BPCL, HPCL boards postpone results announcements

With state run oil firms, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) yet to receive compensation from centre for losses incurred on diesel, cooking gas and kerosene, the companies have postponed their board meetings to discuss and consider the financial results for the latest quarter (October to December 2010).

BPCL's board will now meet on 31 January while HPCL board meeting is scheduled for 27January.

According to reports, union petroleum minister S Jaipal Reddy has urged the finance ministry to compensate the firms immediately for the losses they have incurred in selling diesel, cooking gas and kerosene at discounted rates.

The October-December quarter has seen the public sector oil marketing companies losses mount to nearly Rs15000 crore of which a third would be made good by the ONGC and Oil India.

In the event the balance Rs10,000 crore is not released by the centre, the three companies would end up posting losses of around Rs3000 crore which will offset the gains made in the first half.

IOC's third quarter fuel losses are the highest at around Rs8,500 crore with the balance shared between HPCL and BPCL.. 

Though the finance ministry has so far agreed to reimburse only a third of the estimated revenue loss of Rs72,000 crore or around Rs24,000 crore, according to the petroleum ministry, this would be inadequate.