Hindustan Petroleum net down 44.5 percent

July 24th, 2009 MUMBAI - Operating profits of construction major Hindustan Construction Co (HCC) rose 22 percent to Rs.112 crore for the first quarter this fiscal, as compared to Rs.91 crore posted in the year-ago period. The company's turnover increased 8 percent to a little over Rs.964 crore from Rs.895 crore in the corresponding period the previous fiscal, the company said in a regulatory statement Friday.

July 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Oil companies will soon be preparing detailed plans to increase the number of cooking gas connections, especially in rural areas, by 55 million by 2015. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada gave the instruction Wednesday at a meeting with the marketing directors of the three state-owned oil marketing companies, Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp.

July 6th, 2009 KOLKATA - Automobile major Hindustan Motors Monday said it will revise prices of various vehicle models to pass on to its customers the benefit of excise duty cut on certain categories of cars as announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. "Hindustan Motors is passing on the entire benefit to the customers who can expect a Rs.6,000 cut in Pajero, Outlander and Montero prices effective July 7 (Tuesday)," a company statement said.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run oil companies Tuesday raised jet fuel prices by over 6 percent, the fourth hike in two months, after crude oil price at the global market reached a seven-month high of $72 per barrel. The aviation fuel would now cost Rs.2,307 more per kilolitre in Delhi at Rs.38,558.

June 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run oil firms Monday hiked aviation fuel prices by over 12 percent following the rise in crude oil prices in the global market. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) will now cost Rs.3,949 more in Delhi at Rs.36,252 per kilolitre, while in Mumbai it will rise to Rs.37,367 per kilolitre from Rs.33,260.8, a senior official of Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run oil companies Thursday announced a cut in aviation fuel prices by Rs.311 per kilolitre (kl), after three consecutive hikes. The aviation turbine fuel (ATF) will now cost Rs.31,615 per kl in Delhi, effective from Thursday midnight, an Indian Oil Corp (IOC) official said.

March 14th, 2009 KOCHI - London-based engineering and consultancy major Mott MacDonald Friday opened its new design centre in Kochi, Kerala. Mott MacDonald director (oil and gas global operations) Sam Mathew said the company was committed to expanding its business in India and Kochi would become a hub for the firm's oil, gas and petrochemical storage and distribution business.

March 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run oil companies Saturday slashed aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices by seven percent, the 11th reduction since September last year. From March 1, jet fuel price will go down Rs.2,052 per kilolitre to Rs.27,106 in Delhi, while it will cost Rs.27,861 per kilolitre in Mumbai, an official of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has no immediate plans to reduce diesel prices even though global oil prices are at record low levels, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here Wednesday. 'As of now, there is no plan to cut prices.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have put on hold their plans to invest in ethanol projects in Brazil due to the current economic slowdown, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here Tuesday. The oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp - had explored the possibilities of acquiring sugarcane farms and setting up ethanol manufacturing units in Brazil, Deora said while answering a question in the Rajya Sabha.

February 14th, 2009 MUMBAI - The government Sunday said under-recoveries on account of subsidies on petroleum products would be around Rs.1 trillion this fiscal and not Rs.2.45 trillion as estimated earlier. Talking to reporters at the launch of a nationwide awareness campaign on saving fuel, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said the under-recoveries would be significantly lower as international crude oil prices have fallen.

January 8th, 2009 LUCKNOW - A majority of petrol pumps across Uttar Pradesh, including in major cities like Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad and Kanpur, went dry Friday afternoon, as the ongoing strike by officers of public sector oil firms entered the third day. 'We have received information that nearly 85 percent petrol pumps in Aligarh, Varanasi and Meerut have been closed while 70 percent of petrol and diesel outlets in Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow and Allahabad are not providing fuel supplies,' UP Petrol Dealer Traders' Association (UPDTA) V.N.

January 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Essar Oil's entire production will be for the domestic market, a senior company official said here Friday, the third day of an indefinite strike called by oil sector officers. 'All our products, 100 percent, are entirely for the domestic market,' a senior Essar official told IANS.

January 7th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Nearly 2,000 oil sector employees struck work in Uttar Pradesh Thursday, the second day of the nationwide strike called by officers of public sector oil companies. Fuel supplies to major oil terminals and depots of Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp have been hit in many cities in the state, including Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi, traders said.

January 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Private retail outlet operator Essar Oil Thursday saw its daily sales jump in its daily sales after the ongoing oil sector strike hit supplies to petrol pumps around the country. 'Yesterday (Wednesday) saw normal operations, but today, we have seen a sharp rise in demand,' a senior Essar Oil official told IANS.