In the first signs of pressure on retail prices of fuel amidst the escalating tensions in West Asia and its impact on fuel supplies, privately-owned oil marketing company Nayara Energy Thursday hiked prices of petrol and diesel at its pumps by ₹5 and ₹3, for every litre, respectively.

Prices of petrol at Nayara Energy pumps have been hiked by ₹5 to ₹105.71 for every litre, whilst diesel has been hiked by ₹3 to ₹94.31 for every litre.

In a statement issued earlier in the day, the refiner held the ongoing disruption in crude oil supplies, because of the escalating tensions in West Asia, have created “unprecedented challenges in the industry, impacting several aspects of fuel disruption and availability”.

For context, Tehran’s announcement of the closure of Strait of Hormuz has had an impact on approximately one-fourth of the world’s seaborne oil trade that transits through the Strait. The same has also contributed to spike in oil prices and pressure on refiners. At the time of writing, benchmark Brent Crude futures (May) were trading approximately 4% up at $106.28 for every barrel.

In the same statement, the privately-owned refiner assured their retail network continues to “operate normally, with no interruptions in service across our outlets”. It added, “Our refinery turnaround has been meticulously planned, and we remain fully equipped to ensure that there will be no shortfall in fuel supplies during this period.”

Transporter association fear rationing in pumps

Abhishek Gupta, General Secretary at the All-India Transporters’ Welfare Association (AITWA), in a statement issued Thursday, emphasised that private OMCs, including Nayara, are unable to cater to the increased demand, also coming from industrial customers, because of the hike in rates. This, according to AITWA, has led to customers to public-sector OMCs.

“Due to this rationing could be done by pump owners,” he stated, adding, “We are keeping close watch on the ground situation and will update if anything worrisome arises.”