NEW DELHI, Jan 8 - Petrol stations ran dry and flights were delayed at India's busiest airport as a strike by state oil company officials demanding better pay entered a second day.
Supplies were squeezed and oil companies said they were sacking striking workers, including the head of the union leading the agitation.
State-run firms dominate India's energy sector, controlling almost the entire supply of transport fuels, natural gas and domestic crude oil.
About 30 percent of gas stations in the capital, New Delhi, had run out of fuel, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey said, while oil firms said there would be graver shortages if the strike continued.
Pandey said about 100 fuel stations in Mumbai, the financial hub, were not functioning. Compressed natural gas supplies in the city have also been affected.
Union leaders representing firms such as refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC.BO) (IOC) and explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) said no negotiated solution was in sight for a walkout that has cut natural gas supplies by a third and reduced output at refineries and oilfields.
"The government is very adamant. The minister is not willing to meet us," said Amit Kumar, the president of the Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA), which represents 55,000 employees at a handful of government-owned firms.
IOC's director of marketing, G.C. Daga, said supplies to retail outlets had plummeted, with just 10 percent of normal offtake leaving refineries on Wednesday.
"It will be reduced further today," he said. "After one to two days, there will be a problem."
Long queues of cars formed outside petrol pumps in New Delhi, amid fears most would run dry, witnesses said. Queueing cars blocked main streets, causing traffic jams.
Unions have called strikes frequently in recent years but this is first time they have affected supplies.
Offering some comfort to the government, officials at Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL.BO) have not joined the stoppage, while a strike by millions of truck drivers has lowered diesel demand.
SACKINGS
The government has said the strike is illegal and has asked states to use laws that forbid disruption of supplies of essential commodities in Asia's third-largest oil consumer.
Companies are getting tough, firing some striking employees.
"ONGC has decided to dismiss 64 officials, including the OSOA's president Amit Kumar," Pandey said. "IOC will dismiss three officials that were suspended yesterday. Some more are going to be dismissed."
Kumar works as chief engineer at the firm.
The strike has also slowed refueling of aircraft at airports due to the shortage of manpower.
More than 70 flights were delayed by up to an hour at Mumbai airport where aviation fuel operations are handled by state-run IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.BO) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, said airport spokesman Manish Kalghatgi.
Mumbai's airport, India's busiest, handles an average of more than 300 flights daily at its domestic terminal.
Passengers were told to anticipate delays, a spokeswoman for Jet Airways (JET.BO), India's top private airline, said.
As the stoppage bites, Oil Minister Murli Deora's announcement the government was planning to cut fuel prices again [ID:nDEL398954] could encourage gas stations to reduce inventories and top up their tanks only after prices are cut.
Secretary Pandey said ONGC's crude oil output had fallen by nearly a quarter to 270,000 barrels per day. IOC's refineries were operating at 30 percent below the normal rate.
Key IOC refineries have been badly affected, while BPCL's Mumbai unit is working at 70 percent capacity as it is receiving no crude from Mumbai High, India's main oil producing field.
A director in a refining company said it was too early for the strike to have any impact on India's crude imports, which account for about 70 percent of the oil India consumes.
Operations at private refiners Reliance Industries (RELI.BO) and Essar Oil (ESRO.BO) were normal and officials say the government may turn to them for further supplies if needed.
An Essar official said state refiners IOC and BPCL had cut fuel purchases from the company, but HPCL, where officials were working normally, was buying their share.
Supplies were squeezed and oil companies said they were sacking striking workers, including the head of the union leading the agitation.
State-run firms dominate India's energy sector, controlling almost the entire supply of transport fuels, natural gas and domestic crude oil.
About 30 percent of gas stations in the capital, New Delhi, had run out of fuel, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey said, while oil firms said there would be graver shortages if the strike continued.
Pandey said about 100 fuel stations in Mumbai, the financial hub, were not functioning. Compressed natural gas supplies in the city have also been affected.
Union leaders representing firms such as refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC.BO) (IOC) and explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) said no negotiated solution was in sight for a walkout that has cut natural gas supplies by a third and reduced output at refineries and oilfields.
"The government is very adamant. The minister is not willing to meet us," said Amit Kumar, the president of the Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA), which represents 55,000 employees at a handful of government-owned firms.
IOC's director of marketing, G.C. Daga, said supplies to retail outlets had plummeted, with just 10 percent of normal offtake leaving refineries on Wednesday.
"It will be reduced further today," he said. "After one to two days, there will be a problem."
Long queues of cars formed outside petrol pumps in New Delhi, amid fears most would run dry, witnesses said. Queueing cars blocked main streets, causing traffic jams.
Unions have called strikes frequently in recent years but this is first time they have affected supplies.
Offering some comfort to the government, officials at Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL.BO) have not joined the stoppage, while a strike by millions of truck drivers has lowered diesel demand.
SACKINGS
The government has said the strike is illegal and has asked states to use laws that forbid disruption of supplies of essential commodities in Asia's third-largest oil consumer.
Companies are getting tough, firing some striking employees.
"ONGC has decided to dismiss 64 officials, including the OSOA's president Amit Kumar," Pandey said. "IOC will dismiss three officials that were suspended yesterday. Some more are going to be dismissed."
Kumar works as chief engineer at the firm.
The strike has also slowed refueling of aircraft at airports due to the shortage of manpower.
More than 70 flights were delayed by up to an hour at Mumbai airport where aviation fuel operations are handled by state-run IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.BO) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, said airport spokesman Manish Kalghatgi.
Mumbai's airport, India's busiest, handles an average of more than 300 flights daily at its domestic terminal.
Passengers were told to anticipate delays, a spokeswoman for Jet Airways (JET.BO), India's top private airline, said.
As the stoppage bites, Oil Minister Murli Deora's announcement the government was planning to cut fuel prices again [ID:nDEL398954] could encourage gas stations to reduce inventories and top up their tanks only after prices are cut.
Secretary Pandey said ONGC's crude oil output had fallen by nearly a quarter to 270,000 barrels per day. IOC's refineries were operating at 30 percent below the normal rate.
Key IOC refineries have been badly affected, while BPCL's Mumbai unit is working at 70 percent capacity as it is receiving no crude from Mumbai High, India's main oil producing field.
A director in a refining company said it was too early for the strike to have any impact on India's crude imports, which account for about 70 percent of the oil India consumes.
Operations at private refiners Reliance Industries (RELI.BO) and Essar Oil (ESRO.BO) were normal and officials say the government may turn to them for further supplies if needed.
An Essar official said state refiners IOC and BPCL had cut fuel purchases from the company, but HPCL, where officials were working normally, was buying their share.
