A meeting of board of directors of NOC took the decision to bring down the state-owned petroleum monpolist´s burgeoning loss amid rise in the price of fossil fuel in the international market.[break]
Mukunda Dhungel, spokesperson of NOC, said that corporation´s monthly loss will drop to Rs 706 million from existing Rs 829.5 million with the fresh review in prices. “We will profit Rs 0.38 per liter in petrol trade, but will face loss of Rs 10.21 per liter in diesel,” Dhungel said.
Monthly sales of diesel and kerosene hovers around 55,000 KL and 5,000 KL respectively.
NOC, however, has not increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) - a popular cooking fuel -- on which it suffers monthly loss of Rs 336 million. Monthly supplies of LPG hovers around 15,000 tons.
NOC has been facing fund crunch to pay to its sole supplier - the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The corporation has yet to pay Rs 800 million to the Indian supplier even after making payment of Rs 3.38 billion for imports worth Rs 3.87 billion in September.
To exert pressure on NOC for timely settlement of dues, the Indian supplier had even curtailed supplies before the Dashain festival. However, IOC had resumed normal supplies after NOC requested it not to reduce supplies during the festive season.
Though NOC has requested the government to provide Rs 1.5 billion to clear its outstanding dues, the finance ministry has cold-shouldered the request.
Meanwhile, the NOC Board has formed a three-member panel under Rajeev Gautam to prepare agenda for negotiations during the upcoming review of bi-lateral agreement between IOC and NOC.
The agreement is expiring in March, 2012.
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