Amid the ongoing crisis in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said during an inter-ministerial briefing on Wednesday that India’s crude oil reserves are adequate and the government has ensured adequate supplies for the next two months.
Assuring stability in fuel supply, Sharma said, “Our refineries are functioning at the highest level. There has been no report of fuel shortage at retail outlets.”
Highlighting global price trends, he said, “About two months ago Brent crude was selling around $70 per barrel, and today it has crossed $100 per barrel.” Despite this sharp increase, he stressed, “There has been no increase in the prices of petrol and diesel for domestic consumers.”
He further said, “There is no increase in petrol and diesel prices from April 6, 2022, and the price reduction by Rs 2 in March 2024 is still effective.”
On government measures, Sharma said, “To protect domestic consumers from international price volatility, the Government of India reduced excise duty so that prices do not rise.” However, he admitted, “Prices have been kept stable, resulting in lower profits for our oil marketing companies (OMCs) on both petrol and diesel.”
He further said, “To ensure availability of ATF and diesel in the domestic market, the Government of India has imposed export duty.”
Urging to maintain calm, Sharma said, “I want to assure that we have adequate quantity of petrol and diesel available, and I request all citizens to avoid panic buying.”
Regarding natural gas supply, he said, “100 per cent supply has been ensured for domestic consumers and CNG transportation.” He further said that expansion efforts are ongoing and informed, “Gas was supplied to approximately 325,000 connections in March, 285,000 new connections were provided and 350,000 new consumers registered for connections.”
Regarding LPG, Sharma said, “Our import dependence is about 60 percent.” “International LPG prices (Saudi CP benchmark) have increased from $522 to $780. However, despite this, there has been no increase in the prices of LPG cylinders for domestic consumers,” he said.
He further said, “Due to this increase in prices, oil marketing companies (OMCs) will have to face lower realizations as before.”
Referring to government support, he said, “In 2023, the government had provided about Rs 22,000 crore to OMCs, and for 2025-26, about Rs 30,000 crore has been sanctioned to offset such losses.”
Regarding the supply situation, Sharma said, “There has been no report of shortage of cylinders at any LPG distributor. Around 60 lakh cylinders were distributed yesterday.”
He also said, “For commercial LPG, the government has ensured about 70 per cent supply,” and added, “Additional kerosene has also been allocated to states and union territories as an alternative fuel.”
On enforcement measures, Sharma said, “State governments have been requested to help effectively control rumors and panic. Around 2,800 raids have been conducted and around 500 cylinders have been seized.”
Reiterating her appeal, she said, “I urge everyone not to panic buy petrol, diesel and LPG. There has been no increase in the prices of LPG, petrol and diesel for domestic use.”
The West Asia crisis began with the attacks on Iran by the US and Israel on February 28 and Iran’s subsequent retaliation.