Government assures adequate fuel supplies

Even as reports surface of several fuel stations going dry in certain parts of the country’s hinterlands, the Government on June 15 announced that sufficient supplies are being made available to cater to the extra demand. 

A release issued by the Government affirming the reports highlighted that in the past few days some areas have reported a big increase in terms of rush at the PSU retail outlets, leading to delays and increased waiting time for customers. “This has, in turn, led to speculation of supply constraints by the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies” reads the statement. 

Offering further details of the situation, the Government added that specific locations in some states have seen a significant increase in demand for petrol and diesel, with an increase being as high as 50 percent during the first half of June 2022 over the corresponding period of last year. In particular, this has been noticed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. These are States where large quantity of supply was being done by retail outlets belonging to private OMCs and where the distances from supply locations i.e. terminals and depots are longer. Attributing the demand to be seasonal in nature, the statement explained that due to agricultural activities, bulk buyers have shifted their purchases to retail outlets, and a substantial reduction in the sales by private OMCs with their substantial volumes having shifted to PSU outlets. Simultaneously, as a result of a crackdown by the Government on illegal Bio-Diesel sales, these volumes have also been added to the outlet’s diesel sales.

“This unprecedented growth has created some temporary logistics issues at the local level. Oil Companies have geared up to tackle these issues by increasing the stocks at the depots and terminals; extra movement of tank trucks and lorries to serve the retail outlets; Extended working hours of depots and terminals including at night, to cater to the extra demand, and provision of extra quantities of fuels for supply in the affected States. The Companies are ensuring that sufficient supplies of petrol and diesel are available to cater to this extra demand, and they are committed to fulfill the energy needs of the nation” the statement concludes.