Pricing of Natural Gas ,

(PIB NEWS) The Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Murli Deora informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today that the National Oil Companies, viz., ONGC and OIL, have reported a loss on account of APM gas production, which leads to lack of investment for Exploration and Production activities. Views of the concerned Ministries, Departments and Planning Commission have been sought on the proposal to revise the APM price. The issue would be decided after taking all the views into consideration. Shri Deora added that the price of gas under the Administered Price Mechanism (APM) was last revised on ad-hoc basis in 2005. The Minister also said that the actual impact on cost of generation from the existing gas-based plants can be assessed once the decision with regard to increase in APM prices of natural gas is taken. Further, additional inflow to the Government by way of royalty, VAT, corporate tax, dividend and dividend distribution tax would also have to be considered. ======================================================