India Lifts Restrictions on Commercial LPG Supply as Supply Situation Improves

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New Delhi: Extending major relief to commercial and industrial LPG consumers, govt on Thursday removed all sectoral restrictions on the supply of non-domestic packed liquefied petroleum gas and restored supplies to the levels prevailing before the West Asia conflict began. Govt has also relaxed the supply of bulk LPG, which had been suspended at the onset of the crisis, to 50% of pre-crisis consumption levels. Officials said the restoration follows the recent improvement in the supply situation. Petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal has written to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories to ensure smooth implementation of the revised supply arrangements, govt said. The decision indicates that the energy market is now getting back to normalcy, with the price pressure also easing for companies, which are still saddled with losses. Following the disruption in energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia, govt restricted commercial LPG supplies to just 20% of pre-conflict levels and accorded the highest priority to ensuring uninterrupted availability of cooking gas to domestic consumers across the country.

All Sectoral Restrictions Off As Crisis Ebbs

Govt also issued orders under the Essential Commodities Act directing oil refiners to divert C3- C4 streams from petrochemi- cal and other downstream us- es and use them exclusively for LPG production. Indige- nous LPG production was in- creased from nearly 30% to almost 50%. As domestic production increased and de- mand stabilised, the govt raised LPG allocation to com- mercial users to up to 70%. Taking note of improved indigenous LPG production and the projected availability of imported cargos, govt also decided to reduce the diversion of C3-C4 streams to the LPG pool. “The enhanced allocation of C3-C4 streams for non-LPG uses will be implemented while ensuring that domestic LPG availability remains unaffected and aggregate indigenous LPG production is maintained at not less than 40,000 tonnes per day,” the petroleum ministry said. Commercial and bulk con- sumers who have already sh- ifted to piped natural gas will continue to remain on PNG. Other LPG consumers with access to a PNG network will be progressively transitioned to piped gas in coordination with city gas distributors.Also read: Indian basket crude prices return to pre-conflict levels