Petrol price in this country is so low, it will bring tears to your eyes

After Karnataka assembly election, India is witnessing a continuous rise in prices of both petrol and diesel as a result of rising international crude oil, which plays a vital role in deciding domestic fuel prices. To say the least, consumers across the country are paying amounts that are at all-time highs. Various segments of the business community is threatening to raises rates of essential commodities and public transport has become more expensive. However, while India is going through this pain, there are certain countries where the price of petrol is so low that it will make your eyes water. The comparison with India is mind-numbing indeed. 
 
Yes, prices of oil products vary across the globe due to multiple factors. The differences in prices across the countries are due to various taxes and subsidies imposed by the government on petrol and other products. All countries have access to the same petroleum prices, but they impose different taxes and as a result petrol prices differ from country to country. Oil producers have the best time, but even here prices depend on what the government wants. 
 
After going through data compiled from various online sources, it can be said that petrol and diesel prices in India are not only the highest in this sub-continent but also fourth highest among the top 10 crude oil consuming nations in the world.
 
According to the US Energy Information Administration, India is the third largest consumer of crude oil in the world at 4.14 million barrels a day (mbd), about four per cent of global consumption. The US (19.53 mbd) and China (12.02 mbd) are the other two top nations.
 
Of these top 10 consumers, India is stated to have the highest prices — $1.19 a litre for petrol and $1.05 a litre for diesel. The data available with Globalpetrolprices.com, on May 21 international product pricing, say that other top three are Germany, South Korea and Japan.
 
Notably, the central government in India levies a fixed excise duty of Rs 19.48 a litre on petrol and Rs 15.33 a litre on diesel, while state governments impose value added tax, thereby adding to the price of these products.
 
“India takes a 15-day average of international fuel prices to set its retail prices. Because of that, we are able to partly take care of sudden spikes in global crude prices,” M K Surana, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, told the media last week.
 
Every $1 increase in international crude oil prices demand an increase of at least 63p a litre in Indian rates, industry sources told Business Standard, which further reported that the Indian basket of crude oil is a weighted average of Brent crude (sweet) and Dubai and Oman crude (sour); it touched $75.95 a barrel on Saturday. On Sunday, Brent crude came down to $76.44 a barrel, after the Opec cartel and Russia said they planned to boost oil output by a million barrels a day, to curb a rally that took the price above $80 a barrel, the report added.
 
The situation for India is critical. But as far as Venezuela is concerned, there is no crisis at all. Why? people there pay just Rs 0.58 per litre! Petrol is cheapest in the world there. Interestingly, 33 per cent of petrol consumption in Venezuela is of 95 octane petrol, which is also the most expensive to produce!
 
Being an oil producing country, revenue from petroleum exports manages to accounts for more than 50 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product and roughly 95 per cent of total exports too.

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Among other countries where petrol is comparatively cheaper include Iran, where petrol is priced at Rs 19.24 per litre; Sudan pays Rs 23.10 for per litre of petrol; in Kuwait, where petrol price was cheapest in the world, per litre petrol now costs Rs 23.50; Algeria is the fifth cheapest country for petrol, as per litre of petrol is at Rs 24.40; in Egypt petrol cost per litre comes at Rs 24.40; while in Ecuador, Nigeria, Turkmenistan, and Syria, per litre petrol cost Rs 26.46, Rs 28.38, Rs 28.94 and Rs 29.56 respectively, according to Globalpetrolprices.com.