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June 22 (Reuters) – Kazakhstan is considering the introduction of a $20 per tonne export duty on crude oil, Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev said on Tuesday.
“This would be a fixed rate,” he told reporters.
Kazakhstan set its crude oil export duty to zero in January 2009 as global oil prices plunged. (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva, writing by Robin Paxton)
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New Delhi, June 22 (ANI): Unstable international oil rates may force the Government of India to increase petrol price by Rs 2 a litre and diesel by Re 1 per litre, unless excise duty on both the fuels is cut to neutralise the increase. /pp
According to reports, state fuel retailers- Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum- incur a loss of Rs 135 crore per day on sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene. While their annual revenue loss for current fiscal is estimated to be at Rs 38,700 crore. /pp
The basket of crude oil India imports has averaged $70.49 per barrel in the second fortnight of June against the May average of $58, sending alarm bells ringing, said a petroleum ministry official. /pp
We have to act to save our PSU. The burden of rising global oil prices has to be shared equally between the companies, the government and consumers, he added./pp
PSUs lose Rs 2.96 a litre on diesel and Rs 6.08 per litre on petrol./pp
One-third of this or Rs 2 per litre on petrol and Re 1 on diesel can be passed on to consumers. Rest of the losses would be covered by issue of government bonds to the retailers and subsidy sharing by upstream firms like ONGC, he said. /pp
Currently, petrol attracts an excise duty of Rs 11.35 per litre and diesel Rs 1.60 a litre. Apart from this another Rs 2 a litre is charged as road cess on the two fuels. /pp
If the finance minister Pranab Mukhejree cuts excise duty on the two fuels, consumers can be spared from price hike, he said. (ANI)/p
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New Delhi, June 22 (ANI): Unstable international oil rates may force the Government of India to increase petrol price by Rs 2 a litre and diesel by Re 1 per litre, unless excise duty on both the fuels is cut to neutralise the increase. /pp
According to reports, state fuel retailers- Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum- incur a loss of Rs 135 crore per day on sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene. While their annual revenue loss for current fiscal is estimated to be at Rs 38,700 crore. /pp
The basket of crude oil India imports has averaged $70.49 per barrel in the second fortnight of June against the May average of $58, sending alarm bells ringing, said a petroleum ministry official. /pp
We have to act to save our PSU. The burden of rising global oil prices has to be shared equally between the companies, the government and consumers, he added./pp
PSUs lose Rs 2.96 a litre on diesel and Rs 6.08 per litre on petrol./pp
One-third of this or Rs 2 per litre on petrol and Re 1 on diesel can be passed on to consumers. Rest of the losses would be covered by issue of government bonds to the retailers and subsidy sharing by upstream firms like ONGC, he said. /pp
Currently, petrol attracts an excise duty of Rs 11.35 per litre and diesel Rs 1.60 a litre. Apart from this another Rs 2 a litre is charged as road cess on the two fuels. /pp
If the finance minister Pranab Mukhejree cuts excise duty on the two fuels, consumers can be spared from price hike, he said. (ANI)/p
London – Oil giant British Petroleum (BP) Tuesday reported a 62-per-cent slide in profits in the first quarter of 2009 after oil prices slumped from last summer’s record levels.
The decline to 1.64 billion pounds (2.39 billion dollars) in the first three months of this year came as global oil prices dived below 50 US dollars a barrel, compared with the peak of 147 dollars last July.
BP, which last year reported record annual profits of 18.1 billion pounds, said profits more than halved at its exploration and production division. (dpa)
MUMBAI, India (AP) India’s merchandise exports plunged 21.7 percent in February, the steepest annual fall in at least 16 years, as the global slump hit demand for oil and gold. Exports of goods totaled $11.9 billion in February, while imports shrank 23.3 percent, to $16.8 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.
India hasn’t seen double-digit declines in exports since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, said New Delhi economist Saumitra Chaudhuri. “It’s rare you’ve had negative growth,” he said.
India relies less on exports to drive growth than China does, but merchandise exports still account for about 16 percent of gross domestic product. Exports have been falling since October.
The country’s trade has suffered from the sharp fall in global oil prices and collapsing demand for diamonds and gold, Chaudhuri said. Exports of refined petroleum products, like gasoline and diesel, account for 20 percent of India’s exports, while diamonds make up about 15 percent, he said.
