Jaipal Hints At Petrol Price Hike

Union Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy, on Monday, hinted that there would be another hike in the prices of petrol.

Talking to media persons after nationalizing the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Plant at Visakhapatnam on Monday, Jaipal Reddy said that the fuel prices in the country were currently on par with those in the international markets.

He said there was no possibility of reducing the petroleum prices in the country as oil marketing companies were suffering huge losses due to fluctuations in the prices of crude in the international market. The losses are estimated to be around Rs. 1.50 lakh crore.

Admitting that the increase in fuel prices was a cause of concern, he added that there was no option other than increasing the prices on par with those in the international markets.

About the HPCL plant, the minister said that it has been established at a cost of Rs. 2,200 crore and that it would produce superior quality Euro-IV petrol.

He said that the government was making efforts to meet the stringent Euro-IV specifications by supplying superior quality petrol in the 7 metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. He said that Euro-IV petrol would be sold in Visakhapatnam by 2013.

Jaipal Reddy also said that the government was planning to establish fuel storage plants in 3 metros to meet its demand for 90 days. (INN)