April 01, 2002

    The Government has issued sanction to the Reserve Bank of India to make payment of Rs. 9,000 crore to Oil Companies against a part of their dues in Oil Pool Account. The payment would be made through issue of "6.96 per cent Oil Companies’ Government of India Special Bonds, 2009". This decision follows announcement of complete de-regulation of oil sector by Shri Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, on 28.03.2002 which inter-alia requires liquidation of Oil Pool Account hitherto administered by the Oil Coordination Committee (OCC).

    Amongst the Oil Companies entitled for the Special Bonds, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) leads with an amount of Rs. 5,276 crore. It is followed by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) with Rs. 1,481 crore, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) with Rs. 1,018 crore and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) with Rs. 961 crore. The remaining amount of the total pay out by the Government is shared by Oil India Limited (OIL} with Rs. 107 crore, Bongaigaon Refinery & Petrochemicals (BRPL) with Rs. 56 crore, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) with Rs. 46 crore, Kochi Refinery Limited (KRL) with Rs. 37 crore, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) with Rs. 12 crore and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) with Rs. 6 crore.

    The present payment is being made on a provisional basis in lieu of a part of the estimated outstanding claims of the Oil Companies on OCC under the erstwhile Administered Price Mechanism (APM) as on 31.3.2002. The claims are subject to Audit by Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) and final acceptance. The balance amount of the Oil Pool Account deficit would be paid to the oil companies after the accounts are certified by the CAG.

    As the country steps into the new era of complete deregulation and competition in the oil sector, the Oil Coordination Committee also stands wound up as of today. In its place a new Cell by the name "Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell" under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has been set up to assist the Ministry in maintaining upto date data and statistics on Oil Sector. "This will facilitate not only the smooth switch over but also help in the Government playing a role of "watch-dog" in oil sector so that healthy competition flourishes in the sector which brings in better quality of products and services at competitive prices. At the same time, the Government would ensure that the oil companies maintain uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products throughout the country", Shri Naik said.