The profits of oil marketing companies has increased manifold, according an answer tabled in Rajya Sabha by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on Monday. The Ministry also said the market price of LPG is not as high as the way the Saudi Contract Price (CP) of the cooking gas increased.
The answer was provided by Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in response to a question from senior BJP member Sushil Kumar Modi. He said Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s profits increased to ₹24,184 crore in 2021-22 from ₹1,313 crore in 2019-20. Similarly, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) made a profit of ₹8,789 crore in 2021-22, as opposed to ₹19,042 crore in 2020-21 and ₹2,683 crore in 2019-20, the Minister informed the House.
For the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), the increase in profit is almost threefold in three years. From ₹2,637 crore in 2019-20, the company made a profit of ₹6,383 crore in 2021-22.
The prices of petroleum products in the country are linked to the price of respective products in the international market, Mr. Puri mentioned in the reply. “Prices of LPG in the country are based on Saudi Contract Price (CP), the benchmark for international prices of LPG. While the Saudi CP has risen approximately 207% from $236 /MT in April, 2020 to $ 725 /MT in July 2022, retail selling price of 14.2 kg domestic cylinder has gone up from ₹744 in April, 2020 to ₹1,053 in July, 2022, i.e. by 41.5%,” he said.
Mr. Puri claimed that the subsidy on domestic LPG is paid to consumers by Oil Marketing Companies and it is reimbursed by government to OMCs periodically. “Total number of LPG connections have risen from 14 crore in 2014 to over 30 crore connections in 2022, including 9.3 crore Ujjwala connections,” he said.
