May 2026 saw a dramatic increase in national fuel consumption, driven by transportation, agriculture, and freight demand during the high summer season. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) ensured that fuel and LPG supplies were uninterrupted throughout India.
Company data shows that diesel demand surged by 8% in May, while sales of petrol climbed by 3.4% year-on-year, contributing to a 6.4% year-on-year increase in India’s total fuel sales.
In the month of April, HPCL distributed 12.85 lakh kilolitres of petrol and 21.49 lakh kilolitres of diesel through its retail network across the country, meeting the increasing demand for these fuels with no disruptions in supply whatsoever.
A massive 2.35 lakh fuel tankers carrying SKO-PDS products, diesel and petrol were dispatched by the company’s supply chain. This resulted in almost 7,500 tanker movements every day, crossing highways, cities, rural areas, and outlying areas at a rate of nearly one every eleven seconds.
As a result of the unusually hot summer—with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in many regions—the demand for fuel surged. During the Kharif planting season, diesel usage skyrocketed due to the increased agricultural activity.
Diesel demand across India’s retail fuel network was driven higher by an increase in the usage of tractors, irrigation pumps, harvest-linked logistics, freight transit, and commercial activity.
Throughout the month, HPCL bolstered its LPG distribution network, supplying 393 lakh cylinders to homes across the country. Clean cooking fuel is now more accessible to smaller households and communities thanks to the 7,00,867 5-kg cylinders and 35,795 2-kg cylinders supplied by the company.
Faster allocation, real-time tracking, and better customer service were made possible by digital systems, which continued to promote delivery efficiency. Nearly 99.3 percent of LPG bookings were processed online.
Across the board, gasoline use increased year over year. Diesel retail sales surged to 1,882 TMT in May 2026 from 1,742 TMT in May 2025, while petrol retail sales rose to 950 TMT from 919 TMT the previous year.
Diesel sales increased by 8 percent, driven by more robust logistical activity and higher agricultural demand on the nation’s highways and rural transportation networks.
When it came to its LPG distribution network, HPCL ramped up monitoring in tandem with its supply operations. The business verified inventory, checked cylinder weights, and ensured last-mile delivery compliance during 1,818 inspections in May. Seventy distributors were subject to enforcement actions at that time.
HPCL has stated that its continued priority is to guarantee the uninterrupted availability of gasoline and LPG through the use of technology in operations, strong management of the supply chain, and coordinated logistics across the country.
Image: The New Indian Express
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