Murli Deora Denied Fuel Rate Cuts

Author: Anurag Bhullar

Denying any intentions to reduce the prices of diesel, petrol and LPG, the Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said that the oil prices in the International market haven’t fallen that much so as to initiate a drop in the prices. According to him, the government is constantly keeping an eye on the oil prices and a fall in the prices will always be welcomed.

According to sources, The government is thinking about the price of crude oil falling to $61 per barrel to initiate a reduction in the oil prices from the present rates, he added.

The major Petroleum companies such as Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum are restricted by government for aligning the retail prices with the current cost of production and therefore these firms are presently bearing a loss of Rs 280 crore per day by selling petrol, diesel and domestic LPG.

These oil entities were earlier supposed to reach the break even level on fuel sales if the rate of crude oil of Indian basket reached the mark of $67 per barrel. But with the reduction in the value of rupee as compared to the US dollar, the break even level has now shifted to $61 per barrel. The companies are presently losing Rs 2.85 on a litre sale of petrol, Rs 7.26 on a litre of diesel, Rs 335.03 on a LPG cylinder and Rs 29.19 on kerosene and are projecting a loss of around Rs 150000 crore this fiscal year.