Why are petrol prices not decreasing, asks TMC's Derek O'Brien

The TMC leader said that in August 2014, crude oil was priced Rs 8,552 ($102) per barrel and petrol price was Rs 73, while in August 2024, crude oil is at Rs 6,542 ($78) per barrel, and yet petrol price is Rs 95.

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien on Monday questioned why petrol prices in India are not decreasing despite a decline in global crude oil prices.

In a post on X, the Rajya Sabha MP said the crude oil prices have come down by around 24 per cent in last ten years, but petrol price in India has gone up by 30 per cent.

In August 2014, crude oil was priced Rs 8,552 ($102) per barrel and petrol price was Rs 73, while in August 2024, crude oil is at Rs 6,542 ($78) per barrel, and yet petrol price is Rs 95, he said.

"Why are petrol prices in India not decreasing despite a decline in global crude oil prices?" wrote O'Brien, TMC's parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha.

"In the last 10 years, crude oil price down by nearly 24 percent, but petrol price in India increased by 30 per cent," he said.

"Windfall profits of oil companies are not being passed on to consumers," the TMC leader added.

Petrol, diesel prices in India were last revised ahead of the general election in March when it was reduced by Rs 2, after being stagnant for about two years.

Last week, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Pankaj Jain, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, had said oil companies will be taking appropriate decisions on reducing fuel prices if international oil prices were to stay low for an extended period.