Government has scrapped kerosene imports by private companies and decided that only state-run firms will import the fuel to end its adulteration in diesel.
Private sector low cost airline SpiceJet has entered into a strategic tie-up with Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd to sell air-tickets through the latter's petrol stations.
The company is in advanced talks with Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Chennai Refinery and Kochi Refineries for sale of 34,000 barrels per day of oil it will start producing from the gas-rich KG-D6 block on Krishna Godavari basin from September. The company is investing $2.234 billion in developing the MA-1 and MA-2 oil fields in the predominantly gas-rich block.
British oil major BP Plc on Thursday signed an agreement with state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd to negotiate a stake in HPCL's Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) Bhatinda refinery in Punjab.
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.
Global oil major British Petroleum and French oil giant Total are eyeing equity in Hindustan Petroleum Corp's Rs 8,336 crore
With the new owner shelling out Rs 18,000 crore for the buyout of 'Maharaja' this would be the highest ever amount garnered through privatisation or even the cumulative sum garnered through strategic sale in 1999-00 to 2003-04. The government had garnered roughly over Rs 5,000 crore during that five-year period by privatising 10 CPSEs.
Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and IBP will turn financially sick by next year as losses arising from freeze on fuel prices are set to erode their net worth, according to oil ministry estimates.
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.
State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd plans to invest over Rs 13,000 crore to raise the capacity of its Vizag refinery and set up an aromatic plant there.
Diesel price on Monday was hiked by 25 paise per litre -- the third increase since last week -- and more rate hikes for both diesel and petrol are in the offing in the coming days as international oil prices have soared to a three-year high. The price of diesel was hiked to Rs 89.32 per litre in Delhi and to Rs 96.94 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the second straight day of increase in diesel prices and the third since September 24 when the state-owned oil firms ended a three-week hiatus in rates.
India's oil ministry has decided to divert 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of indigenous crude oil from refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp, which is being privatised, to feed small state-run refineries in remote areas, officials said.
Attorney General Soli Sorabjee has said the sale of stakes in two state-run oil refiners does not need parliamentary approval.
S Rajendra Babu, a Supreme Court judge, was on Thursday appointed the Chief Justice of India with effect from May 2.
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.
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.
The shutdown of the gasoline making units would result in the production of high sulphur gasoline that cannot be sold in India.
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.
ChevronTexaco has bid for a stake in state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, India's second-largest oil refiner and retailer.
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.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will buy 20.9 per cent stake held by banks and financial institutions in its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd for around Rs 370 crore.
After a hiatus of nearly two decades, the government's programme to privatise state-owned firms restarted with the handing over of debt-laden national carrier Air India to the Tata Group. With the new owner shelling out Rs 18,000 crore for the buyout of the 'Maharaja', this would be the highest-ever amount garnered through privatisation, and is even more than the cumulative sum mopped up through strategic sales from 1999-00 to 2003-04. The government had in October last year inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. Tatas would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt.
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.
India plans to complete by 2006 a 180,000-bpd refinery, which has been under a cloud because of the proposed privatisation of the company that is building it, Oil Minister Ram Naik
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Adani is the fastest growing energy company in Asia-Pacific and the second fastest in the world
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.
SpiceJet grounded all its aircraft due to payment woes
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.
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