State-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) maintained that articles and posts referring to fuel shortages in Maharashtra were “spreading misinformation”, adding that supplies across the State were stable and well-managed.

“Certain articles and posts spreading misinformation regarding fuel availability are currently circulating. BPCL would like to reassure customers that fuel supplies across Maharashtra remain stable and well managed, with continuous replenishment and regular dispatches being maintained across the State,” Bharat Petroleum said in a social media post.

The Hindu had on Tuesday (May 26, 2026) reported that certain districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru were experiencing fuel supply shortages leading to disruptions in supplies to pumps.

In its post, Bharat Petroleum mentioned that in the ongoing month until May 25 in Maharashtra, petrol sales have gone up 15% while diesel sales increased more than 20% from the comparable period last year.

The oil-marketing company emphasised that the increase in demand reflected precautionary buying and changing consumer purchase patterns rather than any supply shortage.

Specifically about diesel, it said: “The rise in diesel demand is also being driven by multiple factors, including the ongoing harvesting season leading to higher agricultural consumption, a shift of customers from private OMC outlets retailing at comparatively higher prices, and migration from institutional/commercial channels were prevailing prices are relatively higher in line with international benchmarks”.

The share of Russian crude oil in Bharat Petroleum’s overall basket has increased to about 40-41% from about 31% during quarter-ended March 2026, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, Director for Finance of the state-owned oil-marketing company, told investors in an analyst call on Wednesday (May 20, 2026).

Mr. Gupta attributed the increased quantum of Russian crude also to its greater availability in the spot market.

“Percentage of Russian [crude] cargo has definitely gone up. It was 31% in the fourth quarter (of FY 2025-26), but in the current period, most of the supply on a spot basis, Russian crude is more available; therefore, offtake is higher at about 40-41%,” Mr. Gupta told investors.

According to the senior executive, Russian crude constituted about 25% of the overall basket in the third quarter of the previous financial year.

Responding to a query about the impact of U.S. sanctions, Mr. Gupta explained that, rather than Russian crude being sanctioned, certain entities were sanctioned. He maintained that BPCL made its purchases only from non-sanctioned entities.

“During the waiver you could buy Russian crude from any party, and with the lapse of waiver you can only buy from non-sanctioned entities,” he stated. “Whatever Russian crude we buy is always from non-sanctioned entities, be it the cargo vessel, port or supplies – those should be non-sanctioned entities.”

‘Crude supplies secured till July this year’

Overall, the official said that it has secured crude oil supply until July this year.

“We have diversified to eight new grades of crude [oil] during the year, covering four geographical regions,” he stated. “I would also like to assure that crude supplies have been secured till July 2026.”

Elaborating on the diversification, Mr. Gupta told analysts that Bharat Petroleum tested varied grades of crude in the previous financial year, including those from North America and Middle East spot cargoes.

“WTI is one destination we have tried, [alongside] Venezuelan crude we have also tried, and Middle Eastern spot grades are also available, like Murban, among others,” he stated. “Last year, we [also] tested new grades, that is, Venezuelan, Brazil and Angola. In spot many of the grades are available but major source continues to be Russia.”

Higher landed cost

In response to a query about landing costs considering the elevated freight and insurance costs, Mr. Gupta stated that they were indicatively higher by about $12 for every barrel, although adding that they are dynamic and change regularly.

“It [the landing cost-led premium] all depends on which source we take crude from but indicatively, in today’s date if you want to finalise any deal, if brent crude is $110 per barrel, maybe our landing [cost] would be about $120-122 per barrel though it is constantly changing,” he stated.

Separately, the senior executive told investors before the war, the additional cost for WTI crude used to be “brent plus $4-5” which escalated to approximately “$20 at the peak of the war”.

Indicative of a return to normalcy, state-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum informed on Monday (November 10, 2025) that, citing the improved security situation in Mozambique, consortium partners have decided to lift the force majeure on the LNG project in the East African country’s Cabo Delgado Province.

BPCL’s subsidiary, Bharat PetroResources, through its Amsterdam-based arm, holds a 10% participating interest in the Area-1 LNG project, which is operated by the French energy company Total SE, which commands a 26.5% participating stake. Among others, the consortium partners also include ONGC Videsh Rovuma Limited, which holds a 10% stake.

The construction of the LNG project in the East African country, which started in 2019, had to be halted in April 2021 following militant attacks in the northern region of the country.

The operator lifted the forced majeure only in October of this year. However, it is poignant to note that the Indian state-owned company had indicated a year ago that it expected costs to escalate to about $3.5 to $4 billion because of the forced majeure.

Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and U.S. President Donald Trump warned countries not to purchase oil from Moscow, industry sources said.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, a vital revenue earner for Russia as it wages war in Ukraine for a fourth year.

The country’s state refiners — Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd — have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources familiar with the refiners’ purchase plans told Reuters.

IOC, BPCL, HPCL, MRPL and the federal oil ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The four refiners regularly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis and have turned to spot markets for replacement supply — mostly Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and West African oil, sources said.

Private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, majority owned by Russian entities including oil major Rosneft, have annual deals with Moscow and are the biggest Russian oil buyers in India.

On July 14, Mr. Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine.

Indian refiners are pulling back from Russian crude as discounts shrink to their lowest since 2022, when Western sanctions were first imposed on Moscow, due to lower Russian exports and steady demand, sources said.

Refiners fear the latest EU curbs could complicate overseas trade including fund raising — even for buyers adhering to the price cap. India has reiterated its opposition to “unilateral sanctions”.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday (July 30, 2025) announced a 25% tariff on goods imported from India from August 1, but added that negotiations were ongoing. He also warned of potential penalties for purchase of Russian arms and oil.

On Monday (July 28, 2025) Mr. Trump cut the deadline to impose secondary sanction on buyers of Russian exports to 10-12 days from the previous 50-day period, if Moscow does not agree a peace deal with Ukraine.

Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of India’s overall supplies.

Private refiners bought nearly 60% of India’s average 1.8 million barrels per day of Russian oil imports in the first half of 2025, while state refiners that control over 60% of India’s overall 5.2 million bpd refining capacity, bought the remainder.

Reliance purchased Abu Dhabi Murban crude for loading in October this month, an unusual move by the refiner, traders said.