KATHMANDU: In view of rising public concern over fuel prices in the national market, the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has said the retail prices of petroleum products in local markets are determined based on international prices.
It further clarified that the prices of processed oils are always higher than those of crude oil, as Nepal does not have its own refinery. This requires the country to directly import processed fuels instead of crude oil.
While analyzing the market prices of petroleum products in Nepal, they should not be compared with crude oil prices, but rather with the prices of processed fuels, said NOC spokesperson Manoj Thakur. The NOC purchases petroleum products from the Indian Oil Corporation and prices are adjusted automatically every 15 days based on the rates it pays to the IOC.
According to data cited by the NOC, on April 16, 2026, the price of crude oil per barrel was 99.6 US dollars, while petrol was traded at 139.3 US dollars and diesel at 228.1 US dollars.
Under normal circumstances, there is typically a difference of around 10 US dollars between crude oil and petrol, and around 20 US dollars between crude oil and diesel. Recently, however, this gap has widened to 144 US dollars and 216 US dollars respectively due to international adversity triggered by the Gulf tension.
As a result, countries that purchase processed fuel are facing increased pressure from rising prices. According to the NOC, customs duty, taxes, transportation, insurance, storage and service fees also play a role in determining the final retail price of fuel. On April 16, the NOC increased the prices of diesel and kerosene by Rs 30 per litre and aviation turbine fuel by Rs 5 per litre.
For the first cluster, the price of diesel and petrol is Rs 234.50 per litre, Rs 236 for the second cluster, and Rs 237 for the third cluster. Even after the price hike, the NOC is incurring a loss of Rs 99.96 per litre on diesel.
Due to the gradual rise in petroleum product prices in the international market, the NOC is likely to incur a loss of around Rs 5.75 billion in the next 15 days.
