State-owned oil marketing companies IOC, HPCL and BPCL are evaluating a revision in the price of petrol to address a loss of R5 on every litre sold as the code of conduct restrictions related to assembly polls are over now.
Company executives said they cannot give the exact timing and the quantum of the price revision they will be able to effect.
Although petrol is a deregulated commodity, oil companies informally wait for a signal from their majority shareholder, the government, for a price revision given its impact on the consumer.
A price increase, even if not to the full extent warranted by the global price of gasoline, is likely in a couple of weeks.
Oil companies have the pricing freedom on petrol unlike other fuels like diesel, kerosene and LPG, which accounted for a loss of R97,000 crore in the first three quarters.
As of now, they lose R12 a litre on diesel, R29 a litre on kerosene and R439 on a cylinder of LPG. This has led the country?s largest refiner IOC to incur a revenue loss of R8,507 crore in the third quarter on retailing of fuel other than petrol.
Continued under-realisation of the retail prices are pushing up companies? borrowings as well as new
capacity expansion projects. Delayed subsidy payments are also putting pressure on them to even consider closing down some refineries.