ONGC fuel subsidy bill up 21 per cent in Q3

NEW DELHI: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp's fuel subsidy bill will increase by nearly 21 per cent to about Rs 4,222 crore in the third quarter this fiscal.

State fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) together lost about Rs 15,750 crore in revenues on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost of production in October-December quarter, an official said here.

"Of this under recovery, upstream companies like ONGC, Oil India and Gail India will bear one-third," he said.

As per this subsidy sharing formula, ONGC will chip in with Rs 4,222 crore by way of discount on crude oil it sells to IOC, BPCL and HPCL.

The subsidy outgo of ONGC in Q3 of last fiscal had stood at Rs 3,487 crore.

The official said while OIL will pay Rs 558 crore in subsidy during Q3 of this fiscal, GAIL will give Rs 418 crore.

While, petrol price was freed from government control in June, state oil firms continue to sell diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at government ruled prices which is substantially lower than cost of production.

IOC, BPCL and HPCL currently lose Rs 6.80 per litre on diesel, Rs 18.66 per litre on kerosene and Rs 366 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.