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.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Minister of State for Petroleum Jitin Prasada took charge on Friday.
The oil ministry is believed to have turned down Reliance Petroleum Ltd's request to export LPG from its newly commissioned refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat, forcing the only-for-exports unit to sell the cooking fuel locally.
Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Natural Resources has filed an affidavit in the Bombay High Court in the case involving Reliance Industries, refuting the petroleum ministry's stand that the government-approved price of $4.2/million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu) is the selling price of gas.
The government has asked Reliance Industries to supply natural gas from the company's eastern offshore D6 fields to the beleaguered Dabhol power plant, a segment that gets top preference for gas allocation along with fertiliser units.
On July 27, power ministry had written to the oil ministry saying 'the marketing margin being charged by RIL is not in line with the decisions of an empowered group of ministers on pricing formula (for KG-D6 gas)'. While Anil Ambani Group firm RNRL on Sunday alleged that RIL was charging 'unauthorised' marketing margin, 35 firms buying KG-D6 gas are paying the $0.135 per mmBtu to RIL without protest.
The draft note proposes raising gas price for ONGC to Rs 3,765 per thousand cubic meters from current Rs 3,200 per thousand cubic metre. For OIL, the gas price has been proposed at Rs 4,205 per thousand cubic metres. The price would change by Rs 55 per thousand cubic metre for every 10 points change in Wholesale Price Index.
The interlocutory application filed on Tuesday made it clear that $4.20 per mmBtu price approved by the government for RIL's KG-D6 gas was without prejudice to the state-run firm's case seeking the fuel from the Mukesh Ambani-run company at $2.34 per mmBtu price committed in 2004.
The petroleum ministry is mulling filing a defamation suit against an Anil Ambani Group firm for persisting with 'false claims' pertaining to government revenues from Reliance Industries KG-D6 fields.
RIL's KG basin started pumping gas in April and is currently producing 37-38 mscmd.
Dubbing as "most unfortunate" the advertisement campaign against it by the Anil Ambani group, the government on Friday hit back, saying the propaganda was unleashed on a sub-judice matter.
The Cairn-ONGC-Videocon consortium had last month written to the petroleum ministry seeking a 57 per cent hike in the Ravva Satellite field gas price citing provision in the Production Sharing Contract for the field.
The petroleum ministry on Wednesday pledged support to power firm NTPC in its legal battle to get natural gas from Mukesh Ambani-led RIL at a price committed in 2004 and said the public sector unit's interests will not be compromised.
The ministry in a letter dated May 15 overruled Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board's de-recognisation of Indraprastha Gas Ltd, saying IGL was government's authorised entity for city gas projects in Delhi, NOIDA, Gurgaon and Faridabad. PNGRB had asked IGL, the company owned by state-run GAIL and BPCL and Delhi Government that retail CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to households in national capital region, to stop all incremental activities.
At present, India has 56,999 fuel outlets. Of those, only 6,276 are owned by private companies
NTPC Ltd on Thursday said it was taking legal opinion on the impact of a court battle between Ambani brothers group firms over gas supply and a related government petition on its ongoing case with Mukesh Ambani-led RIL.
OIL, which produces 3.5 million tonnes a year of oil, will offer 2.64 crore equity shares to public in the IPO, while the government will simultaneously sell 10 per cent of its stake in the company to state refiners.
OIL, which produces 3.5 million tonnes a year of oil, will offer 2.64 crore equity shares to public in the IPO, while the government will simultaneously sell 10 per cent of its stake in the company to state refiners.
A 1985-batch Karnataka cadre officer, Kharola would be steering the national airline at a time when the government has started the process for its strategic divestment.
Consumption of oil products like petrol and diesel dipped to 11.47 million tonnes in May from 11.64 million tonnes in the same month a year ago, according to the data released by the petroleum ministry in New Delhi. Reflecting slowdown in air traffic, jet fuel or ATF consumption was down 6.3 per cent to 376,400 tonnes.
Three oil companies have submitted a concept paper to the petroleum ministry for differential pricing of diesel for direct consumers like Railways and power producers who they want to charge market price and limit subsidised sales to transport and agriculture sectors, sources said. Industrial units like power generators find subsidised diesel cheaper than freely priced fuel oil and naphtha, pushing demand that has forced refiners import the fuel to meet the requirement.
