Centre increases commercial LPG allocation to 70% of pre-West Asia crisis levels

The Union government on Friday increased the commercial allocation of liquefied petroleum gas to 70% of pre-West Asia conflict levels, up from 50%.

This additional supply of non-domestic LPG is intended to support industries such as steel, automobiles and textiles, which are “labour-intensive and provide support to other essential sectors”, Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal wrote in a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories.

“Among these, priority shall be given to process industries or those requiring LPG for specialised heating purposes that cannot be substituted by Natural Gas,” the letter added.

Announcing the decision on social media, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that while many countries have adopted strict fuel conservation measures, India continues to “remain an oasis of energy security, availability and affordability”.

On Saturday, the government had allowed an additional 20% allocation of commercial liquefied petroleum gas to states and Union Territories, taking the overall allocation to 50%.

Of the total amount, 10% was to be allocated, subject to states undertaking measures to facilitate the expansion of the piped natural gas network.

Energy supplies to India have been disrupted since the conflict in West Asia broke out on February 28. Since the hostilities began, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz – through which about 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption passes – for most commercial ships.

India imports 88% of its crude oil needs and about half of its natural gas requirement. This mostly comes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Due to the disruption, the Centre had initially curtailed the supply of LPG to commercial establishments and had prioritised domestic supplies.

The conflict in West Asia began after Israel and the United States launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government. Tehran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in other Gulf countries and some ships.

While Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

‘Lockdown rumours completely false’

In a separate social media post, Puri dismissed rumours of a lockdown in India due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia, calling them “completely false”.

“Let me state this clearly, there is no such proposal under consideration by the Government of India,” he said while warning those spreading rumours and creating panic.

“The global situation remains in flux, and we are closely monitoring developments across energy, supply chains, and essential commodities on a real-time basis,” the minister said. “India has consistently demonstrated resilience in the face of global uncertainties, and we will continue to act in a timely, proactive, and coordinated manner.”

He added that the government was taking all necessary steps “to ensure uninterrupted availability of fuel, energy and other critical supplies for our citizens”.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had said that crude oil supplies have been secured for the next 60 days and supplies of LPG for about a month have also been arranged.

The ministry also maintained that there is no shortage of LPG in the country. It said that domestic refinery production has increased by 40%, due to which the net daily import requirement has reduced to 30,000 metric tonnes.