In recent days, a comprehensive increase in the demand and off-take of petroleum products has been registered due to the ongoing seasonal agricultural activities and intensive harvesting works across various states. In view of this sharp surge in fuel demand owing to the harvest season, public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL, are actively engaged in ensuring the seamless availability of Petrol (MS), Diesel (HSD), and LPG through their nationwide operational and logistics coordination. According to the official information shared by Nitin Chavan, Divisional Retail Sales Head (DRSH), Raipur DO, Indian Oil and State Level Coordinator for Chhattisgarh, the entire supply mechanism across the country and State has been maintained smoothly without any interruption despite this high demand from the agricultural sector. Nitin Chavan clarified that apart from the ongoing engagements in the fields, the preference of general consumers towards public sector retail outlets has also significantly increased due to lower and controlled prices compared to other private suppliers. Along with this, a distinct shift towards retail fuel outlets has now been made by several institutional and commercial consumers as well. To effectively handle this unprecedented demand, these public sector companies are continuously strengthening their back-end arrangements through their vast national network — that includes terminals, depots, pipelines, LPG bottling plants, and retail outlets. Currently, the supply teams, transportation networks, terminal operations, and selected retail outlets of these companies are working round-the-clock (24x7) to ensure seamless movement and time-bound replenishment of products. Apart from this, close coordination is being consistently maintained with local state administrations to keep this fuel supply chain smooth.

 

A highly robust growth has been observed in the sale of automotive fuel during May 2026, under which petrol sales recorded a growth of around 4% and diesel sales increased by about 17%. Additionally, compared to the previous month, the total volume of petrol sales registered a jump of nearly 22%, while diesel sales witnessed an increase of about 17%. This temporary surge in the demand for automotive fuels is primarily a result of the ongoing agricultural season in rural areas, along with panic buying being resorted to by urban and semi-urban consumers in certain places. The supply of domestic LPG (cooking gas) has also been kept on top priority by the oil companies and no significant increase has been allowed in the LPG backlog. Currently, the backlog status stands at a mere 3.5 days, which falls completely within the normal category. These final sales figures clearly validate that the supply of both automotive fuels and LPG within the state of Chhattisgarh has been continuously maintained normally without any major disruption. Nitin Chavan fully assured all consumers across the country and State that an adequate buffer stock of petrol, diesel, and LPG is available and all necessary steps are being taken to maintain it. Oil marketing companies are reviewing the stock position on a daily basis and are maintaining strict control over their logistics and distribution plans to meet this increased demand well in time. Therefore, citizens are specially requested not to pay attention to any kind of rumors, maintain their normal buying behavior, and avoid any kind of unnecessary panic buying. Along with this, consumers are also urged to rely only on official press releases issued from time to time by authorized agencies and oil marketing companies for accurate and correct information regarding fuel availability.