New Delhi: The government on Sunday rejected rumours of an automobile fuel shortage and an anticipated retail price hike that had led to “panic buying” in parts of the country. The petroleum ministry assured of adequate petrol and diesel stocks and said their retail prices were unchanged. It also said while cooking gas supplies remained strained due to the West Asia war, household demand had been being prioritized and no shortages have been reported.
“Panic buying is observed at certain retail outlets due to rumours. It is informed that there are adequate stocks of petrol and diesel available at all petrol pumps in the country,” the ministry’s statement said. “Regular retail prices for petrol and diesel are unchanged and there is no price increase at PSU OMCs retail outlets.”
“All refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories, while sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel are being maintained,” the ministry added.
Apart from concerns over low stocks in some parts, an anticipation of a looming fuel price hike after the recently concluded state assembly elections led to panic buying of automobile fuels.
On 1 May, state-run oil-marketing companies raised prices of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel prices for international airlines, while keeping prices unchanged for regular petrol, diesel and domestic LPG.
“Supply of LPG to domestic households has been prioritized and no dry-outs have been reported at LPG distributorships,” the ministry statement said.
While domestic LPG prices were kept unchanged, commercial gas prices were hiked by nearly ₹1,000 a cylinder. The price of a 19kg commercial LPG cylinder, used largely by restaurants and hotels, now costs ₹3,071.50 in Delhi, up ₹993. Likewise, a 5kg free-trade LPG (FTL) cylinder, used by immigrant labourers and students from other states staying in rented accommodation, will come for ₹810.50 in Delhi, up ₹261.7
The supply of commercial LPG, largely used by restaurants, hotels and industries, remains curtailed at about 70% of the pre-war levels. This had been completely halted and the supply diverted to households, but it was subsequently eased.
The government has also increased the LPG availability for 5kg cylinders last month. Since last month, over 234.4 million of these FTL cylinders were sold, of which 66,000 were delivered on Saturday. Around 4.7 million domestic LPG cylinders were also delivered on Saturday, the ministry said. Domestic LPG production had been increased to support domestic consumption, it added.
The ministry also said an India-bound LPG tanker with 46,313 tonnes of cooking gas—adequate for half a day of India’s consumption—safely crossed the Hormuz chokepoint on Saturday and is expected to arrive at the Visakhapatnam port on 13 May. It had 20 crew members onboard, including 18 Indians.
Opec output hike
Further, in a key development for the global oil markets, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies—known as Opec+—has agreed to a modest crude oil output increase of about 188,000 barrels a day for June, as the blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz continues, disrupting global energy supplies.
As Opec+ countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, have committed to increase their output, the announcement is largely symbolic as global supplies remain affected due to the blockade of the crucial energy pathway Strait of Hormuz by both Iran and the US.
“In their collective commitment to support oil market stability, the seven participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 188 thousand barrels per day from the additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023,” the cartel’s statement said. The countries will next meet on 7 June.
This was the first meeting of Opec+ after the exit of the United Arab Emirates from the cartel on 1 May.
