Nepal Oil Corporation Implements Significant Fuel Price Hike

Kathmandu. The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has announced a substantial increase in the prices of petroleum products, effective immediately. The price hike applies to petrol, diesel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum (LP) gas, and aviation fuel.

The NOC board of directors decided to increase the price of petrol by 17 rupees per liter, while diesel and kerosene prices have been raised by 25 rupees per liter each. Additionally, the price of LP gas has been increased by 100 rupees per cylinder, and domestic aviation fuel has seen a rise of 6 rupees per liter.

Under the new price list, petrol in the Kathmandu Valley (third category) now costs 219 rupees, while diesel and kerosene are priced at 207 rupees. LP gas is now 2010 rupees per cylinder, and domestic aviation fuel is set at 257 rupees per liter.

According to the corporation, the price adjustment was necessary due to the continuous rise in international petroleum prices driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East over the past few months.

The official statement noted that despite the government providing a 50 percent exemption on customs duties and infrastructure development taxes, the corporation was forced to raise prices as it could not mitigate its losses.

The NOC claims that even after this price hike, it will continue to face a fortnightly loss of approximately 10.21 billion rupees. The corporation has urged consumers to practice austerity in fuel consumption, citing the difficult circumstances created by the sudden surge in international market prices.