KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 3
Citing huge outstanding dues to the government and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to maintain the fuel prices despite making a gross profit.
According to NOC, it still owes Rs 29.10 billion to IOC and the government of Nepal for fuel purchase.
Earlier, the corporation had received a loan of Rs seven billion from the government and Rs three billion from Rastriya Banijya Bank.
As per the latest rate list sent by the IOC to NOC, the import price of petrol has gone up by Re 0.61 per litre, diesel by Rs 5.76 a litre, kerosene by Rs 4.01 per litre and aviation fuel by Rs 4.77 a litre.
The NOC is currently incurring a loss of Rs 12.14 per litre in diesel and Rs 228.84 in each LPG cylinder.
The corporation has estimated a loss of over Rs 580 million in diesel and Rs 226.34 million in LPG sales over the next 15 days.
Meanwhile, the corporation is making a profit of Rs 13.95 per litre in petrol, Rs 34.54 per litre in kerosene and Rs 87.3 per litre (bonded) and Rs 35.99 a litre (duty paid) in sales of aviation fuel.
The NOC's profit is projected to more than halve to Rs 180 million over the next 15 days, compared to the profit of Rs 390 million in the previous fortnight.
The retail price of petrol is Rs 181 per litre while diesel and kerosene are priced at Rs 178 a litre in the domestic market.
Similarly, aviation fuel is being traded at Rs 190 per litre and LPG at Rs 1,800 per cylinder.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 4, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
