Talks between the government and striking oil Public Sector Undertakings failed late Thursday night over the officers' insistence on getting an immediate hike in their wages as the agitation threatened a major disruption in supply of petrol across the country.

"We have had some discussions but we are yet to reach a conclusion. We will continue to have discussions," Indian Oil Corporation [Get Quote] Chairman Sarthak Behuria told media persons after Petroleum Minister Murli Deora held a two-hour meeting with the striking officers that ended at Noida an hour after midnight.

Officials said the striking executives pressed for an immediate hike in their wages as an interim step before a final settlement is arrived at.

President of Oil Sector Officers' Association Amit Kumar said, "The talks are inconclusive and our action is on."

He said, "Deora has assured us that he will take up our issues with the prime minister again".

Deora is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday afternoon on the issue after the meeting of the Union cabinet in the morning.

Petrol pumps in many parts of the country went dry and more are expected to run out of stock by Friday as a result of the strike by oil PSU officers, provoking the government to ask company managements to sack close to 70 executives leading the agitation.

Nearly 30 per cent of petrol pumps in Delhi and about 100 in Mumbai went without petrol and diesel while there is a minimum 7-day wait period for delivery of domestic LPG gas.

Long queues of vehicles built up in a number of cities as drivers queued to refill petrol and gas and some pumps rationed fuel.

At the airports, absence of officers led to delay in refuelling of airplanes and some flight were delayed. CNG filling stations in Mumbai went without gas after officers in ONGC [Get Quote] stopped natural gas production off Mumbai shore. Delhi may also see a CNG crisis on Friday.

After the governments of Delhi and Assam, authorities in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra invoked ESMA to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies.