New Delhi: Petrol pump dealers across several states said state-run fuel retailers Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) are supplying lower-than-ordered quantities of petrol and diesel amid rising demand and panic buying triggered by fears of supply disruptions.
Dealers said fuel supplies from BPCL and HPCL over the past three weeks have been delayed by two to three days in some cases, while several outlets are receiving only around 80% of their usual orders. The supply strain comes even as petrol and diesel prices were raised by ₹3 per litre each on Friday.
“Supply constraints are emerging now. There is a backlog of supplies at HPCL and BPCL pumps. Supplies are being delayed by about two-three days,” said Monty Sehgal, spokesperson for the Petrol Pump Dealers Association in Punjab. “In some cases, supplies are about 80% of last year’s levels.”
BPCL and HPCL together account for nearly 55% of the roughly 90,600 fuel retail outlets operated by state-run oil marketing companies, including Indian Oil Corp. India has around 100,000 retail fuel outlets overall, with the remainder operated by private retailers such as Reliance Industries-backed Jio-bp and Nayara Energy.
The development assumes importance given that India is the world’s third-largest oil consumer with its petroleum product demand expected to reach 250.8 million tonnes (mt) in FY27, compared to 239.2 mt in FY25. In April, petrol demand increased by 6.36% to 3.67 million tonnes, while the increase in diesel demand was muted at 0.25% to 8.28 million tonnes on a year-on-year basis.
A petrol pump dealer in Delhi said that supplies of diesel, which is used mostly for commercial transport, have been largely hit, while petrol supplies have largely remained stable, helping avoid panic among retail buyers.
“Retailers that earlier ordered around 20,000 litres of fuel daily are now able to place orders for only about 16,000 litres, or roughly 80% of pre-war levels,” the dealer said on condition of anonymity.
In some cases, shorter supply cycles are triggering panic buying, according to Uday Lodh, president of the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD). “If consumers face difficulties buying fuel at one outlet, they rush to nearby pumps, which then struggle to meet the sudden spike in demand,” said Lodh.
Further, Marri Amarender Reddy, general secretary of United Petroleum Dealers Association (UPDA) and president of the Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association (TPDA), noted that HPCL, BPCL pumps are receiving less fuel than they order, and are unable to meet the increased demand.
“Further, HPCL is asking the dealers to push for sale of premium diesel rather than regular,” Reddy said. In a letter to HPCL dated 11 May, UPDA had pointed this out and requested immediate intervention to “ensure that indents are processed fairly and dealers are not coerced into specific product sales”.
The CIPD also made a similar request in a letter dated 13 May to HPCL, which Mint has reviewed.
Anil Razdan, former special secretary in the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said: “The increase in global oil prices has not been reflected in the retail fuel prices. So, oil marketing companies may be under financial stress, which may lead to such instances of restricted supply.”
Queries emailed to the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas and HPCL remained unanswered till press time.
A BPCL spokesperson told Mint that the information suggesting “restricted supplies” is not factually correct, and that the company continues to maintain robust fuel supplies across its retail network, and there has been no systemic reduction in supplies.
“In fact, during the period from 1st to 14th May 2026, BPCL recorded significantly higher growth in retail sales compared to historical trends, reflecting both strong consumer demand and the company’s operational capability to meet it,. BPCL’s petrol (MS) sales grew by 16.8% and diesel (HSD) sales by 16.0% during the period, which is broadly in line with overall PSU industry growth,” the spokesperson said.
The recent surge in demand in certain geographies, driven largely by panic buying and precautionary stock-ups amid global developments, has led to temporary pressure on logistics and replenishment cycles at select locations, the spokesperson said, adding that these are isolated operational situations and not indicative of any supply shortage.
“BPCL has activated enhanced monitoring mechanisms across supply locations, depots, and retail outlets to ensure uninterrupted supplies. The company is continuously optimising tanker movement, inventory management, and replenishment planning to cater to elevated demand patterns. We would also like to reiterate that India’s fuel supply chain remains resilient, and BPCL is fully committed to ensuring seamless availability of fuels to consumers across its network,” the spokesperson added.
Mint had earlier reported that state-run had stopped petrol and diesel sales on credit to fuel retailers and sought advance payments to curb off-take.
Also, private OMCs, which account for around a tenth of India’s petroleum retail outlets, have curtailed late-night operations in some states including Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The government has called for austerity measures to reduce consumption of petrol and diesel, while claiming that there is no fuel shortage in the country. Earlier this week, the informal group of ministers (IGoM) on the West Asia crisis was informed by the petroleum ministry that India has 60 days of crude oil, 60 days of natural gas and 45 days of rolling stock.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently urged the citizens to rationalize energy consumption through measures such as working from home and greater use of public transport.
Addressing an event in New Delhi, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there was no fuel shortage despite global tensions, and that the prime minister’s appeal to conserve fuel was aimed at reducing unnecessary energy consumption.