Former BPCL marketing director Sukhmal Kumar Jain claimed on Sunday that the country does not have a petrol or diesel shortage and that the public sector oil marketing companies are doing a good job of controlling fuel consumption and supply, all in response to worries about fuel availability in certain areas.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Jain stated that the petroleum retail network in India is still dominated by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs), which guarantees consistent product availability across the country.
His reasoning was that the public sector oil marketing corporations were handling consumption to a “full extent,” thus he didn’t see a scarcity.
Public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) have extensive distribution coverage, with 85,000 petrol stations out of about 100,000 retail locations in the nation (Jain).
“Well, I can say that with some certainty because public sector oil marketing companies hold the majority of the retail outlets. Out of the 100,000+ outlets, approximately 85,000 are theirs,” he continued.
Incidental disruptions may arise as a result of regional operational issues, Jain conceded, but emphasised that this in no way suggests a systemic shortage in supplies.
According to him, there is no scarcity, although there may be stray cases for other causes (IANS, 2019).
Jain, commenting on the current state of the market, stated that the worldwide crude oil markets are extremely unpredictable due to the many factors that affect the profitability of oil firms.
He emphasised how the industry has been hit by factors such as currency volatility, increased shipping and insurance costs, and escalating oil prices.
A number of factors are at play, and the scenario is quite unpredictable. If you have seen crude oil, then you have witnessed the movement of shipping costs, insurance, and currency rates, according to Jain.
He pointed out that oil marketing organisations are already feeling the financial pinch from exchange rates that have risen from their previous range of 89 to 90 to almost 96.
The cumulative effect of these price pressures, says Jain, is causing oil corporations to lose an estimated 600–700 crore rupees daily.
Profit margins may be tight, but he insisted that the nation’s public oil corporations are still keeping the fuel flowing and keeping an eye on energy consumption.
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