6 min readMar 25, 2026 10:07 PM IST
With panic buying of petrol and diesel being reported from some parts of the country amid West Asia war, the government and the oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Wednesday assured that there is no shortage of the two automobile fuels with enough stocks available across India. They also urged citizens to not fall prey to rumours doing rounds on social media and avoid panic buying. Over the past couple of days, there have been instances of long queues outside fuel retail outlets from some parts of the country, like Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
“We have adequate inventory of crude oil, our refineries are operating at optimum capacity…we have an annual crude oil refining capacity of around 26 crore tonnes. I want to say all this because over the past two days we have seen that in various regions, there have been queues outside retail outlets or petrol pumps, and panic buying has also been observed. I want to assure all citizens that petrol and diesel are available in adequate quantities. There is no shortage at petrol pumps or at the fuel terminals that supply to petrol pumps. Therefore, please don’t fall for rumours and avoid panic buying,” said Petroleum Ministry Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma.
According to industry insiders, some fuel pump dealers have raised concerns that a recent change implemented by oil marketing companies (OMCs) in payment terms have impacted their operations. The OMCs now require upfront payments—cash-and-carry model—to be made by dealers before they can lift fuel for sales at the retail outlets. Until recently, in some cases, the OMCs were allowing dealers to take fuel on a few days of credit. On being asked if this is leading to problems at some retail outlets and whether the OMCs plan to offer credit to dealers, Sharma said that cash-and-carry is a routine commercial operation for OMCs. She said that credit policies vary across OMCs, and it is their commercial decision which they can review and look into if required.
In a public advisory, the country’s largest refiner and fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation said, “There is no shortage of petrol or diesel. Rumours circulating online can create unnecessary concern and disrupt normal supply patterns. IndianOil outlets are well-stocked and fully operational. We urge citizens to avoid panic buying and rely only on verified information. Together, we can keep the system running efficiently for everyone.” The other two public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs)—Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) also issued advisories. Together, the three companies have a 90% share in India’s petrol and diesel retail segment.
“Rumors of petrol and diesel shortages are completely unfounded. India has ample fuel reserves and supply chains are running normally. BPCL is fully operational and committed to uninterrupted fuel supply. Please don’t rely on rumors or crowd fuel stations and only rely on official sources for further information,” BPCL said. HPCL also said that there is no shortage of the fuels. “Fuel supplies remain stable, and adequate stocks are available. Customers are advised not to be misled by rumours or resort to panic buying. Please continue with normal consumption patterns,” it said.
The war in West Asia and the consequent disruption in global energy supplies from the region has impacted India’s oil and gas imports. While LPG supplies have been hit the hardest, and some stress is also visible in natural gas supplies, supplies of crude oil—from which petrol and diesel are produced—has been the least impacted. India has also ramped up crude oil imports from non-West Asia sources, particularly Russia, to cover the shortfall. Early March, a top government official had said that India had around eight weeks of oil and fuel—petrol and diesel—stocks at the time, which would continue to be replenished as supplies from non-West Asia regions will continue to come in, and so will additional volumes being purchased to cover the import gap.
India depends on imports to meet over 88% of its crude oil needs; around 40% of India’s oil imports come from West Asia via the critical maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, where vessel movement has all but come to a halt. In natural gas, import dependency is around 50%, with around 60% of imports coming via the Strait of Hormuz. In the case of LPG, however, India relies on imports to meet 60% of its needs, and a staggering 90% of the imports come through the fraught waters of the strait.
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The LPG supply constraint has forced the government to heavily cut supplies to commercial and industrial consumers in an effort to ensure uninterrupted supplies to crores of households that use the fuel for cooking. Additionally, the government ordered refiners to maximise LPG production, and directed them to divert propane, butane, and other streams from petrochemical manufacturing to LPG production. These measures have led to an increase of 40% in domestic LPG production vis-à-vis pre-West Asia conflict levels, which means that India’s own LPG production is now meeting roughly 55% of the country’s demand versus 40% earlier.
The government has also cut natural gas supplies to certain industries, and drawn out a priority list of the critical consuming sectors, with 100% supplies being maintained for segments like pied natural gas (PNG) consumed by households, and compressed natural gas (CNG) used as fuel for vehicles. However, no rationing measures have been implemented for crude oil, petrol, and diesel so far, indicating that their supplies and stocks are relatively better.
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