The petroleum ministry said there was no proposal to merge IOC and ONGC though the divestment ministry had made such a suggestion.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday indicated that the much-delayed privatisation of oil major BPCL may not happen in the near future, saying there is "no proposal whatsoever" on his table for now. As part of its asset monetisation plan, the government had in November 2019 put Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) on the block and said it would completely sell its 52.98 per cent stake in the country's second largest state-run oil refiner and marketer. Though it had received three tentative bids, it got only one financial bid from Vedanta group, forcing it in May 2022 to shelve the plan pending a "comprehensive review".
Move could fetch the exchequer Rs 14,000 cr
The Oil Industry Safety Directorate, under the Petroleum Ministry, carries out safety audits of oil and gas installations, besides formulating and standardising procedures and guidelines for design, operation and maintenance.
India's exports contracted by 22 per cent, the steepest decline in the last three years, to $32.97 billion in June on account of global demand slowdown, especially in the Western markets like the US and Europe. According to the data of the commerce ministry, the trade deficit in June stood at $20.3 billion against $22.07 billion in the same month last year due to a fall in exports and imports. The inbound shipments during the month under review declined by a steep 17.48 per cent to $53.10 billion.
The government is likely to come out with 10 per cent stake sale offer of Oil India in the second fortnight of this month, followed by NTPC's issue in the first 14 days of February, a Finance Ministry official said.
RBML - the joint venture of Reliance Industries Ltd and supermajor BP - has told the government that fuel retailing for the private sector in India has become unsustainable after market-controlling public sector firms frequently froze petrol and diesel prices at rates way below the cost, sources said. Despite a surge in oil prices, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) first froze petrol and diesel rates for a record 137 days beginning early November 2021 when five states including Uttar Pradesh went to the polls, and last month again went into a hiatus that is now 47 days old. "They (Reliance BP Mobility Ltd) has written to the petroleum ministry over the fuel pricing issue," a highly placed source in the government, who didn't want to be quoted, told reporters.
Indian Oil Corporation has approached the petroleum ministry with a proposal to raise oil prices by Rs 5.29 a litre and diesel by 4.54 a litre in line with the price band formula worked out by the government.\n\n
India is the world's fourth-largest importer of natural gas, accounting for six per cent of the global market.
It not only wants the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to rework the under-recovery figure for the current year but has also decided to look at the issue of oil subsidies only in February 2010, when the next Budget will be announced.
India is 80 per cent import dependent to meet its oil needs.
While the corporate sector has benefited from massive capital expenditure, leading to sky-rocketing stock prices, investors would do well to keep an eye on the macroeconomic picture and government finances, not just corporate profits, for signs of trouble, alerts Debashis Basu.
E-commerce players may soon rent out drones, so you can use them the way you book a cab on an app, and test viable use-cases for last-mile delivery.
Capital expenditure by 54 large central public sector enterprises and five departmental arms, having a capex minimum target of Rs 100 crore, rose 93 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the April-May period to Rs 1.39 trillion. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Railways have started this financial year's capex cycle on a stronger note. In the first two months of FY24, the 54 CPSEs, along with the departmental arms, achieved 19 per cent of their combined budget target of Rs 7.33 trillion, Business Standard has learnt.
A senior government official says the idea is to facilitate mutually beneficial ways to keep the supply going.
It cannot, however, use the money to invest in India or buy shares or companies.
Officers of public sector oil companies have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from August 21 if their demand for higher salaries was not met.
The petroleum ministry has projected a strong year for the oil marketing companies though the largest exploration company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is projected to post a moderate gain in its bottomline.
India's exports contracted 12.2 per cent to $34.48 billion in December 2022, mainly due to global headwinds, and the trade deficit widened to $23.76 billion during the same period, according to official data released on Monday. Imports in December 2022 also declined 3.5 per cent to $58.24 billion as against $60.33 billion in the year-ago period. In December 2021, exports stood at $39.27 billion and the trade deficit was at $21.06 billion.
Capital markets regulator Sebi has extended the suspension of futures and options trading in seven agricultural commodities, including wheat and moong, for one more year till December 2023 in a bid to rein in prices. The other agricultural commodities suspended by Sebi are -- paddy (non-basmati), chana, crude palm oil, mustard seeds and their derivatives and soya bean and its derivatives. "The suspension of trading in the above contracts has been extended for one more year beyond December 20, 2022, i.e. till December 20, 2023," Sebi said in a statement on Wednesday.
Reliance Industries and Essar Oil are keen on buying crude oil from Cairn India's Rajasthan fields even as the petroleum ministry struggles to find takers of the nation's most prolific oil discovery among public sector firms.
After steep correction in valuations, these have turned attractive but upside will depend on diesel price rises and export-parity pricing.
RIL wants to drill an exploration well on the D1&D3 gas fields in the KG-D6 block, Cairn on the Rajasthan block.
Given that India will get a huge part of its oil supplies from Iran through its government-owned oil PSUs, any unwelcome shocks in global crude rates could be absorbed well enough.
India, the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, recently offered Saudi Aramco a stake in refineries and petrochemical projects.
The Delhi high court has rejected a government challenge to an arbitration panel award that had ruled in favour of Reliance Industries Ltd in a dispute over gas migration from fields operated by state-owned ONGC in the KG basin. The government had slapped a provisional penalty of $1.55 billion on Reliance for "unjust enrichment" from gas migrating from the ONGC-operated KG-D5 block to the private firm's adjoining KG-D6 area. It had sought $175 million in additional profit petroleum from Reliance and its UK partner BP Plc.
In order to facilitate purchase of crude oil from Iran, the Finance Ministry has issued a notification exempting payments made in Indian rupee for such imports from any local tax.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has written to the Oil Ministry seeking appointment of an international expert to assess if Reliance Industries Ltd was drawing out any of its gas in KG basin.
From the Sensex pack, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank were the major gainers. Power Grid, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, HCL Technologies and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
The government is mulling divesting a minority holding in oil exploration firm Oil India Ltd but no decision has been taken on the mode of sale, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Wednesday.
RIL said it had launched 'an internal probe' into its staff's detention.
CAG's report on Hydrocarbon Exploration Efforts of ONGC, which was tabled in Parliament today, expressed concern at the company's lack of adequate efforts and results in new fields and wanted the Oil Ministry to reset annual targets set out in memorandum of understanding that the firm signs with the government.
Oil ministry had previously proposed a 30 per cent hike in price of gas produced by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd to $2.3 per mmBtu but finance ministry wants these rates to be brought on par with RIL, sources in the know of the development said.
It also expressed confidence that the cleaning operation will be finished in a couple of days.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances