Shortage rumours triggered 75-77% spike in fuel sales in UP on Thursday: Oil firms | Lucknow News

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh recorded an unprecedented surge in fuel sales this week as widespread rumours of a possible shortage led to panic buying across the state. According to oil marketing companies (OMCs), petrol and diesel sales jumped by 75-77% between March 24 and March 26, far exceeding normal consumption trends.Before March 23, the state’s average daily sale was around 1.7 crore litres petrol and 3.1 crore litres diesel. However, sales began rising steadily from Tuesday (March 24) and peaked on Thursday (March 26) when ‘shortage’ rumours led to massive queues at the fuel stations in several districts.Data shared by OMCs shows that on March 24, petrol sales increased by 4% and diesel by 19%. The upward trend intensified on Wednesday, with petrol demand rising 38% and diesel 36%. On Thursday (March 26), the situation escalated sharply, breaking previous records as petrol consumption surged by 77% and diesel by 75% at the state level.The spike was particularly pronounced in eastern and central districts of Uttar Pradesh. On Thursday, Deoria and Kaushambi recorded the highest growth in petrol sales at 222% each, followed by Gorakhpur 214%, Prayagraj 212%, Pratapgarh 205%, Bhadohi 197% and Shravasti 192%. Diesel sales reflected a similar pattern, with Pratapgarh registering a growth of 230%, Deoria 226%, Shravasti 189%, Maharajganj 181%, Azamgarh 177%, Jaunpur 173% and Gorakhpur 172%.Lucknow, too, recorded an 80% increase in both petrol and diesel sales. Under normal conditions, the district’s daily consumption is about nine lakh litres of petrol and eight lakh litres of diesel. However, within the municipal limits, petrol sales jumped by 109% and that of diesel by 100%.Sanjay Bhandari, executive director, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and State-Level Coordinator of Oil Marketing Companies, said petrol consumption in Uttar Pradesh rose to nearly 2.9 crore litres on March 26, compared to about 1.5 crore litres on the same date last year. Diesel consumption also saw a sharp increase, reaching 5.1 crore litres compared to 2.8 crore litres recorded on the corresponding day in 2025.Addressing concerns over availability, Bhandari assured that there is no shortage of petrol or diesel anywhere in the state. He said Uttar Pradesh has 13,168 petrol pumps, each maintaining four to five days of fuel stock, which is in line with standard operational norms. In addition, oil marketing company depots are currently holding 15 to 18 days’ combined stock of petrol and diesel.He further referred to regular briefings by the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas, which has confirmed that India has close to 60 days’ worth of crude oil reserves, with uninterrupted and continuous inflow of crude oil. Emphasising that there is no crisis, Bhandari appealed to consumers to avoid panic buying, stating that there is no need to queue up at fuel stations as supplies remain stable and adequate across the state.Sudden demand led to 40% shortage in LPG refills in UPOn Thursday, against daily demand of 11 lakh LPG refills, 13.31 lakh LPG cylinders were booked across the state, out of which 7.83 lakh LPG cylinders were delivered by 4,107 distributors. Sanjay Bhandari, executive director of IOCL and state level coordinator of oil marketing companies, said that due to increased demand, the state is witnessing around 11 lakh LPG refill bookings per day on average, resulting in a temporary backlog of nearly 3.7 days. The state has around 4.85 crore domestic LPG consumers.