India: Double whammy for oil companies

The reduction in petrol and diesel prices may have come as a relief to consumers but they may just have added to the troubles of the oil companies. The cut of approximately Rs 2 in the price of petrol and Re 1 in the case of diesel has halved the margins in the former and wiped off the small profit in the latter for oil PSUs. Ironically, the price cuts have come just when things were beginning to look up for the refining and marketing companies — Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum — with margins getting back into positive territory and the government releasing two tranches of oil bonds.
Hindu Business Line