"The issues regarding (withdrawal of) export-oriented unit status to refineries and imposition of windfall tax do not fall within the purview of my ministry. Therefore, it is not appropriate for me to comment on these matters," said Deora. The demands were first raised by the Left parties and then by Samajwadi Party, whose support has become critical for the survival of the Manmohan Singh government after Left announced withdrawal of its support over the nuclear deal with US. |
"However, we are open for discussions on any suggestions for development of oil and gas sector," the minister said.
An aide close to Deora said the demands raised should be addressed to finance and commerce ministries, respectively.
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"The twin issues are out of our jurisdiction. We have no authority to levy or withdraw tax of any kind. Nor do we have any authority to extend or review export-oriented status of a unit," he said.
While state-run firms are faced with huge revenue loss as they capped domestic retail prices despite two-fold jump in international crude oil prices, Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery has seen net profits jump 28 per cent to Rs 15,261 crore in 2007-08. The refinery that has been turned into pure export oriented unit earned $15 a barrel margin, almost double of its public sector competition.
The Left and the SP have questioned the UPA government's move to give Jamnagar export oriented tag when the nation was short of critical cooking fuels like LPG and kerosene.
They have sought review of the export oriented tag and also sought levy of 'windfall' tax on it as well as other private refiners like Essar Oil and private crude producers like Cairn and BG, who do not contribute in sharing the burden caused by high global oil prices.
Deora's aide said the decision to convert Reliance's Jamnagar refinery into export oriented unit was taken by the commerce ministry after several rounds of inter-ministerial consultations that did an in-depth study of demand-supply projections.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, he said, are adding new capacities and expanding existing ones to bridge the deficit in LPG and kerosene production. "In fact, these refineries will have exportable surplus in coming years."
"One of the reasons for jump in international oil prices is shortfall in global refining capacities. We had taken a conscious decision to turn India into a refining hub and encouraged companies to set up export oriented units. But for the fuel exports and surplus refining capacity in India, the global oil prices would have been higher," he said.