Oil Cos Likely to Lose 2 Lakh Crore in Fuel Sales this Fiscal

New Delhi: State-owned oil companies are projected to lose Rs 208,000 crore on selling auto and cooking fuel at government controlled rates in 2012-13 as losses on diesel sales touched a record Rs 16.16 per litre.

Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum are lose close to Rs 670 crore per day on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at rates well below the cost, industry sources said. For the full 2012-13 fiscal, they are projected to lose Rs 208,059 crore revenue.

With a spike in international oil prices, the three firms are losing a record Rs 16.16 per litre on diesel, Rs 32.59 a litre on kerosene and Rs 570.50 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.

In addition, they lose about Rs 9.18 a litre on sale of petrol, even though its pricing was freed from government control in June 2010.

Sources said petrol prices too have not been revised in step with cost to check inflation.

The three oil companies had lost Rs 137,524 crore on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene in 2011-12 fiscal.

The Finance Ministry, they said, has provided Rs 45,000 crore as cash compensation (out of Rs 97,313 crore oil firms lost in first three quarters of 2011-12). Upstream oil firms have provided another Rs 37,000 crore.

For the full FY'12, share of upstream firms like ONGC is likely to be about Rs 53,000 crore and Oil Ministry wants the balance Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 137,524 crore minus Rs 45,000 crore already received in cash subsidy and Rs 53,000 crore from upstream companies) to be provided by the Finance Ministry, they said.

The ministry has separately asked for an additional Rs 5,000 crore in cash subsidies for losses incurred on petrol sales in 2011-12.