Though reassuring about the adequacy of retail fuels, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, placing his concerns about oil-marketing companies’ losses from the sale of petrol, diesel and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) as they seek to hold prices firm, indicated that should the crisis prolong, the government may have to consider passing on the pressure to domestic consumers as well.

Speaking at the industry Confederation of Indian Industries’ (CII) Annual Business Summit 2026, Mr. Puri mentioned, “How long [the losses and under-recoveries] would oil-marketing companies be able to take it frankly, that is something that worries me.”

He further mentioned that at the present rate, under-recoveries are being incurred, “one quarter of losses can wipe out net profits made during the last [financial] year”.

For context, as Mr. Puri had also indicated earlier, OMCs are staring at under-recoveries of up to ₹2 lakh crore during the quarter, with losses expected to scale to about ₹1 lakh crore.

As for supply, the Rajya Sabha MP stated at the summit, “[There is] no problem on supply management side, [there is] no shortage anywhere,” adding, “We have sixty days of crude [oil] which is the maximum we need, sixty days of LNG and we have forty-five days of LPG.”

The Petroleum Minister also informed that India has ramped up their domestic production of LPG from 35,000 to 36,000 metric tonnes a day to 54,000 metric tonnes per day.

Also Read | West Asia conflict poses challenges to Indian economy via number of channels: RBI’s Malhotra in MPC minutes 

Further, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for diligent use of retail fuel, he stated there must not be a “bizarre construct” on it.

“If you look at the way it is happening, uncertainty is too mild a word. What he has said is that we have to look at our lifestyle as well. There is no lockdown happening tomorrow...,” he said.