The Hindu Business Line : No petro price hike plan for now: Deora

Petro issues
Two more off-shore blocks along the Kerala-Konkan coast had been identified for oil and gas exploration.
The country would sustain its self-sufficiency in refining and the country would become surplus in petroleum products.

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 20 The Centre has no immediate plans for increasing the prices of petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, according to the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Murli Deora.

He told newsmen here on Thursday that the policy of the UPA Government was to make available the products, especially petrol and diesel, at prices as low as possible. The Petroleum Ministry was of the view that these products should be subsidised as in the case of food and fertilisers.

The Minister pointed out that the international oil prices were ruling high and the oil companies were absorbing the difference in the prices of crude and products. The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, had convened a meeting next week to decide on how to tackle the situation, including the question of subsidy.

A proposal for floating oil bonds worth Rs 25,000 crore to offset the loss of oil companies was expected to be considered in the next meeting of the Union Cabinet, he said. On the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, Mr Deora said that official-level discussions on the project were still going on.

The Minister was here to inaugurate a three-day ‘Refinery Technology’ meet being organised by the Centre for High Technology and the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.

Off-shore blocks

The Petroleum Secretary, Mr M.S. Srinivasan, who was also present, said that two more off-shore blocks along the Kerala-Konkan coast had been identified for oil and gas exploration. The results of the exploration, already being carried out in three blocks in the region, would be known within the next seven to eight months.

On the proposed petrochemical complex in Kochi, Mr Srinivasan said that this would depend on the completion of the construction of LNG terminal there, which would provide gas to the complex.

Earlier, inaugurating the meet, the Minister said that the country would sustain its self-sufficiency in refining and the country would become surplus in petroleum products through further enhancement of refining capacity planned for the Eleventh Plan. The present refining capacity of 149 million tonnes per annum is much higher than the present consumption of 120 million tonnes and another 92 million tonnes is proposed to be added in the Eleventh Plan through installation of grassroots refineries at Bina (BPCL), Paradip (IOC), Bhatinda (HPCL) and Jamnagar (Reliance and Essar).

The oil sector had achieved the distinction of being the largest merchandised exporter of the country and the trend would continue, Mr Deora noted.

The continued shortage and shortfall in crude oil supplies, rise in the crude oil prices, stringent environmental stipulations and globalisation are the most daunting challenges to the country’s energy security. In spite of the rise in crude prices, the Government has ensured that the additional cost is not passed on to the consumers and common man. The Government was bearing almost 85 per cent of the increased cost burden, the Minister said.