New Delhi:
Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has said he will review petrol
and diesel prices in the next 15-20 days. Talking to reporters on the sidelines
of a function here on Tuesday, Deora said, " The oil prices have gone up lately.
Give us some time. We will meet, talk and review and will come to you." The Minister
also said that an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee has been constituted to allocate natural gas from the company's
field to new users. Deora had in August requested the Prime Minister's Office
for a new EGoM but the formal constitution was delayed. India unexpectedly raised
gasoline and diesel prices by as much as 10 percent on July 1, its first increase
this year. Public sector refineries, which sell petrol and diesel at state-set
rates but buy crude oil at market rates, are seeking higher fuel prices as crude
costs have surged nearly ten dollars a barrel since October.
