Mumbai: The government will review fuel-prices in October even as rising prices of crude oil will push the country's oil bill to $110-120 billion in fiscal 2008-09, petroleum secretary M S Srinivasan said.

"At the time of the cabinet decision in June we agreed that we will take stock of situation in October,'' Srinivasan said on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid. 

He, however, ruled out any price revision between now and October.

''The situation will be revisited in October when we will take stock of the scenario emerging out of international oil prices," the petroleum secretary said.

Srinivasan said India's crude import bill is expected to jump by up to 76 per cent from $76.99 billion in 2007-08 to $110-120 billion this year, based on current global prices. "It will go up if the prices rise further," he added.

Fuel consumption growth will be 5-6 per cent, and more if the current pricing policies continued, he said.

The government had increased petrol and diesel prices on 5 June, but oil marketing companies are still selling these fuels below cost price.

Market analysts and US politicians blame growth in fuel demand in India and China for the record crude prices although growth in consumption in India was lower than many of the heavily subsidised nations, according to petroleum minister Murli Deora.

"With steadily declining energy intensity, both are registering rapid economic growth with less than proportionate increase in oil demand," he told the 19th World Petroleum Congress in Madrid.

"I wish to take this opportunity to set the record straight. While China and India account for over one-third of the global population, their combined oil consumption is less than one-eighth of the world's consumption," he said.

The planning commission also today said the nation should be ready for "high oil price regime" amid a continuous surge in global crude prices, which stood above $145 a barrel on Thursday.

"We have to move to a high oil price regime," deputy chairman of the planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on the sidelines of Diamond Jubilee function of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He also said economic growth could slow down to eight per cent in the face of high crude prices and inflation.

Inflation rate in the country hit a 13-year high of over 11 per cent after the government raised fuel prices on 5 June.