Reliance Industries Ltd has capped fuel purchases across its retail outlets – limiting customers to around $11 worth of petrol or diesel – as the Middle East crisis continues to choke supplies despite an initial ceasefire.
The country’s largest private sector oil refiner is restricting individual purchases to 1,000 rupees ($10.8) per visit at gas stations it runs with partner BP Plc, according to people familiar with the matter. The joint venture has more than 2,000 fuel pumps across the country.
While the company has not issued any official directive, Jio-BP pump operators have begun enforcing the caps to curb panic buying and prevent its stations from running dry as demand surges, said the people, who requested anonymity as the information is not public.
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This legalization comes at a time when India, the third largest oil consumer in the world, is facing the repercussions of the almost complete closure that has been ongoing for weeks of the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital corridor for global shipments of crude oil, oil and natural gas. While there is a fragile truce between the United States and Iran, oil tanker traffic remains disrupted and insurance companies continue to classify the region as high risk.
A Reliance spokesperson said there is no directive restricting the amount of fuel customers can buy, while acknowledging that such cases may have been the result of a “local” situation.
Ripple effect
While Reliance operates just 2% of India’s more than 102,000 fuel stations, it is the first operator to go beyond price hikes to supply rationing, reflecting the rising uncertainty spreading through India’s energy market.
The state-run companies — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation — that control the vast majority of gas stations have not officially announced price hikes or purchasing limits, but drivers have anecdotally reported similar Rs 1,000 limits being imposed at some gas stations.
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Nayara Energy, another private sector fuel retailer, raised diesel and gasoline prices last month in a bid to trim losses in retail sales and ease consumption, local media reported. The company, which has about 7% of the market, is partly owned by Russian energy giant Rosneft PJSC.
India imports more than 90% of its oil needs, which makes it particularly vulnerable to unrest in the Persian Gulf. Brent crude prices remained volatile as traders evaluated the duration of the Hormuz siege against global inventories and the risks of the ceasefire faltering.
State-owned refiners last reduced pump prices in March 2024 under government intervention. Fuel retailers are currently losing Rs 24.40 per liter of petrol sold and Rs 104.99 per liter of diesel, the Federal Petroleum Ministry said in a post on X on April 1.
