Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise rates, particularly when a price cut is necessitated, on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international price in the previous fortnight. But an increase that was warranted because of a rise in international gasoline (petrol) price to $62.82 per barrel from $57.43 and that of diesel to $60.97 from $56.79 was deferred on Friday.

The three firms signed the pact for the 60-million tonne a year refinery in Maharashtra with IOC as leader of the consortium, officials said.

The BSE Oil and Gas index closed at 11,881.25, down 83.07 points or 0.69%, while the Sensex closed down 92.89 points, or 0.35%.

"The increase in profit is due to higher domestic market sales and reduced inventory loss compared to the corresponding period last year. Inventory loss came down to Rs 359 crore this quarter compared to Rs 1,406 crore during the second quarter of the previous fiscal," said M K Surana, chairman and managing director of HPCL.

IOC shares advanced as much as 0.9 per cent in the early trade. At 9.35 am, the scrip was trading 0.60 per cent up at Rs 561.85.

At the end of June, HPCL held a 16.95% stake in MRPL, and ONGC, the other promoter, owned 71.6%. The public shareholding in MRPL was 11.42%, less than half the 25% prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

This will not only help the company fill the yawning gap between the volume it refines and the volume it markets through its retail outlets, but also help in meeting the burgeoning fuel demand in the country, said HPCL Chairman Mukesh Kumar Surana at a conference late on Thursday.

Currently, HPCL has launched dynamic pricing at a few of its retail outlets on a pilot basis, to be extended to other outlets across the country at a later stage.