The petroleum ministry would soon take a decision on the Kirit Parikh committee report, which has suggested market-determined pricing for petrol and diesel along with hike in prices of LPG and kerosene, said petroleum secretary S Sundareshan. ?The implementation of the committee report is for the future. So, we will certainly take a decision, much before resource allocations for oil marketing companies for 2010-11 and beyond. The ministry is in the final stage of examining it and has taken it before the Cabinet?. The implementation of the report is relevant from the next financial year, he added.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai after the review meeting of the oil marketing companies in the South, Sundareshan said volatility of international crude prices meant that some hard decisions needed to be taken in pricing of fuel. He pointed out that the combined under recovery of oil marketing companies (OMCs) is Rs 45,000 crore for the current fiscal. In the case of petrol and diesel, the upstream oil companies have committed to absorb the losses to the tune of Rs 13,000 to Rs 14,000 crore, but sill the OMCs have huge losses to mend. The government could have specific schemes to protect poorer sections, particularly in the case of LPG and kerosene. ?But no consumer can feel he can be continuously insulated from volatility in international prices and such a policy cannot be sustained in the long run,? he said.
On IPI pipeline deal, Sundereshan said India will only have bilateral negotiations with Iran, not trilateral talks, on the tri-nation Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline project in the month of May. Terming as incorrect the news about India?s offer for a trilateral discussion to iron out the contentious issues, he said ?India will have only bilateral talks with Iran. We believe that the prices are on the upper side and the delivery point should be within the Indian borders due to security reasons?. Pakistan and Iran had formally signed the $7.5 million gas pipeline deal on March 18, leaving room for India to join them once the issues are sorted out.
He said India is ready to participate in Sakhalin-3 project in Far East Russia and gas fields in East Siberia and Yamal Peninsula as and when Russian government preapares ground for that. ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may sign an agreement with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom OAO, which is developing the Yamal Peninsula and, Rosneft to jointly bid for Sakhalin-3.
The petroleum ministry is quite happy with outcome of the just concluded 8th round of new exploration and licensing policy (Nelp) bid which saw state-owned ONGC-led consortia bagging the exploration and production rights for 17 of the 33 blocks.?