The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has forwarded a proposal to the Ministry of Finance seeking an upward revision in the prices of all petroleum products except diesel.
It has been proposed that the price of petrol be raised by Rs 6.82 per liter while diesel be brought down by Rs 1.75 per liter with effect from September 17 (Monday), under the weekly mechanism to review prices of POL products.
The proposal seeks to increase the price of High Octane Blending Content (HOBC) by Rs 1.50 a liter and kerosene oil by 62 paisas. The Ministry of Finance will grant a final approval to OGRA’s proposal. A hike in international oil market prices, which rose by $2 a barrel from $113 to $115 recently, has been cited as the reason for the requested hike in local petroleum products prices.
The rates of compressed natural gas (CNG) are also expected to rise up, sources said. Only last Sunday, the government had approved a reduction in the price of petrol by Rs 4.65 per liter, but had hiked the prices of other petroleum products, including diesel by Rs 3.39 per liter, kerosene by Rs 1.85 per liter and HOBC by Rs 3.27 a liter.
Earlier at the end of August, the government welcomed the new month by hiking up prices of petroleum products by up to Rs 8.14 per liter and raising CNG prices by Rs 7.11 a kilogram. The per liter price of petrol had increased by Rs 7.77 a liter, diesel by Rs 5.94, HOBC by Rs 8.18, light diesel by Rs 5.54 and kerosene oil by Rs 5.86 per litre.