With the global milieu remaining volatile, the much-anticipated Kirit Parikh (KP) committee report on domestic gas pricing provides a ray of hope.
Fuel prices and politics do not mix well together. Free and market-determined pricing sounds good but is difficult to implement.
Brokerages said if the suggestions are approved, they will have a positive impact on city gas distribution companies such as Indraprastha Gas and Mahanagar Gas.
The Kirit Parikh panel recommended a floor of $4 for legacy gas fields and suggested that a cap of $6.50/mmBtu be put on gas prices sold by ONGC and Oil India.
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The draft recommendation will be discussed by members of the committee and finalized on November 29.
The government-appointed Kirit Parikh committee suggested "immediately" hiking prices of diesel by Rs 5 a litre, Rs 4 per litre in kerosene and Rs 250 per cylinder in LPG, reducing annual entitlement of subsidised cooking gas cylinder to six from nine and phasing out diesel subsidy in one year to cut a record subsidy burden.
The recommendations of a Rs 5 per litre hike in diesel price by the Parikh committee will protect the bottomline of the oil companies which is necessary for future energy security says SK Joshi
The panel has recommended Rs 4 per litre increase in kerosene and Rs 250 per cylinder hike in LPG rates, Parikh told reporters after presenting the report to Oil Minister Veerappa Moily.
According to TK Ananth Kumar, the company has taken up the issue that this kind of burden on upstream companies will not be sustainable with the government and also with Kirit Parikh, who is heading the oil committee.
TK Ananth Kumar, director-finance, Oil India said, "Every one dollar hike will translate to over Rs 400 crore growth in topline.†He also said that the hike will lead to higher investment in exploration activities of the company."