The bonds, which will come over and above Rs 61,800 crore (Rs 618 billion) already issued to the three companies, would help them bridge the revenue loss they incurred on sale of petrol, diesel, liquid petroleum gas and kerosene in 2008-09, a petroleum ministry official said.
A week after fire broke out in the Indian Oil Corporation fuel depot near Jaipur, the blaze was still raging in one of the oil tanks, even as the North-West Railways resumed operations on the Jaipur-Kota section on Thursday.
Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Jitin Prasada in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha said that IOC and MRPL have been allocated 0.20 million tonnes each in 2009-10, while HPCL would offtake 0.30 million tonnes of Rajasthan crude. In 2010-11, IOC would buy 1.5 million tonnes of the crude oil from the nation's most prolific oil discovery in more than two decades, while MRPL would double its offtake to 0.40 million tonnes.
Over 50 locals residing in the vicinity of the fuel depot at Sitapura, 20 km from Jaipur, have reported to various hospitals complaining of itching, eye burning, suffocation and skin allergies due to the fire which broke out on Thursday. Chief Fire Officer Ishwarlal Jat said the blaze in the two remaining petrol tanks has reduced considerably but it will probably take one more day for it to completely die down.
Two more bodies were spotted at the burning Indian Oil Corporation fuel depot in Jaipur on Sunday, pushing the toll to 10.
The BJP-led government had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
Two days after a massive fire broke out at the Indian Oil Corporation fuel depot near Jaipur, the flames died down in five of the 11 storage tanks even as three more bodies were recovered from the site on Saturday, taking the toll to nine.
Black clouds of smoke were billowing from the tanks, and could be seen at least from a distance of ten kms on the Jaipur-Tonk highway. District Collector Kuldeep Ranka told PTI that a charred body was clearly visible near the IOC tank premises, but it was not possible to reach and recover it.
The state-run oil firms will raise jet fuel price by Rs 1,338 per kl effective midnight tonight, an Indian Oil official said on Thursday.
The ministry of petroleum has approached the finance ministry to seek permission to give additional bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore to the three public sector oil marketing companies --Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd--to help them close the last fiscal with a profit.
BPCL gained nearly 4% to Rs 674, while HPCL gained more than 2% to Rs 451.
Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation are losing Rs 486 crore (Rs 4.86 billion) per day as they are made to sell diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene way below cost to keep inflation under check.
ATF or jet fuel price has been cut marginally while rate of non-subsidised cooking gas LPG has been hiked by Rs 27.50 a cylinder.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange IOC said the shareholders, by way of postal ballot, has approved theissuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1.
Talks between the government and striking oil Public Sector Undertakings failed late Thursday night over the officers' insistence on getting an immediate hike in their wages as the agitation threatened a major disruption in supply of petrol across the country. Deora is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday afternoon on the issue after the meeting of the Union cabinet in the morning.
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.
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.
IOC owns about 74 per cent in BRPL and the merger would be effective on Wednesday, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Shareholders of BRPL will get four shares of IOC for every 37 shares they held.
Eight companies including Reliance Gas Ltd, GAIL Gas and the joint venture of Indian Oil and Adani Energy have bid for the rights to retail CNG in seven cities.
Iran had in September 2008 approved the commerciality of the discovery in the Farsi block. The discovery, which was subsequently named Farzad gas field, may hold inplace reserves of up to 21.68 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), of which recoverable reserves may be 12.8 Tcf. The Indian firm want to liquefy the gas and ship it to India in the form of liquefied natural gas.
Saudis are interested in expanding their relationship with India, given it is becoming the main driver of crude demand growth in Asia
Besides IOC, Royal Dutch Shell is believed to have evinced interest in reviving the petrol pumps, industry sources said. Reliance, as part of a two part bid process, had sought expression of interest from IOC, Shell, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum by Friday for a possible partnership for reopening the petrol pumps.
With the Petroleum Ministry opposing disinvestment of IOC in the market, government is exploring the option of selling its shares to other oil PSUs like ONGC and OIL.
The Union oil ministry is considering a proposal to adopt differential pricing for diesel, under which industrial users like power utilities, will be charged market prices and retail consumers continue to be subsidised.
'He batted like someone who has played 50 Test matches.' 'He is an unbelievable talent and hopefully if he is nurtured well, he will serve Indian cricket for a long, long time'
RIL officials had then termed the deal a "win-win" for both the companies. It's an irony that the termination of the agreement was also hailed as a "win-win" by RIL in informal briefings with the media today. When reminded about this, an RIL official shrugged and said "nothing is constant in business."
Jet fuel price in Delhi was cut by Rs 974 per kilolitre or 2.5 per cent to Rs 37,982 per kl effective midnight on Monday, an official of the Indian Oil Corporation, said.
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.
Besides, it loses Rs 15.46 per litre on kerosene and Rs 158.78 per domestic LPG cylinder as the government has not allowed them to revise retail prices.
No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of the price hike on passenger fares.
The movement of prices in international oil market and rupee-dollar exchange rate shall continue to be closely monitored
The public sector oil company aims to rationalize its operations across the country and has decided to close the very old and small depots on grounds of safety. Meanwhile, the company has decided to set up a modern depot at Jharsuguda in western Orissa at an investment of about Rs 100 crore (RS 1 billion). The proposed depot would have the capacity of around 60,000 kilo litre.
After a year of sluggish growth in fuel retail outlets, the three state-run oil-marketing companies--Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation--have chalked out aggressive plans for expansion in the next financial year. They will be commissioning over 2,100 outlets in 2009-10--over three times what they added in the current year--at an investment of about Rs 1,200 crore.
'There exists a 'brotherhood' of sorts for a very long time and corrupt dealers and corrupt OMC officials are in it together,' Ashwani Attrish, founder, Empowering Petroleum Dealers Foundation, tells Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.
The top 100 tax defaulters owe the exchequer a whopping Rs 1.41 lakh crore.
'For the RBI, it is also strategic to allow the rupee to over-depreciate, then come and buy the rupee, and benefit from its appreciation. Speculators who have driven the rupee too low then make losses,' says Ashima Goyal.
The Indian firms want to liquefy the gas and ship it to India in the form of liquefied natural gas. OVL, which holds 40 per cent interest and is the operator of the block, has also submitted a feasibility report for the one billion barrel oil discovery it made in 2006.
After three consecutive hikes, state-run oil companies on Thursday reduced jet fuel or ATF prices marginally by about one per cent in tandem with international rates for the same.Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum cut aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by Rs 311 per kilolitre in Delhi to Rs 31,615 per kl with effect from midnight tonight, an IOC official said.
For instance, Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's biggest marketer and refiner, doubled its R&D spend from Rs 30 crore to Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million) this year. The company is conducting research in areas like biodegradable lubricants and oil refining technology. The company will shortly commission a pilot at its Faridabad centre, where it will install technology for coal gassification and production of ethanol from biomass.
Public sector oil firms on Thursday raised aviation turbine fuel (jet fuel) prices by up to 2 per cent, the second increase in three months.
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