Talks with oil PSU execs fail; pumps going dry on low supplies

NEW DELHI: Fuel supplies in many parts of the country were affected on the second day of the indefinite strike by oil PSU executives that also resulted in refineries running below capacity and impacted oil and gas production.

Talks with Oil Sector Officers Association, the umbrella body of 14 state-run companies, failed today even as reports from several parts of the country said petrol pumps were running dry and aviation refuelling operations were getting delayed because of the absence of officers.

In the national capital, about 40 per cent of the petrol pumps owned by Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum went out of stocks, but those of Hindustan Petroleum were operating normally as the company is not part of the agitation.

"We have been managing the situation till now, but there are supply constraints," IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria said. "If the strike continues, we may also see dry-outs from tomorrow."

There were reports of long queues at petrol pumps and delays in delivery of domestic LPG cylinders.

"The petrol pumps are running low on inventory in anticipation of a petrol and diesel price cut," he said, adding senior management personnel have been deployed at airports to refuel airplanes.

The Government, however, maintained that the situation was still manageable. "Some shortages can be there but the situation is under control," said Additional Secretary in the Petroleum Ministry S Sunderasan.

OSOA President Amit Kumar, surfacing after two days of hiding, held talks with company management on their demands for higher wages. But the talks, the first OSOA attended in a week's time, failed as the union kept harping that the Government accept their demands, Behuria said.