The government intends to negotiate the price of fuel with the Indian government soon. Responding to the concerns about high fuel prices in the country during the Meet the Press today, the Foreign Minister said the government will renew the Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the Indian Oil Corporation by next week. The MoU ensures a continuous supply of petroleum products to Bhutan. The MoU expired in 2020. The Memorandum which helps Bhutan in setting up a regulatory mechanism was first signed in 2005. Indian Oil has been marketing petroleum products to Bhutan since 1972. In Thimphu, the price of petrol now is Nu 92.08 while the price of diesel is Nu 109.29.
“Because of the lockdowns, we couldn’t carry out the negotiations. The price offered to Bhutan has no connection to the pricing in the Indian market. Compare our prices at the market level in India and the market level in Nepal at the government level is quite different, we are still trying to understand that. It is more at the level of the oil companies in India. Our MoU has expired and we have the opportunity to renegotiate those details,” said Foreign Minister, Dr Tandi Dorji.
