Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), the country’s three largest state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs), reported a total net profit of ₹69,000 crore for the current fiscal year through the December quarter (Q3FY24).
This came after global crude oil prices surged to a record high of 14 years, with Brent reaching $140 per barrel in March 2022 as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In April-September 2022, the state-run refiners had a combined financial loss of ₹21,201.18 crore, even after deducting ₹22,000 crore in LPG subsidies that were announced but not paid for the preceding two years.
Roughly 90% of India’s fuel market is controlled by the three oil giants, which had ‘voluntarily’ kept the pricing of gasoline, diesel, and cooking gas (LPG) unchanged for nearly two years, losing money when input costs increased and making money when the price of raw materials decreased. After the central government announced on Thursday that an increase of ₹2 per litre would be applied starting from March 15, the gasoline pricing freeze was finally lifted today at 6:00 am.
