Explore Business Standard
Fuel Crisis
Pakistan has announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55 per cent in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD), respectively, in response to spiking global oil prices amid the US-Israel war on Iran. The government made the announcement on Thursday. The price of petrol has been increased by Rs 137.23 per litre (42.7 per cent) to Rs 458.41 from Rs 321.17, while HSD by Rs 184.49 per litre (55 per cent) to Rs 520.35 from Rs 335.86, with immediate effect. The price of kerosene was also increased by Rs 34.08 per litre to Rs 457.80. The government also adjusted the petroleum levy rates to limit the increase in diesel prices as the levy on petrol was increased to Rs 160 per litre from Rs 105, while it was reduced to zero on diesel from Rs 55. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik while making the announcement, which he termed as a "difficult decision", said that the objective was to restrict subsidies to the most deserving segments while maintaining fiscal discipline an
Prices of commercial LPG were hiked by Rs 195.50 on Wednesday, on back of surge in global oil prices linked to the widening West Asia conflict. A 19-kg commercial LPG now costs Rs 2,078.50 in Delhi, according to state-owned oil companies. Rates were last increased by Rs 114.5 per 19-kg cylinder on March 1. Domestic cooking gas LPG rates, which were last hiked by Rs 60 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 7, remain unchanged. It costs Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum revise ATF and LPG prices on the first day of every month based on international benchmarks and the exchange rate. Global oil prices have shot up almost 50 per cent after the war in West Asia disrupted energy supply chains. Petrol and diesel prices continue to remain frozen after a Rs 2 per-litre reduction in March last year; petrol currently costs Rs 94.72 per litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 87.62.
Prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, were more than doubled to a record Rs 2.07 lakh per kilolitre on Wednesday, driven by the the surge in global oil prices linked to the widening West Asia conflict. This is the first time ATF prices have crossed the Rs 2 lakh per kilolitre (kl)-mark. ATF prices in Delhi were hiked to Rs 207,341.22 per kl, from Rs 96,638.14 per kl. On March 1, prices of jet fuel were hiked by 5.7 per cent (Rs 5,244.75 per kl).
The central government has increased commercial LPG allocations to states by 20 per cent, raising the quota to 70 per cent of pre-war demand to meet industrial requirements, including steel and automobiles. In a letter to state chief secretaries, Oil Secretary Neeraj Mittal directed that the additional supply be prioritised for labour-intensive industries such as steel, automobiles, textiles, dyes, chemicals, and plastics, which support other essential sectors. "In addition to the existing 50 per cent allocation, an additional 20 per cent is now proposed, that would bring the total commercial LPG allocation to 70 per cent of the pre-crisis level of the packed non-domestic LPG," he wrote.
The Telangana government on Wednesday debunked claims of a fuel shortage and advised the public to ignore the rumours that have triggered panic buying across the state. As motorists began rushing to fuel stations in Hyderabad amid rumours of shortage since Tuesday evening, the Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association reassured the public that there is adequate stock available with HPCL, IOCL and BPCL, and the supply chains are functioning normally. To address the situation, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will hold a review meeting here on Wednesday with officials on petrol, LPG cylinders and urea stocks, an official release said. After many fuel stations were overcrowded across Hyderabad, motorists were advised not to store fuel in large containers unnecessarily. "As many as 1,500 petrol, diesel tankers were dispatched to fuel stations on Tuesday alone. Around 20,000 kilo liters of petrol is available," Civil Supplies Department Commissioner M Stephen Raveendra said in a .
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said India is well-placed to deal with any situation on crude oil and fuel, as the West Asia crisis disrupts gas shipments and shipping routes, and highlighted that the government has ramped up kerosene production to provide an alternate option for the common man. Speaking at the CNBC-TV India Business Leaders Awards 2026 ceremony, Goyal said the government plans to come up with some "concrete agenda" next week to support exporters. "On crude oil, on fuel, we are pretty well placed. We have good stocks in hand. There's been absolutely no disturbance of any sort on the crude or the fuel front, petrol, diesel, aviation fuel," Goyal said. He said that India has ramped up kerosene production so that, in the event of any delays in LPG supplies, there will be an alternate cooking medium for the common man. "Incidentally, we are also covering through imports from diversified sources the requirements of LPG and LNG," he said. "The shipping times were