Highway fuel crunch: Pumps ration supply amid replenishment delays

In the wake of the government’s first fuel hike in response to the oil price shock triggered by the ongoing war in West Asia, a logistical bottleneck has emerged across several highway retail outlets in some states. This has led to localised supply rationing.

Several pumps across India’s highways are silently capping fuel supply or shutting down until the next truck arrives, according to travellers Business Today spoke to.

Across key circles including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand highway retail outlets are grappling with sluggish supplies and significant delivery delays from fuel depots to the pump stations. In about a dozen instances, pumps have either temporarily suspended operations or implemented strict rationing to preserve dwindling stocks.

The petroleum ministry, however, denies any shortages or dry outs. "OMCs have not flagged any dry outs or delays to the Ministry, we are not aware of any such instances,'' an official who did not wish to be named told Business Today. 

In one instance, half a dozen travellers returning from Bihar to New Delhi reported a grueling journey of over 1,000 kms where they were forced to refuel every few kilometers. From the start of their trip in Bihar all the way to Agra, they were permitted a maximum of only ₹500 worth of petrol per station.

A similar pattern emerged for a couple traveling from Maharashtra to Delhi. As they crossed multiple state borders, they witnessed a consistent capping of supplies at several outlets, with refuelling strictly limited to a range of ₹1,000 to ₹2,000.

At several outlets, the message from attendants was the same: conserve what is in the underground tanks until the next replenishment fuel tank truck arrives. This suggests that while average daily stock levels at these high-volume stations typically range between 25,000 and 26,000 litres, current inventory at some highway stations has plummeted to nearly half roughly 13,000 litres.

Business Today reached out to OMCs, their response is awaited.

According to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India’s fuel retail infrastructure recently surpassed the 100,000 petrol pump mark, reaching a total of 100,266 outlets and solidifying its position as the world's third-largest network.

State-owned Oil Marketing Companies, IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL continue to dominate the landscape, controlling approximately 90% of the retail footprint, with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) alone operating over 41,600 stations. Meanwhile, private players such as Nayara Energy, Jio-bp (a Reliance-BP joint venture), and Shell now account for roughly 9.3% of the market. This vast network is fed by a complex supply chain where fuel moves from major domestic refineries through a 20,000-km pipeline network to regional depots, before specialized Tank Trucks (TTs) complete the last-mile delivery.

However, because highway and rural outlets now comprise nearly 29% of this total network and are often far from central depots, they remain uniquely vulnerable to the sluggish logistics and delivery delays currently causing localised rationing.

A standard urban pump typically holds 20,000 to 40,000 litres. However, large highway Mega Outlets are designed for a much higher throughput, often holding 50,000 to 70,000 litres. When stocks at these critical junctions drop to the 13,000-liter mark, operators often resort to rationing to prevent a total dry-out before the next tanker arrives.

India’s petrol and diesel primarily originate from massive refineries such as Jamnagar or Vadinar for private players, and Paradip, Panipat, or Mumbai for PSUs.