No need to stock fuel
For the past few days again people across districts have been running to stock fuel by not only filling the tanks of their vehicles but also storing fuel in cans as well.
This unprecedented rush for stocking fuel has led to a crisis and panic situation among the people as well as the administration. So much so that the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was forced to announce that fuel stations will be shut down in case the situation continues to remain like this.
It is understood that a crisis situation is going on in the Middle East and the fuel supplies to most of the Asian countries has taken a severe hit. But that does not mean that we should panic and resort to hoarding and stocking of fuel and LPG creating a tough situation for the administration as well for others.
As of now the crisis as claimed by many has not turned so grave that people need to rush to fuel stations and fill whatever containers they get. Just yesterday government officials in Delhi said that the country has about 60 days of oil stock cover and has arranged one full month of LPG supply, adding that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel, or LPG.
It was perhaps for the first time and amid reports of panic buying and long queues at petrol pumps and LPG distributors, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, for the first time since the war in West Asia broke out, released stock details of crude oil, fuels and LPG as it rushed to calm nerves.
While the Iran war has disrupted the supply of half of the crude oil (raw material used to make fuels like petrol and diesel), 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.
On LPG, whose supply has been scarce because of the shutting down of Strait of Hormuz – the conduit which shipped a bulk of Indian supplies, the ministry said 800,000 tonnes of LPG cargoes have been secured and one full month of supply is firmly arranged.
Notably, India, the world’s fourth-largest refiner and fifth-largest exporter of petroleum products, has structurally assured domestic fuel availability and continues to supply refined fuels to over 150 countries.
As of now the country has 74 days of total crude oil and fuel stocking capacity. And with the next two months of crude procurement already secured, India is completely secure for the next many months and the quantity in strategic cavern storage becomes secondary in such a supply situation.
What worsened the situation was some misleading social media posts and fabricated claims of shortages or emergency measures which were being spread to create unnecessary anxiety.
India has one lakh-plus retail fuel outlets across the country which have remained open and were dispensing fuel without interruption. This measure should be enough to know that there is no shortage of fuel as replenishments for these fuel stations were not hampered.
Though commercial cylinder allocations did witness some disruptions but as of now it has been raised to 70 per cent in consultation with state governments to avoid hoarding or black marketing.
The government is taking measures and hopefully, the situation will ease immediately in-case the much a talked about ceasefire is implemented. As for now the people too need to act mature and desist from spreading rumours or falling for these rumours.
