Nayara Energy, India’s largest private fuel retailer, on Friday increased the prices of petrol and diesel amid the US-Israel and Iran conflict. According to the information available, the company has increased the price of petrol by Rs 5.30 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 3 per litre.
With this hike, the petrol is now priced at around Rs 107.93 per litre, and diesel has risen to approximately Rs 97.22 per litre.
Nayara operates Vadinar oil refinery, India’s second-largest single-site refinery with a capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum, and has over 6,500 petrol pumps across the country. Last year, it forayed into the petrochemicals sector with a 450,000-tonne polypropylene plant.
Nayara Energy was previously known as Essar Oil. In 2017, Russia’s Rosneft and a consortium of Trafigura and UCP Investment Group acquired Essar Oil for USD 12.9 billion. The firm was later rechristened Nayara Energy.
Plans 35-day shutdown
Meanwhile, a report in The Times of India said that Nayara Energy is planning to halt operations for around 35 days starting early April. According to the report this could take nearly 8 per cent of India’s refining capacity offline.
Govt says no shortage of petrol, diesel
Meanwhile, the government reiterated there is no shortage of petrol, diesel or LPG in the country, and urged citizens not to believe rumours circulating on social media or resort to panic buying. LPG supplies remain affected due to the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a media briefing, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said all refineries are operating at high capacity with “adequate crude inventories”, while “sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel are being maintained” and retail outlets are functioning normally nationwide.
Additional allocations have been made to states, with commercial LPG supply now raised to 50 per cent in phases, prioritising sectors such as restaurants, hotels and community kitchens.
