The government has directed state-run fuel retailers Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum to clear the wait list for domestic LPG connection within the next two months.
The GST Council might on Friday consider taxing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products under the single national GST regime, a move that may require huge compromises by both central and state governments on the revenues they collect from taxing these products. The Council, which comprises central and state finance ministers, in its meeting scheduled in Lucknow on Friday, is also likely to consider extending the time for duty relief on COVID-19 essentials, according to sources in the know of the development. GST is being thought to be a solution for the problem of near-record high petrol and diesel rates in the country, as it would end the cascading effect of tax on tax (state VAT being levied not just on the cost of production but also on the excise duty charged by the Centre on such output).
The government on Wednesday ruled out privatisation of Indian Oil, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Gas Authority of India Ltd and assured all security concerns would be taken care of while divesting public sector oil
Ministry returns guarantee saying new price has not been notified and RIL would have to submit surety as and when it is announced.
The medium-term scenario for oil marketing companies (OMCs) is high risk due to the surging crude and gas prices. Apart from OPEC-plus cutting production, the Hamas-Israel conflict has caused fears of supply disruption. The July-September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24) saw positive surprises for OMCs. Strong gross refining margins (GRMs) more than offset weak marketing margins.
RIL will initially start gas production from eight wells, with an initial output likely to be 5 mmscmd (million standard cubic metres) per day. Bombay high court had last week allowed Reliance to sell gas from KG-D6 at $4.20 per million British thermal units in accordance with the government's gas utilisation policy, which gives priority to fertiliser units followed by existing power plants.
The current retail selling price of Rs 65.64 per litre in Delhi is short of actual cost by Rs 8.60 a litre.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will visit Pakistan from June 3 to boost energy ties and discuss the $4.16 billion Iran-India gas pipeline project.\n\n
The ministry has asked the oil marketing companies to further step up their efforts to curb adulteration of petroleum products.
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and tied a rakhi on his wrist.
The company had initially objected to audit by CAG for time barred years as per Production Sharing Contract and had not accepted the 'exceptional circumstances' advanced by the ministry
State-run gas utility GAIL India may take a stake in the $1.95-billion gas pipeline that China is building for ferrying natural gas found off the Myanmar coast.
A parliamentary panel has asked the government to restrict imports of all petroleum products especially transportation fuels (petrol and diesel) by private firms in view of the excess refining capacity in the country.
The auditor said that it has unfettered right of access to all records of Reliance Industries (RIL) during its audit of operations in the Krishna-Godavari basin and would override any conditions sought to be imposed on the process.
Operating margins have been the primary driver of corporate earnings in India in recent quarters, despite revenue growth suffering from weak consumer demand. Companies across sectors have reported a sharp improvement in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margins over the past two years, benefiting from lower commodity and energy prices. Higher margins more than compensated for slower revenue growth, resulting in double-digit growth in net profit for five consecutive quarters.
Reliance Natural Resources Ltd has questioned oil ministry's right to approve the price at which a producer sells gas to customers, saying its nod was needed only for the formula or basis of pricing of gas for computing government's share.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday took a swipe at the BJP over the cut in excise duties on petrol and diesel, saying the results of the 30 assembly and three Lok Sabha by-elections have "produced a by-product".
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
"There is no immediate plan to decontrol diesel or LPG as they have cascading effect (on general prices)," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh told reporters in New Delhi.
The gvernment said on Tuesday that contingency plans have been drawn to maintain continuous supply of petroleum products if the employees of privatisation bound Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd go on strike.\n\n\n\n
There are about 23 oil refineries in India with a combined capacity of 230 million tonnes per annum.
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.
The combined debt of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum has risen to Rs 115,000 crore (Rs 1,150 billion) as they borrowed to make up for revenue losses on fuel sales during the first half of the current fiscal.
The 'failure' to drill the committed 50 wells on the KG-D6 fields led to natural gas output dramatically falling over the past three years.
Wholesale price-based inflation rate fell to a 3-year low of (-) 3.48 per cent in May on easing prices of food, fuel and manufactured items, strengthening the case for continuing with the pause in rate hike in the coming months of the current fiscal. This is the second straight month when WPI has been in the negative zone mainly on account of a higher base and falling prices of fuel and manufactured goods. Food prices also eased during May. In May, 2022 WPI inflation was at 16.63 per cent. Last month, it was (-) 0.92 per cent.
Notwithstanding the windfall tax placing a cap on profits, oil and gas producers like Oil India (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have done well in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23 (FY23). ONGC faces the drag of poor results from its subsidiary Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, and in comparative terms, OIL is better off. Standalone net sales in Q3FY23 stood at Rs 5,900 crore - up 57 per cent year-on-year (YoY), up 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).
The government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Cairn India's partner in the Barmer block in Rajasthan, is closely scrutinising the stake sale in Cairn India by Cairn Energy.
Undoing Mani Shankar Aiyar's move to exercise greater control on public sector oil firms, the petroleum ministry has restricted the number of government directors on boards of public sector oil companies to just two.
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.
'The price increases, particularly in respect of cooking gas, that is domestic LPG and PDS kerosene, have been quite minimal.'
The retrospective tax controversy was highlighted by Vodafone, but Cairn Plc's continuing problems point to the impact this law has had on FDI in India's oil and gas sector.
According to an Andhra government statement, Naidu 'reposed confidence' in the PM's leadership.
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