Petroleum and natural gas minister S. Jaipal Reddy on Tuesday pledged that the government did not intend to raise petrol and diesel prices despite a steep rise in international crude prices.
He also said the dispute between Cairn India and Vedanta Resources over oil assets would be referred to the Cabinet in two to three weeks.
Speaking to reporters after dedicating Indian Oil’s new naphtha cracker complex in Panipat, Mr Reddy said: “We are not at the moment thinking of increasing (petrol and diesel) prices.” He said the state oil marketing companies were facing losses of `80,000 crores, perhaps even `1,00,000 crores this fiscal after the spurt in international prices, for which the government would compensate the oil PSUs.