Petrol demand doubles in Nagpur as panic buying rises

Fuel consumption in Vidarbha surged sharply as panic buying began on Tuesday, with petrol sales shooting to more than double the normal daily quota. The trend continued at the same pace on Wednesday, putting massive pressure on fuel supplies. A senior official from a PSU oil company said the firm usually sells around 800 kilolitres (KL) of petrol per day in Vidarbha, but the figure jumped to nearly 2,200KL on Tuesday.

Fuel Sales Surge Across Nagpur

Diesel sales also recorded a steep rise, increasing to nearly one-and-a-half times the usual daily consumption. Within Nagpur city, the sale of petrol and diesel doubled on Tuesday and stayed high on Wednesday, leading to widespread shortages across pumps. The three PSU oil companies, each holding around 30–35% of the market share, sold nearly 6,000KL of petrol and about 10,000KL of diesel in a single day.

Sources said the panic began in Gujarat a couple of days earlier and rapidly spread to Maharashtra. Meanwhile, slow replenishment from depots heightened the crisis. Dealers explained that even under normal circumstances, such a system could cause supply delays, but after the West Asia crisis, companies tightened restrictions further. As a result, many pumps could not refill their tanks in time.

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In Nagpur city alone, which has 64 fuel pumps, each oil company typically sells 170–240KL of petrol per day, but these numbers doubled due to panic buying. Diesel sales followed the same pattern. Federation officials said pump owners must now deposit daily cash in banks and wait for the amount to reach company accounts through RTGS, which takes two to three hours. Payments reaching after 2:30 pm are no longer accepted for same-day refilling because depots such as Nayara Energy’s Wardha facility shut operations after that time. Even BPCL’s Borkhedi depot, which remains open late, observes the same 2:30 pm payment deadline.

Dealers Report New Petrol Supply Limits

Dealers also claimed companies have recently limited the supply quota to last year’s off-take, and in some cases, pumps are being asked to lift lubricants if they want their fuel supply. With crude oil prices rising globally, some sources suggested that slowing down sales might help companies reduce losses. Both companies and dealers, however, insisted that depots are not facing any shortage of stock. They warned that panic buying alone is worsening the situation across Nagpur and surrounding districts.

Fuel supply to Vidarbha currently comes from BPCL, Nayara Energy, and IOCL depots located in Wardha, Akola, and Chandrapur. As of Wednesday, Nayara had 2,900KL of petrol and 9,800KL of diesel in stock, with another consignment of 2,900KL petrol and over 3,700KL diesel on the way. BPCL reported 3,500KL petrol and 10,500KL diesel on Wednesday, while IOCL’s Tadali depot had 2,700KL petrol and 8,700KL diesel. The Akola depot held over ten days of stock. Officials added that the closure of IOCL’s Khapri depot due to railway land acquisition has reduced supply capacity, and its availability could have eased some of the pressure currently faced in the region.

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