Guwahati: The Union Petroleum Ministry has stated that companies are ensuring that sufficient supplies of petrol and diesel are available to cater to this extra demand.

According to the Ministry, in recent days, several localities have reported a significant rise in cases of rush at PSU Retail Outlets, resulting in delays and extended waiting time for clients.

"As a result, the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies have speculated about supply limits," it stated.

It claimed that the country's output of gasoline and diesel is more than adequate to meet any rise in demand.

"This exceptional expansion has resulted in some temporary logistical challenges at the local level." Oil companies have prepared to address these issues by "increasing stocks at depots and terminals; increasing the movement of tank trucks and lorries to serve retail outlets; extending working hours of depots and terminals, including at night, to cater to the increased demand, and providing extra quantities of fuel for supply in the affected states," it said.

According to the ministry, the increase in demand is attributable to a seasonal surge in demand owing to agricultural operations, bulk purchasers shifting their purchases to retail outlets, and a significant fall in sales by private marketing businesses, with significant volumes shifting to PSU ROs.

"Concurrently, as a result of the Government's crackdown on unlawful Bio-Diesel sales, these quantities have also been included to the RO Diesel sale," it stated.

It stated that there has been a huge spike in demand for Petrol and Diesel at certain sites in several states, with an increase of up to 50% during the first half of June 2022 over the same period last year.

"This has been observed most notably in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. These are states where a considerable amount of supply is done by Retail Outlets owned by Private Marketing Companies and where distances from supply places, such as ports and depots, are longer "it stated.