March 8: The government has decided to provide financial assistance to the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to purchase petroleum products. The government took such decision after the accumulated savings of the state-owned oil monopoly dropped to sub-zero level.

A meeting of the Price Stabilization Fund on Monday decided to provide Rs 4.25 billion to the corporation to pay the first installment it owes to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).    
Even after the price adjustment of petroleum products last Thursday, the NOC insists it is expecting a loss of around Rs 2.5 billion in the next 15 days.

The purchase price of the NOC has been increasing due to the recent hike in the price of crude oil in the international market. The corporation had sought financial help from the government after the first installment to the IOC due in March was insufficient. The corporation has been paying installments to the IOC on the 8th and 23rd of every month.    
 Prior to this, the stabilization fund had provided Rs 1.80 billion to the NOC in January. NOC Spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya said that the decision of the government to provide financial assistance to the NOC at such difficult times would help in maintaining smooth supply of petroleum products. -- RSS