Petro price hike not now: Deora

An immediate hike in prices of petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, was not under consideration of the government, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora said in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

Though the international crude prices were going up, the United Progressive Alliance government's approach was that the subsidy on petroleum products should continue as in the case of food and fertilisers, Deora told a press meet.

The proposal to float oil bonds totalling Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) 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 in Thiruvananthapuram to inaugurate the Refinery Technology meet organised by Centre for High Technology and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd.

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.