No fuel shortage in Karnataka; Oil Marketing Companies ramp up supply

Seeking to quell rising public anxiety, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) on Thursday assured citizens that Karnataka’s fuel and LPG supply remains stable and robust despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Addressing a press conference in the city, Siddharth Agarwal, state level coordinator for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated that there is absolutely no shortage of petrol or diesel in the state.

He emphasised that the state’s extensive infrastructure anchored by the MRPL refinery in Mangaluru with a 15 MMTPA capacity is operating at full throttle to ensure seamless distribution.

The LPG ecosystem is equally strong, with 12 bottling plants and 1,279 distributorships catering to a vast consumer base. On the retail front, Karnataka has 7,593 fuel stations, including 2,964 IndianOil outlets, 1,911 Bharat Petroleum outlets, and 1,722 Hindustan Petroleum outlets and 437 CNG outlets along with private players.

These outlets are well distributed across urban, highway, and rural locations, ensuring universal accessibility. 

Panic booking strains LPG delivery

The primary concern for many households has been the extended waiting period for LPG cylinders. Aggarwal clarified that a massive surge in panic bookings during March where daily requests spiked to 3.75 lakh compared to the usual sub-3 lakh average led to temporary backlogs.

 "In early March, bookings on certain days increased tenfold. This wasn't due to a lack of supply but because customers were booking refills they didn't immediately need," Aggarwal said.

To stabilise the situation, the government introduced a mandatory gap of 25 days between bookings for urban areas and 45 days for rural markets. The situation is now normalising, with current daily deliveries at 3.06 lakh cylinders.

Auto LPG crisis: Private player exit to blame

Commuters and auto-rickshaw drivers have faced the brunt of the crisis, with long queues seen at retail outlets across Bengaluru. Officials attributed this to the withdrawal of private players, who previously held 80% of the state's Auto LPG market share.

With private stations operating partially or closing down, the entire demand has shifted to the 67 OMC-run stations. "We have doubled our supply from 56 metric tonnes to 106 metric tonnes per day to compensate for the private sector gap," Aggarwal noted.

Crackdown on black marketing

To combat hoarding and price gouging, the state government and OMCs have launched a massive enforcement drive. Over 3,735 raids have been conducted so far, resulting in the seizure of 1,840 cylinders and 37 arrests.

For those without address proof or those facing immediate shortages, the OMCs are promoting 5 kg Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinders. These can be purchased from camps or dealerships with just a government ID. Over 200 such camps have already been held across the state to assist migrant populations and low-income households.

Authorities have urged the public to ignore rumours and use official helplines (1967 for food/civil supplies or 112 for police assistance) to report black marketing. "The supply chain from the refinery to the last mile is resilient. We are fully prepared to meet any surge in demand," the coordinator concluded.

CGM (CGD), GAIL Sanjay Kumar Singh said "Our focus is ensuring safety and convenience for every household. He urged the public to switch from LPG to PNG as it is available through pipeline connection like water, we are rapidly expanding infrastructure. We aim for 54,000 new connections in Bengaluru, transitioning customers from LPG to a more reliable, efficient, and modern energy source."