Sources said Deora, who called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here, also informed him that there was a limit to state-run oil marketing companies' capacity to absorb oil bonds and contribution by those having upstream operations.
"The upstream contribution during the year can be limited only to Rs 30,000 crore and they have a capacity to absorb oil bonds worth only Rs 35,000 crore. Another Rs 15,000 crore can be absorbed by oil marketing companies.
"This leaves a Rs 145,000 crore gap that has to be bridged with a combination of price increase and duty cuts," a source quoted Deora as informing Singh.
"I don't have anything to say," Deora told reporters when asked about his meeting with the Prime Minister.
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Deora also met Chidambaram today but failed to convince him of the urgency to cut import and excise duties to avoid the Rs 2,00,000 crore revenue loss expected on petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene this fiscal. BPCL and HPCL have cash to buy crude oil only till July while Indian Oil can finance imports till September. The three firms face huge liquidity crisis as they are unable to realise full value of products sold.
Petroleum Ministry is proposing to raise petrol price by Rs 10 a litre, diesel by Rs 5 per litre and that of LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder cut the Rs 580 crore per day loss made by the three oil firms by one-third.