Indian Oil assures of adequate petrol, diesel stocks, says supply issues in some pockets ‘highly localised, temporary’

On top of that, certain private sector fuel retailers are retailing the fuels at higher prices than the OMCs, leading to additional pressure on the latter’s retail network as consumers are preferring to buy from them. Higher fuel demand due to the crop harvesting season is also leading to additional demand pressure.

“Indian Oil wishes to reassure customers and the general public that there is no overall shortage of petrol and diesel in the country. The current situation being witnessed at certain retail outlets is highly localised and temporary in nature, arising due to local demand-supply imbalances and redistribution of sales patterns in select areas,” Indian Oil said Saturday.

“The higher demand being witnessed at some locations is attributable to the following factors: seasonal increase in diesel demand during the ongoing harvesting period; temporary shift of customers from certain private retail outlets owing to relatively higher retail prices at some private pumps; increased migration of institutional and commercial demand to PSU retail outlets, as bulk and institutional supplies are currently priced significantly higher in line with prevailing international market prices,” the company added.

These shifts are a major reason why the OMCs’ retail outlets in some areas are running out of fuel stocks faster than usual, leading to dry-out-like situations, according to industry sources. They said that the problem gets amplified when a supply constraint at one retail outlet leads to rumours of shortage in the area, and consumers start panic-buying from other outlets as well.

The visible migration of a large number of bulk consumers to OMCs’ retail stations, combined with higher agricultural season fuel demand, has led to a demand growth of 20% to 30% in some localised areas, Petroleum Ministry Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma had said on Thursday. “The price difference between diesel for bulk sales and that available at petrol pumps is Rs 40-42 per litre,” she said.

Amid the global oil and fuel price surge due to the West Asia crisis, only a fraction of the price hike has been passed on for the retail petrol and diesel sales in India by the OMCs; the price hikes have been much higher in the bulk and industrial segments. While the OMCs, being government-owned, have kept prices artificially lower, some private sector fuel retailers have hiked retail fuel prices. The three OMCs together have a share of 90% in the fuel retail market.

“Indian Oil would also like to highlight that during the period from 1–22 May 2026, the company recorded substantial growth in fuel sales over the corresponding period last year, with petrol sales increasing by 14% and diesel sales by around 18%. Despite this sustained and exceptionally high growth in demand, Indian Oil continues to consistently meet customer requirements across the country,” the refiner-cum-fuel retailer said, adding that instances of fuel supply disruption are limited to “a very small number” of its over 42,000 retail outlets.

While fuel production and supply at the national level remains stable and adequate, these factors are leading to regional imbalances and last-mile logistical challenges for the OMCs to maintain 24×7 supplies, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and rural and remote areas. While retail fuel pumps usually sell fuel to two-wheelers and cars, bulk and commercial buyers like state road transport corporation buses, truckers, and diesel-powered telecom towers are supposed to get their supplies from designated points.

“Indian Oil, along with other oil marketing companies, continues to maintain adequate overall stocks and supplies of petrol and diesel across the country. The company is closely monitoring the situation and taking adequate measures to address these isolated situations and ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies to consumers,” the fuel retailer said.

On Friday, Bharat Petroleum had said that it initiated operational measures across locations to augment supplies and strengthen replenishment efficiency, including enhanced tanker movement planning, depot-level inventory optimisation, round-the-clock monitoring and closer coordination between regional operations teams, distributors and retail outlets. A day earlier, it had said that while metropolitan centres continue to remain adequately supplied, special operational focus was placed on “maintaining seamless supplies across tier-2, tier-3 and remote markets, where localised demand spikes and precautionary buying tendencies have been observed in recent days”.

“We have sufficient supplies of crude oil, natural gas, petrol and diesel…Our refineries are operating at optimum capacity (105% in the last year) to meet the demand of the country,” Sharma had said on Thursday. India is the world’s fourth-largest refiner, and while it majorly depends on imported crude, it is a net exporter of refiner fuels as the refining capacity exceeds domestic consumption. “To say that there is a shortfall of petrol and diesel at any place is incorrect,” She had said.