Reliance Communications Ltd's subsidiary Reliance Mobile World on Wednesday announced introduction of LPG gas booking service on mobile phones.
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.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora is likely to meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram later this week to seek greater compensation for oil companies, who are currently losing about Rs 450 crore (Rs 4.5 billion) a day on fuel sales. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are likely to see doubling of revenue loss on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene to Rs 150,000 crore. The three fuel retailers together lost Rs 77,304.50 cr on fuel sale in 2007-08.
Besides IOC, Royal Dutch Shell is believed to have evinced interest in reviving the petrol pumps, industry sources said. Reliance, as part of a two part bid process, had sought expression of interest from IOC, Shell, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum by Friday for a possible partnership for reopening the petrol pumps.
While BPCL has been ranked third in the poll, Reliance is at the fourth position adn HPCL 8th.
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.
After a year of sluggish growth in fuel retail outlets, the three state-run oil-marketing companies--Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation--have chalked out aggressive plans for expansion in the next financial year. They will be commissioning over 2,100 outlets in 2009-10--over three times what they added in the current year--at an investment of about Rs 1,200 crore.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum may post a combined loss of Rs 10,700 crore in June quarter on selling petrol and diesel at rates below cost, a report said on Monday. While the raw material (crude oil) prices soared in April-June, petrol and diesel prices were not revised, leading to marketing losses which offset strong refining margins, ICICI Securities said in the report. The three state-owned oil marketing companies -- IOC, BPCL and HPCL -- control 90 per cent of the retail petrol and diesel sales in the country.
SBI Capital Markets Limited, the merchant banking arm of SBI, is eyeing the twin accounts of HPCL and BPCL for managing the divestment programmes of the 2 oil cos.
Indian Oil Corporation on Tuesday said it may lose over Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) in revenues this fiscal on selling fuel below imported cost.
More than one oil company bidding for same overseas assets.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on Saturday, the fourth increase in five days as oil firms passed on to consumers the spike in cost of raw material. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 98.61 per litre as against Rs 97.81 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 89.07 per litre to Rs 89.87, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. All the four increases since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22, have been of 80 paise a litre.
State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation is eyeing oil blocks in African countries, its Chairman and Managing Director, Subir Roy Choudhari said on Friday.
Reliance Industries Ltd will sell 4.3 million tonnes of petroleum products from its 33 million tonnes Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat to public sector oil retailing companies in 2004-05.
After three consecutive hikes, state-run oil companies on Thursday reduced jet fuel or ATF prices marginally by about one per cent in tandem with international rates for the same.Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum cut aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by Rs 311 per kilolitre in Delhi to Rs 31,615 per kl with effect from midnight tonight, an IOC official said.
The government on Friday said it will not increase prices of domestic cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene despite the Budget cutting to half the subsidy on the two mass consumed cooking fuels from April 1.
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.
Notwithstanding its divestment setback, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd is planning to enter the exploration segment and foray into the markets of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Indian Oil Corporation is India's only Fortune 500 company.
As oil marketing companies (OMCs) stare at huge under-recoveries, India is facing fuel shortage across the country with states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Haryana being the worst hit. The under-recoveries suffered by OMCs are around Rs 20-25 a litre for diesel and Rs 14-18 a litre for petrol, said sources. Government and state-run companies denied reports of any crisis or supply-side issues on the availability of fuel.
After two months of price cuts, the state-run oil companies on Friday hiked aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by a steep 6.5 per cent in step with hardening international rates.
The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic divestment. The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
For the second time this month, state-run oil companies on Tuesday cut jet fuel prices to ease the burden on cash-strapped airlines. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices in Delhi was reduced by Rs 649 or 1.6 per cent to Rs 39,319 per kilolitre, effective midnight tonight.
The government is keen on getting global oil majors like Saudi Aramco and National Iranian Oil Corp on board Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum through the market route even though privatisation of the state-run oil refining and marketing compa
Balmer Lawrie & Company, whose 61.97 per cent stake is slated to be divested by the Centre, is unlikely to be sold off during the current fiscal.