Why Reliance-BP Is Gaining While Other Retailers Lose Ground

Private fuel retailers Nayara Energy and Shell lost market share in April, choosing to let sales at their fuel pumps decline to limit mounting losses, reported The Economic Times.

The two companies also sharply increased pump prices in the weeks following the escalation of the Iran conflict, driving consumers to state-run retailers, who opted to absorb losses by maintaining unchanged retail prices despite a steep rise in crude oil and fuel prices.

Sales of petrol and diesel at Nayara, India’s largest private fuel retailer, fell 30% and 46% respectively in April. Meanwhile, industry data indicate sales at state-run retailers rose nearly 9% for both fuels. In April, Nayara’s market share fell to 4% in petrol and 3% in diesel, down from around 6% last year.

Shell, meanwhile, saw sales fall 77%, cutting its market share to 0.07% from 0.3%. Its petrol sales, however, were up by 4%, although its share slipped slightly to 0.5%.

RIL-BP however defied the trend among private fuel retailers with strong sales growth. It saw petrol sales rise 23% and diesel sales rise 4.5%. Its petrol market share rose to 4% from 3.5% on higher sales, while diesel share was unchanged at about 5.3%.

Demand Surge Triggers Shortage

Private fuel retailers such as Nayara Energy or Shell may not control a great share of total fuel sales in India but in some cities or neighbourhoods they operate many pumps and are important suppliers.

Consumers react to rise in fuel prices or limitation of sales or supply shortages from such private fuel companies, leading them to quickly shift to nearby state-run pumps such as Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum or Hindustan Petroleum because those pumps are selling cheaper fuel.

However, the neighbouring pumps are usually stocked based on normal demand, not a sudden surge. So, they cannot handle the extra rush immediately.

This, in turn, creates long queues, temporary shortages, panic buying and eventually puts pressure on local supply chains.

Oil Shock Alters Demand

The fuel price hikes of Nayara and Shell were triggered by the sharp rise in global crude oil prices after the start of the Iran conflict, which escalated fuel procurement costs for retailers in India, prompting private companies to raise prices to reduce mounting losses.  However, state-run oil retailers like Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum initially kept retail prices unchanged and absorbed the losses instead.

As a result, consumers gravitated toward PSU-operated fuel stations, causing private retailers to lose sales and market share.

How RIL-BP Gained

RIL-BP, the fuel joint venture of Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc, does not plan to raise fuel prices immediately despite spike in international oil prices, its chief executive Akshay Wadhwa told PTI in April 2026, and has maintained that stance since.

They stand in direct rivalry with companies such as Nayara Energy and Shell which sharply raised fuel prices to reduce losses, RIL-bp mostly kept petrol and diesel prices in check, maintaining a steady price closer to state-run retailers.

Citing Wadhwa, PTI reported in April 2026 that the company has assured adequate fuel supplies, no retail sales limits and no immediate plans to increase prices despite rising costs of crude oil. “Our pumps are operating normally and have adequate stocks,” Wadhwa told PTI.

According to a May 2026 report published by The Economic Times, RIL-BP’s petrol sales increased 23% and diesel sales increased 4.5%. This led to increased petrol market share from 3.5% to around 4%.

How Much OMCs Are Losing

As per a May 12 report published by Times of India, Oil Marketing companies (OMCs) are collectively losing around ₹1,000 crore every day as they continue to sell petrol, diesel and LPG below cost despite surging global crude prices.

On May 20, Business Standard reported that the government recently allowed a ₹3 per litre increase in petrol and diesel prices which reportedly eased daily losses to around ₹750 crore per day.  The cost of insulating Indian consumers from the global energy shock boils down to about ₹1,600-1,700 crore per day, which translates to over ₹1 lakh crore in 10 weeks.

Citing analysts from Nomura, The Economic Times, in its May 18 report suggested that petrol and diesel prices may need to increase another ₹25 per litre for OMCs to fully break even under prevailing crude condition