The government has put off by one month the levy of an additional Rs 2 per litre excise duty on petrol and diesel that is not doped with ethanol and bio-diesel in a bid to give the industry more time to implement the measure.
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".
Unlike the decontrol of petrol and diesel prices during the National Democratic Alliance regime, when rates were adjusted by oil companies on the 1st and 16th of every month based on average international fuel prices, the oil ministry is treading cautiously this time.
The board of Cairn India has on two occasions rejected oil ministry conditions that royalties paid by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation on its all important Rajasthan oilfields, be cost recoverable from oil sales saying this was against contractual provisions and not in the interest of the company and its shareholders.
The continuation of the tax holiday will come as a relief to oil and gas companies, which have already invested huge money in exploration of hydrocarbons. It will also help the petroleum ministry, which has been promising the tax holiday while marketing the auction of oil and gas block under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy.
Differences have once again surfaced between the ministries of divestment and petroleum over the sale of government equity in public sector oil company Balmer Lawrie.\n\n\n\n
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Such direct import was formally allowed in February 2012 but the aviation companies lack the infrastructure to do so.
RIL's gas production from its D6 fields in the Krishna Godavari basin on Sunday touched 50.15 mmscmd. This for the first time surpasses ONGC's 49.6 mmscmd output.
The government on Wednesday said there was no proposal to either merge Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum with Oil and Natural Gas Corp or Oil India Ltd with Indian Oil Corporation.
Defence Ministry has declared 7 blocks including RIL's KG-D6 which has been in production since September 2008 and its gas discovery block NEC-25 for reasons like overlapping with proposed Naval base or being close to missile launching and Air Force exercise area.
Natural gas produced from C-Series fields is sold to GAIL which further markets it to end users.
The basket of crude oil India imports averaged $99 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest level since April 2, a petroleum ministry official said. It had averaged $96.52 a barrel on April 1 and crossed the $100 mark on April 7.
India is the third largest consumer of petroleum products, after the US and China.
The Oil Ministry has proposed raising natural gas prices by at least 60 per cent, a move that will result in rise in urea as well as power costs.
A proposal for extension from the Oil Ministry is pending clearance from Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing allegations that he favoured Mukesh Ambani-led RIL in lieu of personal benefits.
'Interim Budget has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit.'
Chinese high-resolution satellites have found three oil slicks which scientists believe might be linked to the missing Malaysian plane, providing a new direction to the multinational search operations which have failed to spot the wreckage.
The government was planning to come up with a new fiscal model giving 'special incentives' for fields that were given out on nomination to ONGC and Oil India, reports Shine Jacob.
Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said on Tuesday that his ministry had furnished all the facts to Attorney General for getting his opinion on the legal aspects of privatising public sector oil company, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
As fuel prices surged in September, the government's decision to ask companies to cut price by Rs1 each on a litre of petrol and diesel came as a dampner for private players.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will pay Rs 852 crore (Rs 8.52 billion) for subsidising petrol and diesel during January-March quarter but state gas utility GAIL India has been spared from the subsidy burden.
The Union petroleum ministry has proposed a 44 per cent increase in prices of natural gas sold under the administered price mechanism by state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd.
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.
Clearing the last hurdle, the Union home ministry has given unconditional approval for United Kingdom's BP to buy a 30 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' oil and gas blocks, including the showcase KG-D6 gas fields, for $7.2 billion.
The government may for the first time in about five years raise price of natural gas produced by state-owned firms like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation after the finance ministry and the Planning Commission backed the proposal for a 30 per cent hike.
With foreign investment almost drying up in India's oil and gas sector, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has promised an overhaul to make policies predictable, transparent and fair to investors.
Petroleum secretary G C Chaturvedi said the arbitration notice grants a time of up to a month to respond and there was no hurry.
The finance ministry had recommended that the government disinvest 10 per cent of its stake in the proposed initial public offer of Oil India, a state-owned upstream company, said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.
Vasudeva, 57, is currently director (offshore) in ONGC.
India's ONGC has lost the giant Kashagan oilfield to the Chinese after Kazakhstan blocked its $5 billion deal to buy US energy major ConocoPhillips' stake in the Caspian Sea oilfield.
India has asked bulk buyers to pay market rates for diesel since last January and has also been raising the price of subsidised diesel in small amounts every month in an effort to cut its ballooning fuel subsidies.
RIL this week wrote to the ministry offering to give away 4,266 sq km of the Krishna Godavari basin block, sources privy to the development said.
The ministry was expecting savings this year to be around Rs 20,000 crore.
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