No plan to hike petro prices: Deora

An immediate hike in prices of petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, was not under consideration, minister for petroleum and natural gas Murli Deora said here today.

Though international crude prices are going up, the government's view is that the subsidy on petroleum products should continue as in the case of food and fertilisers, Deora said here.

The proposal to float oil bonds totalling Rs 25,000 crore to offset the deficit of the public sector oil companies due to increase in crude prices was expected to come up before the Cabinet shortly, he said.

"At present, we are not considering any increase. We are trying our best not to raise the prices of not only LPG and kerosene but also that of petrol and diesel," Deora said.

The minister was here to inaugurate the Refinery Technology meet organised by Centre for High Technology and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals.

Stressing the need to continue with the subsidy on the petroleum products, Deora said he had been in touch with finance minister P Chidambaram on the issue.

Since the oil companies were losing heavily, the government was planning to float oil bonds to make up for part of the losses, Deora said.