India, which imports 73 per cent of its oil needs, has been hit by the surge in international crude oil prices that touched $96 a barrel last week. State-run fuel retailers Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are currently losing Rs 240 crore (Rs 2.4 billion) per day on selling petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene as the government has not allowed them to raise retail prices in line with the surge in cost.
With the government putting off an increase in diesel prices, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora sought an increase in government subsidy to bail out the three oil marketing companies (OMCs). Deora met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in Mumbai to seek an immediate release of `10,000 crore as interim subsidy to Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
Indian Oil Corporation wants to set up a petrochemical plant in Yemen provided it is allocated a gasfield, a senior company official said on Friday.
Indian Oil Corporation has developed an indigenous technology that can double LPG production in refineries, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Thursday.
The dollar devaluation has seen revenue loss incurred by state-run oil firms on fuel sales trimming to about Rs 96 crore per day.
In the midst of a war of words between the two countries, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday expressed his desire to meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.The Chinese leader's remarks come a day after Beijing raked up its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, questioning Prime Minister Singh's visit there on October 3. India hit back on Wednesday, reacting strongly to Chinese plans to get involved in projects in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will kick off a massive energy conservation drive on Saturday with the launch of an insurance scheme for auto and taxi drivers using environment friendly CNG as fuel in Mumbai.
Lok Sabha MP Harsh Vardhan on July 23 wrote to Petroleum Minister Murli Deora asking why the government had kept quiet for all this while on the Ambani family MoU that provides for dividing Krishna-Godavari basin gas between companies run by brothers Mukesh and Anil.
Asserting that it had no role in the Ambani family dispute, the government on Monday declared in Parliament that it will do everything to protect its legal right to regulate usage of gas.
Kazakhstan will give ONGC Videsh Ltd an oil block in the Caspian Sea.\n\n
The United Progressive Alliance government on Thursday announced slashing petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2 and Re 1 per litre, respectively, with effect from midnight on Thursday -- as part of measures to tame soaring inflation.
GoM meeting regarding petro product price hike has been postponed and a decision on the prices will come only after Jan 28.
With volatile international oil prices costing the country $43 billion in import bill, energy-hungry India has called for forging enduring partnerships between oil producing and consuming countries to contain the effect of surging oil prices.
The foundation laying ceremony of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's petrochemical complex in Mangalore was postponed due to heavy rains.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation R S Sharma are planning a visit to Russia in the first week of next month, hoping the Russian government would give its assent for the proposed acquisition of UK-listed Imperial Energy.
For the second time in as many months, the Government on Wednesday night cut petrol price by Rs 5 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, while the domestic LPG rate was also slashed by as much as Rs 25 per cylinder.
Adversity often brings out the best in companies, even state-owned ones. Faced with a bloated fuel bill, companies are busy devising new ways to control costs. These range from cut in travel to shift to cheaper fuels and even reduced recruitment. Power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has a brand new strategy in place -- it will set up onsite fabrication units rather than transport equipment over long distances.
India's Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and his Pakistani counterpart Khwaja Asif said they had made "significant progress" in bilateral talks on the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline and were determined to go ahead with it despite reported reservations of the US on the project. They said the two sides had reached a broad agreement on principles for deciding the transportation tariff and transit fee, two key issues that had held up the finalisation of the 2,600-km pipeline.
India on Monday said it will meet Pakistan next week to resolve issues, such as transit fee, impeding progress on the over $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, even as it gets formally inducted in a rival line from Turkmenistan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi discussed the Rs 225,040 crore (Rs 2250.40 billion) revenue loss oil PSUs face without raising price of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene and duty cuts this fiscal on three occasions but failed to give a clear verdict.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have used a mix of charm and roguish coercion to let India know that he expected the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal to become a reality in 45 days. But India is in no hurry to take a decision, a top Cabinet minister in the United Progressive Alliance government said. The volatile political environment in Iran and Pakistan has as much weightage now and the UPA government is becoming more reluctant.
India has asked Pakistan to waive the $200 million transit fee a year for allowing passage of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran.
ONGC Videsh Ltd has much riding on $150 million investment plans in gas and oil exploration that Petroleum Minister Murli Deora says is critical for India's energy security. But apart from this, Myanmar apparently offers rich potential in engineering, fertilisers, tourism and pharmaceuticals for the private sector.
Qatar has agreed to supply 1.2 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas to fire the Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra, but differences persist over the price.
Though the international crude prices were going up, the United Progressive Alliance government's approach was that the subsidy on petroleum products should continue as in the case of food and fertilisers.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is believed to be in favour of giving state-run oil firms freedom to fix price of petrol and diesel in step with cost, as he feels the current moderate global oil rates may be the last window India has to deregulate fuel pricing.
Five persons were killed and 150 others sustained burn injuries in a major fire that broke out after a petrol tanker exploded in Sitapura industrial area in Jaipur on Thursday evening, the police said. The fire spread fast and enveloped several factories located within a radius of three kms. Details about the extent of the damage caused by the fire is still awaited, said the police.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Friday said the government would wait for international crude prices to stabilise before announcing any cuts in domestic petrol and diesel prices.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the Rs 5460.61 crore (Rs 54.6 billion) Assam Gas Cracker project on Monday, now known as Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd.
The board of ONGC has approved its 30 per cent share of the $2.431 billion revised field development cost proposed by Cairn India for the Block RJ-ON-90/1, petroleum minister Murli Deora informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. ONGC will invest $729.43 million.
The government on Wednesday launched a new marker system to detect adulteration of kerosene in petrol and diesel.\n\n
The government on Thursday rejected demands for a roll back in the hike in petrol and diesel prices, saying it would favourably consider the issue only when global crude prices come down.
The government on Wednesday announced a cut in the price of petrol by Rs 2 a litre and of diesel by Re 1 a litre, a move that saw the shares of oil companies tumbling.
The government on Wednesday announced a cut of Rs 2 per litre in petrol and Re 1 in diesel prices from midnight tonight.
The ministry, however, clarified that there was no change in the prices of kerosene and LPG.
Iran on Tuesday said India had not been 'ousted' from the proposed $7-billion tri-nation pipeline, even as it set an August deadline for New Delhi to sign an agreement on the project.
In what could be a Diwali gift for the common man, government on Thursday said in the Lok Sabha that an announcement on reduction of fuel prices will be made within a week, keeping in view the falling global crude prices.
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