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.
The NSE Nifty ended at 4,449, up 112 points. The market breadth was positive - out of 2,852 stocks traded, 2,147 advanced while 649 declined.
'Indian and Iranian sources both confirmed to me that India and Iran are moving ahead to implement a payment system on buying oil from Iran and hope to finalise it very soon,' says Aveek Sen.
Highly placed sources said Oil Minister Murli Deora took exception to Menon's proposals during a meeting of the Federation of Indian Airlines and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to resolve the crisis arising out of mounting fuel bill arrears. "There should not be any layoffs. Why are you raising it now," sources quoted Deora as telling Menon.
The new government on June 25 decided to defer the implementation till September-end to hold wider consultations.
India has asked oil cartel Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise crude oil production to stem the relentless rise in international oil prices that have threatened to derail import dependent economies such as India.
Oil consumers and producers united yesterday to warn that extreme price volatility was dangerous for the world economy, but disagreed on what an appropriate price should be.
India is keen to partner the proposed multi-billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and has promised to resist "all external pressures on the issue", Iranian oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said.India's petroleum minister Murli Deora is set to arrive in Pakistan on April 21 to hold talks on transit fee to be paid to Islamabad on the $7 billion IPI project.
With this increase, diesel prices have touched a record high while petrol is at a 56-month peak.
Iran on Tuesday indicated that it may be willing to change the delivery point of gas it wants to sell to India through a pipeline passing through Pakistan, but wanted New Delhi and Islamabad to decide quickly on the $7.4 billion project.
The Congress president also said that he was 'pretty confident' that Narendra Modi would not be the next prime minister.
Iraq threatened on Thursday to blacklist Reliance Industries Limited from future oil contracts after the company struck a deal with the Kurdish Regional government for two blocks without Baghdad's approval. Reliance Industries Limited had last week signed the contract for the blocks Rovi and Sarta in northern Iraq with the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. The blocks, measuring 517 and 607 sq km respectively, have almost 80 per cent oil bearing structure.
Oil Minister Murli Deora has said that petrol and diesel prices would not be cut till crude oil prices fell to $67 a barrel, since the depreciation in the rupee against the US dollar had eroded gains from falling oil prices, which touched a 7-month low.
The country must get its act on global alliances right in order to feed its fuel-hungry economy, points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Reliance Industries will buy 7.5 mn tons of crude oil from Venezuela for its upcoming export-oriented refinery at Jamnagar. The company has been sourcing crude oil from Venezuela, the only OPEC member country from Latin America, for its existing 660000 barrels per day (33 mn tons) refinery at Jamnagar. Venezuela has agreed to supply 150000 barrels per day of oil from June under a long-term supply contract. Reliance is on a sphere to tie-up crude supplies for its new refinery.
Petrol costs more in India than Pakistan.
Arriving in Oran, Algeria, ahead of an Opec ministerial meeting on Wednesday, Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia's powerful oil minister, said Opec had so far cut a total of 1.7m barrels a day, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 1.2m b/d.
The new strategy is being planned to guard against disruption in supplies from its biggest sources in West Asia -- Iraq and Syria -- as they are caught in problems relating to Islamic State movement.
Iraq has invited Indian Oil Corporation, the country's largest oil refiner, to set up refineries in the war-torn country, and also participate in other downstream projects, a government statement said.
Reliance plans to shut two-third of its 1,400 petrol pumps in the country by next month as it is unable to match the fuel price offered by state-run retailers, who get compensated by the government for selling fuel below the cost. Reliance and Essar make huge losses on selling petrol and diesel at prices higher than Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. On an average, fuel at private outlets is costlier by Rs 4 to 5 a litre than the PSU pumps.
Indian companies place orders worth $600 million for US crude, which is likely to increase by nearly $2 billion in the near future.
Iran said it will not set any deadline for India to join the gas pipeline that also includes Pakistan and hoped New Delhi will not buckle under US pressure to dump the multi-billion dollar project for a rival pipeline from Turkmenistan. "We have not set any deadline (for India to join the IPI pipeline project)," Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said on Thursday.
Oil experts from Iran and Pakistan will meet in Teheran on Tuesday to add finishing touches to the $7-billion gas pipeline project linking the two countries as well as India, which is not attending the talks, a media report said.
The OilMin is likely to announce the price for next six months soon.
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.
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.
Differences over the price of natural gas to be imported through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline persisted on Friday, but the three countries agreed to appoint an international consultant to look into the issue.
Automobile manufacturers said Euro-VI grade vehicles will not hit the roads before 2020 but the advancement gives them confidence to make investments in manufacturing such vehicles.
Indian Oil Corporation on Friday offered a stake to Kuwaiti companies in its upcoming petrochemical plant at Panipat and the proposed refinery at Paradip.
The question is whether Prime Minister Modi can convince the world's investors that India is the ultimate investment destination of 2018, says Kanika Datta.
Yemen has invited Oil and Natural Gas Corp to build a 100,000 barrels per day refinery on its Arabian sea coast but the Indian state-run firm has conditioned participation in the $1-billion project on being allotted an oilfield in return.
India and Pakistan have rejected the gas import price worked out by a consultant appointed by Iran as part of the over $7 billion tri-nation pipeline project.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to have favoured India, Pakistan and Iran together building the over $7 billion gas pipeline, since joint participation will make the project more secure.
The reduction in rates is likely to be announced by the month end as per the practice of fortnightly revision in prices, and has been made possible due to appreciation of rupee against the US dollar.
Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday hinted at a reduction in price of petrol in next few days, the first cut in rates in over five months.
Iran said it hoped all aspects of a $7-billion pipeline to transport natural gas from the country to Pakistan and India would be finalised in next two months.
Govt targets 1 cr consumers to give up LPG subsidy.
Petrol and diesel will cost Rs 2 a litre less from Wednesday after the first excise duty cut by the Modi government comes into effect.
In a shake up ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan resigned on Saturday from the Union Council of Ministers and more may be in line for being drafted into party work.
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