A series of shut downs, some planned and some unplanned, of three petroleum refineries in the West Coast during April has had a cascading effect on the availability of petrol and diesel not only in many parts of Karnataka, but also in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.
In Karnataka, several districts in the northern parts have been badly hit.
‘Normal maintenance’
Mangaluru-based Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) that caters to about 75 per cent of the State’s fuel requirement was under normal maintenance from April 1 to April 24.
On such occasions, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) source fuel from Indian Oil Corporation’s Gujarat Refinery near Vadodara or Reliance Industries Ltd.’s Jamnagar Refinery.
However, IOC’s refinery was under normal maintenance during the period and RIL’s refinery was shut down owing to some emergency maintenance leading to the shortage, according to a senior official with IOC.
However, things have started improving with MRPL resuming its normal production even as OMCs have been procuring fuel from Vasco da Gama in Goa and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. Attempts to source fuel from elsewhere did not yield results owing to non-availability of Railway rakes.
The official said while diesel supply has almost become normal in the State, it might take another 10 days for petrol supply to stabilise. OMC depots have been working round the clock since a month to deliver fuel as and when they arrive, the official said.
Bhushan Narang from the Karnataka Petroleum Dealers’ Association said that panic buying had led to scarcity.
However, the Bengaluru region was almost insulated from the shortage as it gets supplies from Mangaluru as well as Chennai.
The MRPL, meanwhile, said that there is no shortage of diesel or petrol now.
