Oil mktg cos' losses for FY'08 at Rs 16,700 cr: Behuria

Oil marketing companies would have to bear losses to the tune of Rs
16,700 crore, even after the Centre issues oil bonds to cover 50
percent of their under- recoveries in 2007-08, Indian Oil Corp
Chairman S Behuria said on Thursday.


Although losses of state-run oil companies' on account of selling fuel
below cost price was to the tune of Rs 78,000 crore, the Finance
Ministry has pegged the amount at just Rs 70,000 crore for the purpose
of compensation, he told reporters in Chennai.

On a request from the Petroleum Ministry earlier this week, the
Finance Ministry is understood to have agreed to issue oil bonds worth
Rs 35,300 crore for 2007-08 fiscal, of which nearly Rs 23,000 crore
worth bonds have been issued for the period April-December 2007.



The Centre had also conveyed that upstream oil companies like the ONGC
and GAIL would be giving Rs 23,000 crore to the oil companies, he
said, adding, the rest had to be borne by the oil companies.



IOC alone would have to bear Rs 9,600 crore losses for the last
fiscal, he said.



Painting a gloomy picture for the oil industry, he said he had no
hopes that the crude price would come down at least for the present.
This would have a cascading effect on the oil companies in India as
the 'under recovery' would mount to Rs 1.9 lakh crores this fiscal, he
said.



Releasing the results of the Chennai Petroleum Corporation an IOC
group company, he said it had reported a profit of Rs.1,123 crore
against Rs.565 crore of the previous fiscal.