Tamil Nadu: State-run oil companies have hiked the price of premium petrol by ₹2 per liter across the country. Meanwhile, the prices of regular petrol (₹100.80 per liter) and diesel (₹92.39 per liter) remain unchanged.
The price of diesel used for industrial purposes has also been increased; this diesel is purchased in large quantities for use in mobile phone towers and to meet other operational requirements.
The conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States has been ongoing for over three weeks. In an effort to exert pressure on Israel and the U.S. amidst this conflict, Iran has blocked the ‘Strait of Hormuz’—a critical maritime route for crude oil tankers. Consequently, difficulties have arisen in transporting crude oil and gas from Gulf nations via the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, the price of crude oil in the international market has surged to over US$100 per barrel.
India imports 88 percent of its crude oil and gas requirements from abroad. A significant portion of these imports arrives in India from Gulf nations via tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The ongoing conflict in West Asia has disrupted the movement of these tankers bound for India.
Given this situation, it is anticipated that petrol and diesel prices in India could rise at any moment. Against this backdrop, on Friday, the state-run oil companies—Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum—implemented a nationwide hike of ₹2 per liter in the price of premium petrol and ₹22 per liter in the price of diesel used for industrial purposes. What are the prices in Chennai? Following this price hike, premium petrol in Delhi is now selling at ₹101.89 per liter (up from the previous price of ₹99.89), while diesel for industrial use is selling at ₹109.59 per liter (up from the previous price of ₹87.67). In Chennai, the price of industrial diesel has been increased by ₹20.84, and it is now selling at ₹113.38 per liter (up from the previous price of ₹92.54).
Industrial diesel is selling at ₹113.11 per liter in Mumbai and at ₹114.27 per liter in Kolkata. Since April 2022, the prices of regular and premium petrol, as well as regular and industrial diesel, have remained unchanged in India. Despite fluctuations—both increases and decreases—in international crude oil prices, no changes had been implemented in India. Now, for the first time, the prices of premium petrol and industrial diesel have been raised. Speaking to reporters, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, stated: “The prices of regular petrol and diesel have not been increased; only the prices of the premium variants have been raised. These constitute merely 2–4 percent of the total petrol sold in the country. Since the authority to determine petrol and diesel prices has been vested in the oil companies, the decision to raise prices was taken independently by them. The government has not made any changes to its pricing. The government is closely monitoring market conditions in the international crude oil markets; however, it currently has no plans to immediately raise retail fuel prices.”
Indian Oil’s Clarification: In a post published on its ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) page, Indian Oil stated: “Due to the rise in crude oil prices in the international market, prices in India have been increased commensurately.” Moreover, the prices of standard automotive fuels have not been increased; only the price of premium petrol has been raised.
Due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the price of crude oil in the international market surged to a peak of $119 per barrel in June 2022. At that time, the profits of oil companies in India had declined. However, in the financial year 2024, oil companies earned a profit of ₹81,000 crore. For the quarter ending in December of this financial year, oil companies have reported a profit of ₹23,743 crore.
