ONGC sees up to Rs7,000-cr loss

India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC on Friday said it is losing Rs 6,000-7,000 crore on natural gas business after the government-mandated rates for the fuel dropped to a decade low.

The government-mandated rates are way below the cost of production of $3.5-3.7 per million British thermal unit, ONGC Director (Finance) Subhash Kumar said. Every dollar reduction in gas price leads to a revenue loss of about Rs 5,200 crore and a Rs 3,500 crore on profit.