Oil companies’ profits increased ₹15, no relief to customers; government savings of ₹60 000 crore on imports

New Delhi| The profits of the country’s oil companies have increased by Rs 15 per liter on petrol since March. Diesel has increased by Rs 12. During this period, crude oil dropped from $84 per barrel to below $72 on Friday. On this basis, people can get a benefit of Rs 3 per liter. Despite this, customers have not got any relief.

Crude oil hit $71.31 a barrel on Friday. The government can save Rs 60,000 crore as import bill in the current financial year due to continuous price reduction. But customers are not getting any benefit from it. ICRA report says that oil marketing companies can provide benefits if they want, but they have kept oil prices stable for a long time.

The report of Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency i.e. ICRA says that since March till now the price of crude oil has decreased by 12 percent. Several reports believe that Saudi Arabia is preparing to abandon its price target of $100 a barrel for crude oil to increase production. Due to this, there is a possibility of further fall in prices in the coming time, which may further increase the profits of domestic companies.

Each one dollar a barrel drop in crude oil prices leads to annual savings of about Rs 13,000 crore on India’s import bill. The 2024 Economic Survey estimated the average price of crude oil at $84 a barrel this fiscal year. Now though it’s in the range of 70 to 75 dollars a barrel. Experts believe that if prices stabilize in this range, India will make substantial savings on crude oil imports for the rest of this financial year. This will also reduce inflation. Besides, more investment will also be possible.

The three major oil companies Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil have made a total profit of Rs 81,000 crore in FY 2023-24. Indian Oil’s profit in this has been Rs 39,619 crore. Bharat Petroleum has had Rs 26,673 crore. Hindustan Petroleum has earned Rs 14,694 crore.