Nayara and Shell take a massive sales hit in India as state-run competitors absorb crude price shocks

Rosneft-backed Indian fuel retailer Nayara Energy and the Indian arm of UK-based Shell lost ground in April after raising pump prices, while buyers moved to state-run fuel retailers that kept prices lower for longer, The Economic Times reports. Nayara saw its petrol sales fall 30% and diesel drop 46%, while Shell’s petrol sales gained 4% even as its diesel volumes shed 77%.

Why it matters: The fuel shock is splitting India’s retail market. Nayara and Shell are giving up volumes to limit losses, while state-run retailers are absorbing revenue losses in exchange for market share. Consequently, public-sector retailers saw sales for both petrol and diesel rise nearly 9% in April as consumers migrated away from pricier private pumps.

Reliance BP Mobility — the fuel retail joint venture between Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and UK-based BP — moved in the opposite direction, with petrol sales up 23% and diesel up 4.5%.

Price control cracks: The shift follows a broader loosening of India’s fuel price controls. State-run fuel retailers have raised petrol and diesel prices twice in a week, after a four-year price freeze began giving way under higher crude costs. The hikes remain modest compared to gains in crude, and for now, state-run firms are absorbing part of the fuel-price shock to shield consumers.