Falling crude prices coupled with “relatively robust” domestic demand have “put exports of petroleum products down in price and quantity,” he said. Global demand for Indian diamonds has fallen by about half as consumers in prime Western markets grapple with recession, he added.
Falling oil prices have also slashed the value of oil imports. In February, oil imports totaled $4.0 billion, down 47.5 percent from February 2008, the ministry said.
Indians have also stopped buying imported gold. “We are the world’s largest market for gold,” Chaudhuri said.
Last year, India imported $12 billion worth of gold, but since December imports have collapsed to near zero, he said. Cumulative trade figures for the April to February period are rosier.
From April to February, merchandise exports grew 7.3 percent in dollar terms, to $156.6 billion, while imports grew 19.1 percent to $271.7 billion, the ministry said. The resulting trade deficit for the period was about $115.1 billion, up from $82.2 billion during the same period the prior year.
New York – Canadian oil companies Suncor Energy Inc and Petro-Canada Monday announced a merger worth about 15.4 billion US dollars that would create the country’s largest energy company and provide protection against any foreign buyouts.
Suncor is the world’s second-largest oil-sands producer, and Petro-Canada is the country’s second-largest refiner. The steep decline in global oil prices last year made the merger inevitable.
Suncor reported its first quarterly loss in its history in January.
Under the proposed merger, the new entity will operate under the Suncor name.
Petro-Canada equity holders would receive 1.28 shares in the new company for each Petro-Canada share, or a 40-per-cent stake in the merged company. Suncor shareholders would own the remaining 60 per cent.
“This merger creates a made-in-Canada energy leader with the assets, cost structure and financial strength to compete globally,” said Suncor chief executive Rick George, who will have the same role in the merged company.
“The combined portfolio boasts the largest oil-sands resource position, a strong Canadian downstream brand, solid conventional exploration and production assets and low-cost production from Canada’s east coast and internationally.”
Suncor extracts oil-soaked sand in northern Alberta, as opposed to drilling for oil, and processes bitumen into synthetic crude. The oil is shipped to refiners in southern Canada and the US Midwest for processing into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and chemicals.
The merger will help the companies save an estimated 245 million dollars annually. The two companies have about 13,000 employees, and some job cuts are expected.
“The increased scale provides more stability in volatile markets, plus the financial and organizational capability to successfully take on large-scale projects in the future,” said Petro-Canada chief executive Ron Brenneman, who will take over as executive vice chairman in the merged company.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter. (dpa)
Baghdad – The Iraqi parliament Thursday Thursday passed a 2009 budget of 58.6 billion dollars, after slashing around four billion dollars off government spending plans.
As global oil prices fell from 150 dollars per barrel in July to little more than 43 dollars on Wednesday, there were increasing concerns that huge cuts might be needed.
Oil exports account for almost 95 per cent of Iraq’s revenue. This month’s exports of crude oil reached an average of one million and 804 barrels per day.
There have been wide calls for diversifying the economy by expanding other fields and attracting more investment in agriculture and other trade.
“We need a wider economic vision because the unilateral source of Iraqi wealth is something we have to think about a lot,” said Nour Eddin al-Heyali, a member of the parliamentary oil and gas committee.
The budget for fiscal 2009, which started in January, had been proposed to parliament by the government late last year – but passing it was postponed until problems within parliament were resolved.
But these remained unresolved after former parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani resigned on December 24 after a dispute over whether Iraqi journalist Montadher al-Zaidi should be tried for throwing his shoes at former US President George W Bush.
A new speaker has yet to be chosen. Yet despite it being illegal to pass the state budget with no speaker in parliament, lawmakers eventually obtained a court order allowing it to be passed, although two months late.
A majority of 165 lawmakers present in parliament voted to cut more than seven per cent of the originally proposed spending.
The government has twice slashed projected 2009 spending because of tumbling oil prices, but the revised budget still assumes an average price of 50 dollars a barrel – above current market levels.
“All expectations say that oil prices will remain low and will not reach 50 dollars anytime soon due to the global recession,” said Nabil al-Beldawi, member of the finance committee in the parliament, noting that few experts say prices may even dip to 25 dollars. dpa
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