Domestic LPG costs Rs 348.89 less than the cylinders meant for commercial use and this difference often leads them into restaurants and hotels who are supposed to use only industrial LPG, a Petroleum Ministry official said. All cylinders will be tagged with a unique number and consumers will be issued smart cards. Every time a refill is delivered, the unique number would be stored on the smart cards.
The government has already decided to accord priority to fertiliser and power units for allocation of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin. According to sources, the empowered group of ministers on gas, which met last week, has made it clear it will be able to provide additional gas to steel firms only after meeting the requirements of the power and fertiliser units. Among the steel majors, Essar, Ispat and Vikram Ispat have gas-based units.
The Cabinet, scheduled to meet on Thursday, may reduce petrol price by Rs 5 a litre, diesel by Rs 3 per litre and domestic LPG by Rs 25 per cylinder, giving relief to the common man and further easing inflationary pressures.
Petrol prices may be raised by about Rs 2 per litre and diesel rates cut by Rs 0.30 a litre if a proposal to free auto fuel prices from state control is approved by the incoming cabinet.
The government may further reduce petrol, diesel and domestic LPG prices just before the General Elections are announced in February, a senior official said.
Of the 17.99 mmcmd gas allocated to the power sector, gas supply pacts of only 2.67 mmcmd allocated to NTPC remained to be signed. NTPC's opposition has also delayed the GSPA for a separate 2.7 mmcmd allocated to the Dabhol power plant and the same is now slated to be signed next week.
A day after Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to forestall political attempts to throttle his oil refinery business, the petroleum ministry has come out with a detailed presentation to show that the demand for the windfall profits tax (WPT) on private oil companies is 'short-sighted populism' and 'bad economics.'
The company also said it has reduced supplies of direct sale of diesel to the railways, state road corporations and other large consumers from April 2008 to restrict heavy under recoveries on these sales. In the annual report sent to the shareholders , the company said it has approval to set up 500 retail outlets across the country. The company had opened its first retail outlet in Karnataka early this year.
Teheran bargains on OilMin plan for more rupee payment via increased import; wants investment deal on gas block.
Reliance Industries and Essar Oil are keen on buying crude oil from Cairn India's Rajasthan fields even as the petroleum ministry struggles to find takers of the nation's most prolific oil discovery among public sector firms.
With international crude oil prices dipping to last year's levels, the government has put the issue of cutting motor and cooking fuel prices back on the agenda to tame inflation, two senior oil ministry officials have said.
The Petroleum Ministry has proposed a 33 per cent hike in the price of natural gas produced by ONGC and Oil India and gradually increase it to $4.20 per mmBtu set for gas from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields.
The petroleum ministry has sought additional oil bonds worth about Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 130 billion) to cover the revenue loss on fuel sale in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal.
Modi government plans to set up a committee of five or six chief ministers to suggest ways to promote digitisation.
Petroleum product consumption rose 11.6 million tons in December as against 11.12 million tons a year ago, according to the latest data available from petroleum ministry in New Delhi. Low freight traffic with railways, a major consumer of diesel, and not-so-encouraging agriculture scenario also contributed to the low growth rate.
RP Singh, managing director of Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, the special purpose vehicle implementing BPCL Bina refinery, had told Business Standard in August that the company was in talks with strategic investors to sell 15 to 20 per cent stake.
The fall in international oil prices has resulted in handsome margins for state-owned firms on petrol and diesel sales, but not all of it would be reflected in the cut in the retail selling price, as Finance Ministry wants to take away some of the gain by raising excise duty.
Oil product consumption in November was 10.99 million tons, a tad higher than 10.77 million tons in the same month last year, according to latest data available from the petroleum ministry. Diesel sales, which had during the first part of current fiscal seen a growth rate of 15-16 per cent, rose by 8.6 per cent to 4.46 million tons in November while demand for petrol was up 5.9 per cent to 914,900 tons.
He served as Union minister of information and broadcasting in the IK Gujral government and was allotted different portfolios in the Manmohan Singh government.
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