'No need to panic': Govt claims 60 days of oil stocks, eight lakh tonnes of LPG secured

New Delhi: Amid reports of panic buying and long queues at petrol pumps and LPG distributors, the Centre on Thursday claimed that India has about 60 days of oil stock cover and has secured one full month of LPG supply.

Insisting that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel, or LPG, the government said some people spread misleading information to create panic among the public.

The government warned that misleading social media posts and fabricated claims of shortages would invite strict action.

All retail fuel outlets across the country - more than one lakh pumps - are adequately stocked and functioning without interruption. No rationing of petrol or diesel has been imposed anywhere.

With some petrol pumps, especially in smaller towns, finding difficulty in lifting fuel after oil companies put them on cash-and-carry, the ministry said steps have been taken to increase credit to petrol pumps to over three days from earlier allowed one day in order to ensure that there is no shortage of petrol and diesel at any pump due to working capital issues of pump owners.

While the Iran war has disrupted the supply of half of the crude oil, the country has secured enough crude supplies from elsewhere for the next 60 days.

Also, fuel tanks are at optimum levels and can help cover two months of requirements.

LPG status

On LPG, the ministry said 8,00,000 tonnes of LPG cargoes have been secured and one full month of supply is firmly arranged.

Domestic refinery LPG production has been ramped up by 40 per cent, reaching 50,000 tonnes per day - more than 60 per cent of India’s daily requirement of around 80,000 tonnes. This has reduced the net daily import requirement to just 30,000 tonnes.

Oil companies are delivering over 50 lakh cylinders daily. Panic buying had temporarily pushed demand to 89 lakh cylinders per day, but it has since returned to normal levels, the statement said.

On natural gas, India produces 92 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) domestically out of a total requirement of 191 mmscmd, making it far less import-dependent than on LPG.

The ministry reiterated that India is completely secure for the next several months and urged citizens to ignore unfounded claims about depleted reserves.