OMCs should consider reducing prices of petrol and diesel, says Vijaya Sai Reddy

YSRCP leader criticizes oil companies for not reducing prices despite surging profits, stable global crude oil prices.

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy said oil marketing companies (OMCs) such as IOC, HPCL and BPCL have witnessed their profits surging by around four times in the 2023-24 financial year, but were still reluctant to bring down prices.

“Global crude oil prices largely remained stable even as West Asia plunged into a crisis. These factors gave scope for the OMCs to reduce the prices and by doing so, they could have helped cool inflation appreciably,” Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy said in a press release.

Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy said that OMCs account for more than three-fourths of the fossil fuel market and were consistently making profits and paying huge sums to the Centre towards dividend. The OMCs tend to increase the prices of petrol and diesel whenever the international crude oil prices head north but they are not bringing the prices down in spite of favourable conditions, he added.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were poised to take a major decision on output on June 1. It could have a bearing on the prices back home, which should make the OMCs consider reducing the prices, he said.