NEW DELHI: Finance ministry will decide on scrapping the windfall tax on crude oil as significantly reduced prices of the commodity have made the levy irrelevant, said Tarun Kapoor, advisor to the Prime Minister.
Kapoor, speaking at the World Biogas Association India Congress 2024, said petroleum ministry has written to finance ministry to withdraw the levy. “I think the petroleum ministry has written to the finance ministry. Anyway, there is not much relevance in it (windfall tax) now,” Kapoor said.
The windfall tax is assessed bi-weekly based on average oil prices from the preceding two weeks. It was first implemented in 2022 following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which led to significant spike in oil prices, resulting in substantial profits for oil and gas companies.
As of September 18, windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil has been set to zero, with similar exemptions for diesel and aviation turbine fuel exports. Despite ongoing volatility in the West Asian market, crude oil prices have remained subdued. On Wednesday, the December contract for Brent crude traded at $75.63 per barrel, down 0.54% from its previous closing.
Meanwhile, petroleum and gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri addressing media said public sector undertakings (PSUs) in energy domain are also harnessing AI and machine learning (ML) to improve safety, security, and operational efficiencies at various locations. Through advanced tools like demand forecasting, customer analytics, and pricing analytics, AI is enhancing the overall customer experience in the energy sector.
In the upstream oil and gas sector, the minister said, AI-enabled mechanisms such as deep learning are being used to analyse complex seismic data for identifying potential hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Withdrawing levy on card
Tarun Kapoor, advisor to the Prime Minister, said petroleum ministry has written to the finance ministry to withdraw the levy
Windfall tax is assessed bi-weekly based on average
oil prices from the preceding two weeks
It was first implemented in 2022 following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which led to significant spike in oil prices
Despite ongoing volatility in the West Asian market, crude oil prices have remained subdued
On Wednesday, the December contract for Brent crude oil traded at $75.63 per barrel, down 0.54% from its previous closing
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said public PSUs in the energy domain are harnessing AI and machine learning to improve safety, security, and operational efficiencies at various locations