The strike by workers of state-owned oil firms Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp to oppose privatisation of the cash-rich refiners entered the second day on Wednesday but operations and petroleum product supplies remained unaffected.
Contrary to popular perception of public sector oil firms making huge profits on selling petrol and diesel by gold plating the cost, Indian firms have second lowest refinery and marketing margins - profits - in the world.
The government will press ahead with its stalled privatisation programme and sell stakes in two refiners, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said.
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's sole private sector refiner, on Monday sought Petroleum Minister Ram Naik's help in getting public sector oil companies to buy fuel from its 33 million tonne Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat.
M A Pathan, former chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation, on Friday resigned as chief of the Petroleum Federation of India, citing his pre-occupation with Tatas and other multinational oil firms.
The official, who did not wish to be identified, said the government will wrap up the stake sale in HPCL by November.\n\n
Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, which is expanding its Mumbai refinery to 12 million tonnes, will invest another Rs 1200 crore (Rs 12 billion) to produce auto fuel compliant with Euro-IV emission norms.
Public sector oil firms spent over Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) on advertisements during the last three years with Indian Oil Corp topping the list with an expenditure of Rs 275.35 crore.
S Rajendra Babu, a Supreme Court judge, was on Thursday appointed the Chief Justice of India with effect from May 2.
Attorney General Soli Sorabjee has said the sale of stakes in two state-run oil refiners does not need parliamentary approval.
Public sector oil retailing firms have lost over Rs 5,800 crore in the first six weeks of current fiscal due to non-revision of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene prices.
Public sector oil firms plan to set up over 4600 petrol stations and 907 LPG sale agencies in the current fiscal, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Thursday.
Divestment Minister Arun Shourie will soon make a statement on stake sales in two state-run oil firms following a consensus reached on the issue by a group of top ministers.
State exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Thursday said it will take 26 per cent equity in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd's upcoming 6 million tonnes refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp has offered to take Hindustan Petroleum Corp as equal partner in the Rs 6,354 crore (Rs 63.54 billion) Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh.
Kicking-off the process of divestment in Bharat Petroleum Corp, government has invited bids for appointment of a global advisor for sale of 35.2 per cent stake in the oil PSU through public offer.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corp has asked the government to review the scheme of sharing of liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene subsidy with upstream firms and said the scheme should not be extended beyond March 2004.
Asian Development Bank and ExxonMobil-promoted RasGas of Qatar have taken 10 per cent equity each in Petronet LNG Ltd, the public sector joint venture firm which will begin importing liquefied natural gas from January next year.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, said on Monday it had signed an agreement to supply crude oil to refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd for two years ending March 2004.\n\n\n\n
Indian state-run oil giants HPCL and BPCL reported on Wednesday no supply disruptions as result of a two-day-old strike by workers opposing privatisation of the refiners.
With the government giving limited freedom to state-run oil companies to fix auto fuel prices within a narrow price band, petrol prices are set to go up by Rs 0.57 per litre and diesel by Rs 0.92 per litre from August 1.
"Financial bids for Air India disinvestment received by Transaction Adviser. Process now moves to concluding stage," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
The three state-owned oil companies have decided to defer snapping fuel supplies to Air India. The airline owes the three firms over Rs 5,000 crore in past fuel bills.
The price of petrol has risen by 83 paise per litre in the past nine days and diesel by 73 paise
This is the first time that petrol sales in the world's third-largest oil importer have risen since the March 25 nationwide lockdown crippled economic activity and sent demand plummeting.
This is the second straight increase in ATF price this month. Rates were hiked by a record 56.5 per cent (Rs 12,126.75 per kl) on June 1. Simultaneously, petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the 10th day in a row.
Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani-led RIL was the top private sector company from the country as it jumped from 203rd rank last year to 148th.
The three oil PSUs have told Air India that if it did not make the monthly lump sum payment, they will stop fuel supply from October 11 at six major domestic airports.
The divestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may hit a fuel price hurdle, according to officials dealing with the matter. They pointed out that the inconspicuous administered price regime could hamper the prospects for potential buyers of BPCL. A senior oil ministry official said public-sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs) take a hit when they sell petrol, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), three of the most popular petroleum products in the country.
The increase in rates announced by oil firms is excluding state levies and the actual hike will be higher.
Oil marketing companies on Friday cut petrol price by 32 paise, and diesel by 85 paise a litre with effect from midnight tonight.
Referring to Modi, Adityanath and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as 'outsiders', the farmer leader said he has no objection if they become prime ministers after winning polls from Uttarakhand or Gujarat.
Govt's move will facilitate entry of global giants such as Total SA of France, Saudi Arabia's Aramco, BP Plc of the UK, and Trafigura's downstream arm Puma Energy.
The price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) was on cut by Rs 21 per cylinder and that of jet fuel (ATF) by a steep 3 per cent on the back of falling international oil rates.
Petrol price was on Saturday cut by Rs 0.50 per litre but there will be no change in rates of diesel.
Petrol price was on Wednesday hiked by a steep Rs 3.38 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.67 a litre, reversing a two-month declining trend.
SpiceJet grounded all its aircraft due to payment woes
While the Union Cabinet had in November last year approved the sale of the government's entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL, offers seeking expression of interest (EoI), or bids showing interest in buying its stake, were invited only on March 7. The EoI submission deadline was May 2, but on March 31 it was extended up to June 13. On Wednesday, the government said this deadline is further being extended up to July 31.
Videocon Industries on Tuesday said a well drilled to confirm an oil discovery in its Brazilian offshore block has struck 200 feet of high-quality hydrocarbon zone.
No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of the price hike on passenger fares.
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