LPG price increased by only 41.5% while Saudi contract price increased by 207% from 2020 to 2022: Minister
LPG price increased by only 41.5% while Saudi contract price increased by 207% from 2020 to 2022: Minister
According to a reply tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Monday by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the profits of oil marketing companies have increased manifold. The ministry also said that the market price of LPG is not as high as the Saudi Contract Price (CP) of LPG has increased.
This was answered by Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in response to a question by senior BJP member Sushil Kumar Modi. He said that the profit of Indian Oil Corporation Limited increased to 24,184 crore in 2021-22 from Rs 1,313 crore in 2019-20. Similarly, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) made a profit of ₹8,789 crore in 2021-22, as against ₹19,042 crore in 2020-21 and ₹2,683 crore in 2019-20, the minister informed the House.
The profits of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) have grown nearly three times 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 the respective products in the international market, Mr. Puri mentioned in his reply. “The LPG prices in the country are based on the Saudi Contract Price (CP), which is the benchmark for international LPG prices. While Saudi CP has increased by almost 207% from $236 per MT in April, 2020 to $725 per MT in July 2022, the retail selling price of 14.2 kg domestic cylinder has increased from ₹744 in April, 2020 to ₹1,053 in July. It is done. 2022, that is, 41.5 per cent,” he said.
Shri Puri claimed that the subsidy on domestic LPG is paid by the Oil Marketing Companies to the consumers and the same is reimbursed by the Government to the OMCs from time to time. “The total number of LPG connections has increased from 140 million in 2014 to over 300 million in 2022, which includes 93 million Ujjwala connections,” he said.