RIL asks Govt to free fuel pricing

NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (PTI): Reliance Industries, which had shut down all of its petrol pumps last year because of huge losses, today asked the government to free retail fuel pricing to provide a level-playing field to its PSU competition. The government should use only fiscal measures to moderate retail rates in times of high international crude oil prices and extend fuel subsidies, which are currently available only to state-run firms, to private companies as well, said P Raghavendran, president of Reliance’s refinery business. “Removal of government controls is much more critical than a simple statement that the private sector can come in,” he said, adding, the company would reopen its outlets only when it gets a level-playing field. The Mukesh Ambani-run company had shut all of its 1,432 petrol pumps in March 2008 after it failed to compete with public sector companies, who sold fuel at rates much lower than their cost, as they got government subsidies. However, with the fall in international oil prices, margins on both petrol and diesel have turned positive. State-run oil companies Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are making a neat profit of Rs 9.10 a litre on petrol and Rs 3.70 per litre on diesel. Essar Oil, the second-largest private fuel retailer, has reopened about 1,000 petrol pumps since September, when international crude oil prices began declining.