News Release Details
Deora wants bonds for oil marketing companies to avert hike in fuel prices.
New Delhi 04-Jul-2007
Petroleum minister Murli Deora on Tuesday initiated talks with finance minister P Chidambaram and sought oil bonds for state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs), to avert an immediate hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. The petroleum ministry seeks to compensate OMCs Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum for revenue loss due to subsidised sale of oil products. While Deora will again meet Chidambaram next week with a detailed proposal on an appropriate compensation package for OMCs. According to official sources, oil bonds sought by the petroleum ministry were in the range of Rs 19,000 crore. Before finalizing the compensation package for OMCs during the current fiscal, the petroleum ministry wants to have an idea of the support to be extended by the finance ministry. "It's only after this that we will decide on the subsidy share/discounts to be extended by the upstream oil companies, inducing ONGC, OIL and GAIL," a ministry official said. Asked if the government was mulling a hike in petrol and diesel prices, Deora said," Not a sofnow." He, however, said the situation was being closely monitored and his ministry would continue discussions with Chidambaram on ways to mitigate the Rs 50,700-crore under-realization expected on petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene in 2007-08. OMCs are losing around Rs 170 crore per day on the sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene, as the government has not allowed them to raise fuel prices in step with rising costs. Exact losses are pegged at Rs 4.97 a litre for petrol and Rs 4.45 per litre for diesel. The loss on the sale of kerosene through the public distribution system is Rs 14.63 per litre and on LPG it is Rs 189.14 per cylinder. The Indian basket of crude oil has risen more than l2% since February when petrol and diesel prices were cut by Rs 2 a litre and Re 1 per litre, respectively.
New Delhi 04-Jul-2007
Petroleum minister Murli Deora on Tuesday initiated talks with finance minister P Chidambaram and sought oil bonds for state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs), to avert an immediate hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. The petroleum ministry seeks to compensate OMCs Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum for revenue loss due to subsidised sale of oil products. While Deora will again meet Chidambaram next week with a detailed proposal on an appropriate compensation package for OMCs. According to official sources, oil bonds sought by the petroleum ministry were in the range of Rs 19,000 crore. Before finalizing the compensation package for OMCs during the current fiscal, the petroleum ministry wants to have an idea of the support to be extended by the finance ministry. "It's only after this that we will decide on the subsidy share/discounts to be extended by the upstream oil companies, inducing ONGC, OIL and GAIL," a ministry official said. Asked if the government was mulling a hike in petrol and diesel prices, Deora said," Not a sofnow." He, however, said the situation was being closely monitored and his ministry would continue discussions with Chidambaram on ways to mitigate the Rs 50,700-crore under-realization expected on petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene in 2007-08. OMCs are losing around Rs 170 crore per day on the sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene, as the government has not allowed them to raise fuel prices in step with rising costs. Exact losses are pegged at Rs 4.97 a litre for petrol and Rs 4.45 per litre for diesel. The loss on the sale of kerosene through the public distribution system is Rs 14.63 per litre and on LPG it is Rs 189.14 per cylinder. The Indian basket of crude oil has risen more than l2% since February when petrol and diesel prices were cut by Rs 2 a litre and Re 1 per litre, respectively.