The finance ministry has agreed to give extra Rs 14,000 crore to state-owned oil retailers Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and HPCL to make up for most of the losses they incurred last fiscal year on selling cooking fuel below cost, petroleum minister Murli Deora said on Wednesday.

?We had sought Rs 19,620 crore in compensation but they (the finance ministry) have agreed to give Rs 14,000 crore,? Deora said.

The funds will reach the companies at a later stage, but they can use the authorisation (of the extra subsidy) while preparing their financial results for the 2009/10 fiscal, the minister said. Minister of state for petroleum Jitin Prasada told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that oil marketing companies have incurred under-recoveries (revenue loss on account of selling fuel below cost) of Rs 46,051 crore last fiscal.

Of this, state-run upstream companies such as ONGC, GAIL and Oil India contributed Rs 8,364 crore by way of discount on crude in the first three quarters. The finance ministry has released a budgetary support of Rs 12,000 crore in cash subsidy as the government?s share. Wednesday?s grant of Rs 14,000 crore subsidy is in addition to this. Deora said the fresh subsidy support would help retailers but did not say how the remaining Rs 5,620 crore would be met.

Oil secretary S Sundareshan met expenditure secretary Sushma Nath earlier in the day seeking Rs 19,620.95 crore to fully compensate oil marketing companies? revenue loss on PDS kerosene and domestic LPG in 2009-10, agencies reported.

?Oil price at $80-81 is too high. It should come down. Oil price at $60-70 is comfortable. Beyond $75 is unmanageable,? Sundareshan recently told FE in an interview. In global markets, oil price fell $3 on Wednesday to below $80 a barrel for the first time since March, as the Greek debt crisis shook markets. Oil had scaled a19-month high of $87.15 on Monday.

Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum currently lose Rs 272.5 crore a day on selling fuel below cost and may end the current fiscal with a Rs 90,150 crore revenue loss. They currently sell petrol at a loss of Rs 6.63 a litre while the loss is Rs 6.25 per litre on diesel, Rs 19.74 per litre on PDS kerosene and Rs 254.37 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.

Oil companies to help ramp up production in Venezuelan fields

Petroleum minister Murli Deora on Wednesday told the visiting Venezuelan minister Temir Porras, Ponceleon, vice minister foreign affairs, that Indian companies would help ramp up production in Venezuelan oil fields. Veneauela?s oil output could also be utilised by the upcoming refinery projects in India, marking long term co-operation in the sector, Deora told the visiting minister. Ponceleon welcomed the emphasis on the growing energy cooperation between the nations, said a statement issued by the Indian government. Both the nations agreed that a fruitful alliance in the energy sector could be replicated by investments in other sectors.