A few petrol bunks in the city remained closed on Monday as they ran out of stock. Some others were unable to dispense both petrol and diesel and supplied only one of them.
Some outlets of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation did not function, said M. Kannan, president, Tamilnadu Petroleum Dealers Association said. “It was not like the severe shortage of automobile fuels that Chennai and neighbouring districts experienced last week. Nonetheless it was one that the oil companies should look into immediately to maintain regular supplies,” he added.
Senior officials in the oil industry denied that there were any major issues with regard to the supplies on Monday. It was possibly on account of the dealers not placing orders for sufficient quantity of petrol, they added.
The dealers, an official of IOC said, were limiting their offtake after the petrol price was increased on May 24, by over Rs.7.50 a litre, expecting a partial rollback. On Sunday, the price was reduced by around Rs.2 a litre.
The shortage experienced by some bunks on Monday could also be on account of the time taken to clear the pending indents as the IOC and HPCL terminals did not function on Sunday. “Our terminal was open on Sunday,” said sources in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
An official of HPCL admitted that the stock availability was limited on Monday. As against the usual 300-320 kilo litre, the company was able to supply 250 kl. The shortage was on account of the time taken for quality control approval by CPCL refinery. But the products were expected to be supplied on Monday night and all petrol bunks would get it on Tuesday morning.
BPCL sources said on Monday the company also supplied products to HPCL. The senior official of IOC said the company's terminal in Korrukupet had enough products and consumers need not panic.
