Reliance Industries, India's largest private firm, has sought permission to export LPG and kerosene and removal of petroleum products from Essential Commodities Act as part of its wish-list for 2006-07 Budget.
In its pre-budget submissions, Reliance stated that its 660,000 barrels a day Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat faced containment problems due to public sector retailing firms -- Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp -- buying products way below the output from the refinery.
State firms have a potential to produce 10 million tones of kerosene as against the expected demand of 9.6 million tonnes in 2005-06. Jamnagar refinery has offered 0.4 million tonnes superior kerosene oil to public sector firms and wants to export the remaining 3.6 million tonnes of jet/aviation turbine fuel/SKO produced by the refinery annually.
"At zero customs duty on SKO, costs to oil marketing companies for imports of SKO is comparable to our export realisation. Adequate volumes are available in international market at no additional costs to make good the shortfall, if any. Therefore, there is no need to maintain restrictions on export of SKO under Export-Import policy," it said.
Reliance said there was huge surplus availability of LPG at Jamnagar after fully meeting the demand.
The company said petroleum products should be taken out of Essential Commodities Act and only PDS kerosene and domestic LGP, because of the heavy subsidy, need to be included in the Act.
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