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| No immediate plans to hike fuel prices: Govt |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Nov 19, 2009, 17:12 IST |
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The government has no immediate plans to raise petrol and diesel prices even though raw material costs have surged to their highest level this year, Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said today.
"There is no proposal (to raise fuel prices) under consideration at present," he told reporters here.
The price of India's crude oil basket averaged $77.47 per barrel this month, up from $73.07 a barrel in October. The Indian basket reached its highest level this year at $78.95 per barrel yesterday.
Pandey said the volatility in international oil prices that had peaked to $147 per barrel in August last year before dropping to $33 by year-end and then surging again, are bad for developing nations like India.
State-run oil firms are losing Rs 3.85 per litre on petrol, Rs 3.71 a litre on diesel, Rs 16.34 per litre on kerosene sold through PDS and Rs 201.88 per 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder due to firming up in international oil rates.
"I cannot say what will happen in the future, but right now we are not considering (a price hike)," he said.
At the current rates, IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are projected to lose Rs 45,160 crore in revenues on fuel sales this fiscal, he added.
The government had earlier this year decided to make good all the revenue loss on sale of domestic LPG and kerosene through issue of oil bonds, while the same on petrol and diesel would be mostly met by upstream firms like OIL and ONGC.
IOC, BPCL and HPCL, who are currently losing about Rs 163 crore per day on fuel sales, have not been given any oil bonds for revenue loss this fiscal.
"I guess the oil bonds may come through supplementary grants (spending) during the current winter session of Parliament," Pandey said.
In the absence of the oil bonds, HPCL and BPCL posted net losses in the July-September quarter while IOC barely scrapped through.
The net loss of HPCL was at Rs 136.68 crore, while that of BPCL at Rs 158.77 crore. IOC was better off, registering a net profit of Rs 284.36 crore.
For April-September, retailers would have to be issued oil bonds worth Rs 11,853 crore to make up for the losses they incurred on selling domestic LPG and kerosene below cost, the official said.
IOC, BPCL and HPCL lost Rs 15,856 crore revenue on selling petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost during the first half of the current fiscal. Of this, Rs 11,853 crore is revenue lost on LPG and kerosene, the remaining Rs 4,003 crore was on account of petrol and diesel.
The government had last fiscal issued oil bonds worth Rs 71,292 crore.
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