Pay first, fuel later: Why NCR pumps are going dry by night

Noida: Over the past two weeks, several petrol pumps across NCR have been running out of fuel by late evening. While the issue has been noticed in some parts of Noida, it is more common in Ghaziabad, where 90% of petrol pumps are dealerships.

While there is no shortage of fuel, a recent change in the supply mechanism that now requires dealers to pay in advance for a tanker instead of the earlier system that offered a credit line is causing this, sources said, attributing the system to a tightening of supply lines as a result of the conflict in West Asia and disruption of energy supplies to India via the Strait of Hormuz.

As a result, petrol pumps have set a limit to how much fuel a person can purchase for one vehicle in an effort to ration their supplies. Most have restricted the amount to 20 litres of petrol and 40 litres of diesel for each vehicle.

Manoj Kumar, a resident of Officer City in Raj Nagar Extension, experienced the crunch when his trip to Delhi’s Malviya Nagar turned into an unexpected search for fuel on Monday. “My relatives live in Malviya Nagar in Delhi. Since schools are closed, I thought I would drop my children there. But I was running low on fuel and it took me almost half an hour to find a petrol pump that could provide petrol,” he said.

Before that, he had been informed at two petrol pumps — one, a local Hindustan Petroleum pump operated by a private dealer — that fresh supplies would arrive only after a delay. “At the last petrol pump, I was given only 20 litres and told that I could not get the tank filled completely,” Kumar said.

At a petrol pump in Vasundhra operated by HP, the manager said the price of crude oil has gone up, leading to the cost of procuring fuel increasing by almost Rs. 2.5 lakh as well. A fuel depot in Meerut is the pump’s supplier.

Small tankers with a capacity of 12,000 litres of fuel, which would earlier cost Rs. 11 to 12 lakh, are now priced at Rs. 13 to 15 lakh and the price of 24,000 litres tankers has risen similarly, he said.

Higher prices of fuel have shrunk the footfall at fuel stations. Fearing loss, the dealers have stopped providing fuel on credit — stocking up on 12,000 litres worth of oil would require a dealer to pay up to Rs. 12 lakh upfront rather than making the payment after selling the procured oil.

“We have to ensure that we maintain sufficient stock because the new system leads to delay in supply,” the manager said.

A staffer from a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) dealership petrol pump spoke of similar challenges. Requesting anonymity he said, “We provide a full tank of oil to ambulances and other emergency vehicles. You cannot deny them fuel,” he added. For others, the station has capped fuel at 20 litres for petrol vehicles and 40 litres for diesel vehicles.

The pump gets its fuel from a Mathura refinery.

The general secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Petroleum Traders Association, Dharam Veer Chaudhary, told TOI there was a constraint but no written notice was given to dealers. “There is a crisis and demand is high but supply is on the lower side. It has not been cut down fully but depots have reduced the historical supplies by 1,000 to 1,500 litres,” he said.

He explained that several dealer-owned petrol pumps in Noida and Ghaziabad have been operating below their original capacity with no tankers on standby. “The petrol pumps dry out by 8 to 9pm and are refilled by 12am only. A three hour gap is a long time for petrol pumps to not have fuel,” he said.

The same pattern was reported at Mohan Nagar, where a BPCL manager said storage levels are being carefully managed due to irregular replenishment. “Our capacity is around 7,000 litres. Currently, we are operating at about 5,500 litres for petrol,” he said. The outlet has imposed limits of 40 litres per vehicle and restricted fuel dispensing in cans to conserve stocks.