The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
Indian private sector and State-run refiners continued to receive crude oil from Russian suppliers even after November 21 -- the winding-down date for US sanctions on supplies from leading Russian oil producers imposed in October -- as new intermediaries sprung up in West Asia to sell the oil, according to senior refining sources and ship tracking data.
Reliance Industries' refining earnings will remain steady, supported by its position as India's largest importer of Russian crude and favourable global supplies, according to analysts at JM Financial and Goldman Sachs. Reliance imported more Russian barrels than any other Indian refiner in the past eight months, according to data from Bloomberg/Kpler.
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.
To help them make up for the revenue lost on selling auto and cooking fuel below cost.
Full-service carrier Kingfisher Airlines has sought permission from the petroleum ministry to extend the date for paying dues to public sector oil companies for aviation turbine fuel.
Losses on sale of diesel at government-controlled rates have hit a record Rs 19.26 a litre, sending state-owned oil companies scrambling for ways to cover the mounting losses.
"Air India is unable to pay even after a 90-day credit period. They owe us about Rs 300 crore without interest. There is also no bank guarantee from Air India to any of the oil marketing companies. We do not know when will the company honour its dues," said a BPCL official on condition of anonymity.
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 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.
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.
A parliamentary panel has rapped the government for bypassing Parliament in deciding to privatise oil refiners Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp
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.
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.
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.
Officers of India's third largest oil firm Hindustan Petroleum Corp on Thursday began an indefinite agitation against "arbitrary and autocratic" style of company management.
GAIL (India) Ltd and its partners on Wednesday signed the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement with government of Oman for Block 56 in Muscat.
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.
IOC along with its sister PSUs, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp had from September 16 cut jet fuel rates by as much as 3.2 per cent to Rs 37,896.83 per kl.
Reliance Industries Ltd will give Rs 750 crore (Rs 7.5 billion) discount on LPG and kerosene to public sector petro retailers in 2005-06.
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.
India plans to release about 5 million barrels of crude oil from its emergency stockpile in tandem with the US, Japan and other major economies to cool prices, a top government official said on Tuesday. India stores about 38 million barrels of crude oil in underground caverns at three locations on the east and west coast. Of this, about 5 million barrels will be released, starting as early as 7-10 days, the official, who wished not to be named said.
Attorney General Soli Sorabjee has said the sale of stakes in two state-run oil refiners does not need parliamentary approval.
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.
S Rajendra Babu, a Supreme Court judge, was on Thursday appointed the Chief Justice of India with effect from May 2.
This is the second hike in diesel price this month.
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.
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.
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.
The cut reflects changes in global prices of the two fuels since the last revision.
Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 77.28 per litre from Rs 76.73, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 75.79 a litre from Rs 75.19, according to a price notification from State oil marketing companies. Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
In nine hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 5 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.87 a litre.
With an eye on bigger imports, the oil marketing firm may get its French partner Total to set it up.
In 13 hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 7.11 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.67 a litre.
Steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal is eyeing to buy half of Hindustan Petroleum Corp's exploration arm Prize Petroleum for about Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion). Mittal, which made rapid advances in oil sphere this year first with a 49 per cent stake in HPCL's Bhatinda refinery and then partnering the state-run firm for a separate refinery on the east coast, is in talks with financial institutions to buy out their 50 per cent stake in Prize Petroleum.
Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest fuel retailer, is likely to hike petrol prices by Rs 0.33 per litre from Tuesday. IOC Chairman B M Bansal said international crude oil prices have risen since the last price revision, necessitating an increase in domestic retail prices.
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