Petrol prices likely go up next week

State-owned oil companies may raise petrol prices by Rs 1.50-Rs 2 per litre early next week, while a Rs 2 a litre hike in diesel rates is under the government consideration, a senior official said today.

"Petrol prices will be raised after the current session of Parliament ends on December 13," the official said here.

A hike a diesel prices also looks imminent as crude oil prices have inched closer to $90 per barrel, widening the gap between domestic retail rates and their imported cost.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday to discuss convening a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) next week to decide on hiking diesel rates.

"In all probability, diesel prices may be hiked by Rs 2 per litre," he said.

Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum had last raised petrol price on November 9, just before the winter session of Parliament began.

"The last hike of Rs 0.32 a litre was lower than the Rs 1.1 per litre desired increase to make domestic retail rates at par with international prices," he said. "The three firms are currently losing about Rs 2.40 per litre on petrol."

When contacted, Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said the government will not intervene in fixation of petrol prices which had been deregulated in June.

On diesel price hike, he said "it will be a political decision".

"Oil marketing companies are losing Rs 4.71 per litre (in revenues) on diesel sales. If global crude oil prices show no sign of abating, the government will have to take a view," Sundareshan said.

IOC, BPCL and HPCL currently lose Rs 75 crore in revenues on selling diesel below its imported cost.

Freeing diesel prices from government control, as had been decided in June, is not possible at this juncture as it would mean passing on the entire Rs 4.71 a litre hike to consumers.

"That will be unreasonable," he said. "But some price hike will have to be passed on to consumers."

He did not elaborate ont he quantum of hike being considered.

The official said Deora discussed how the Rs 65,839-crore revenue loss IOC, BPCL and HPCL are expected to register this fiscal on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost, will be compensated.

So far, the finance ministry has committed to provide only Rs 13,000 crore in cash while the oil ministry wants about half of the revenue loss to be met by the government. Another one-third would be provided by upstream firms like ONGC.