraq and Afghanistan are prime examples of the application of this logic.

In the end I leave you with this… The Spoof

Americans Love to Hate

May that be due to the color of the skin, size of your toe or length of your fingernail, an average American will find a reason to hate you.

Take the following example (Monsters and Critics)

Washington – Americans are ‘impatient’ to see China slim its huge trade surplus, which is fuelling anti-China sentiment in the United States, the top US finance official said Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s warning came at the start of a US-China economic summit in Washington, where the US is seeking to ease trade tensions and prod China to boost imports from the US.

‘Our policy disagreements are not about the direction of change, but about the pace of change,’ Paulson told the opening session. ‘Americans have many virtues … but we are also impatient.’

Pressure in the US Congress to punish China, the world’s fastest- growing economy, is running high as Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi began two days of talks.

Many US lawmakers view China as an unfair trade partner that keeps its foreign exchange rate artificially low to boost exports and has killed hundreds of thousands of US manufacturing jobs.

Now that is a bit unfair don’t you think. It rather demonstrates the hypocrisy of Americans (as if thats news) but how? Allow me.

By the early 1970s, as the Vietnam War accelerated inflation, the United States as a whole began running a trade deficit (for the first time in the twentieth century). The crucial turning point was 1970, which saw U.S. gold coverage deteriorate from 55% to 22%. This, in the view of neoclassical economists, represented the point where holders of the dollar had lost faith in the ability of the U.S. to cut budget and trade deficits.

In 1971 more and more dollars were being printed in Washington, then being pumped overseas, to pay for government expenditure on the military and social programs. In the first six months of 1971, assets for $22 billion fled the U.S. In response, on August 15, 1971, Nixon unilaterally imposed 90-day wage and price controls, a 10% import surcharge, and most importantly “closed the gold window,” making the dollar inconvertible to gold directly, except on the open market. Unusually, this decision was made without consulting members of the international monetary system or even his own State Department, and was soon dubbed the “Nixon Shock“.

Wikipedia

So, basically US blasted the Bretton Woods system when it could not repay in gold.

The point being, US “reserves” the right to act in its self-interest, while others do not. An interesting ethnocentric logic. Iraq and Afghanistan are prime examples of the application of this logic.

In the end I leave you with this… The Spoof