KATHMANDU, March 1: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) says it will not be hiking the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) despite a hefty rise in the price of cooking gas by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
The NOC’s decision came after the directive of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal not to raise the price of cooking gas keeping in view the interest of the general consumers and students, according to the Prime Minister’s Personal Secretariat. In the new price list sent by the IOC, the price of cooking gas has been increased by Rs 339.06 per cylinder.
Import of LPG sees a decline
Besides the cooking gas, other petroleum products have become cheaper in the revised rates sent by the Indian suppliers on Wednesday. According to the NOC, the Indian supplier has lowered the prices of diesel, petrol and aviation fuel. In the revised rates, diesel has been cheaper by Rs 5.05 per liter and petrol has been cheaper by Rs 1.21 per liter.
Similarly, the costs of kerosene and aviation fuel have been reduced by Rs 3.40 per liter and Rs 7.03 per liter, respectively. At the new rates, the NOC has projected its profits to remain at a surplus of Rs 440 million in the next 15 days. However, NOC will not be altering the prices of these petroleum products either, stating that it has outstanding dues of Rs 15 billion, created by the heavy losses in the past.
Binit Mani Upadhyaya, spokesperson for the NOC, said the state-owned oil monopoly has decided to keep the fuel prices unchanged.
The NOC had slashed fuel prices on December 16, which hardly lasted for the following month before they were eventually increased.
