New Delhi, Feb. 9: State-owned explorers ONGC and Oil India have been exempted by the government from paying fuel subsidy to PSU retailers for the third quarter ended December because of a slump in global crude prices.

According to a new subsidy-sharing formula approved last year, upstream companies such as ONGC and Oil India have to make good any revenue loss incurred by the retailers on the sale of kerosene and domestic LPG cylinders after taking into account the fixed subsidy provided by the government.

For October-December, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation suffered a loss of Rs 6,149 crore on kerosene and LPG at a price fixed by the government.

The government was supposed to pay a subsidy of Rs 12 per litre on kerosene and Rs 18 per kg on LPG. The rest of the loss after accounting for this subsidy was coming to around Rs 300 crore, official sources said.

The government has decided to bear this loss as well and pay the entire Rs 3,279-crore subsidy on LPG and Rs 2,870 crore on kerosene.

Kerosene is sold at Rs 14.96 per litre through the public distribution system, while a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder costs Rs 419.22 in Delhi, much below their costs.