The country is facing a major problem in LPG supply due to the Middle East crisis. In such a situation, the central government has, for the first time, fixed a maximum limit for LPG production for the country’s public, private, upstream companies. According to the instructions issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the daily production capacity for 21 companies has been increased to 63,810 tonnes. Which is twice the capacity of 35,900 metric tonnes for the period 2025-26. This will help meet about 70 percent of the country’s daily demand. If there is a shortage of gas in the market and a crisis in supply, the new rules can be implemented immediately. A large part of this target has been given to the private sector company Reliance Industries.
The company has set a target of producing 18,000 tonnes of LPG per day from Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat. Similarly, Russia’s Rosneft-backed Naira NGR’s Wadina refinery is expected to produce 4,480 tonnes of LPG per day. Companies are currently being asked to upgrade their infrastructure and technology. The production status will be reviewed every six months and changes will be made. India’s total LPG demand in the financial year 2025-26 was 33.2 million tonnes. The domestic market consumed about 91,000 tonnes of LPG per day.
The country produced 35,900 tonnes of LPG per day. 58,400 tonnes per day had to be imported. With a 64% import dependency, India was badly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war. Because India used to import 90% of its LPG requirement through this waterway from countries like Saudi Arabia.
Due to the Middle East crisis, the Union Government was asked to use the gas used in petrochemical production for LPG production. During this time, the daily LPG production was increased to 55 thousand metric tons. During the crisis, restrictions were imposed on the sale of LPG to commercial and industrial users. The domestic LPG booking period was extended. People were advised to buy PNG. As the situation normalized, the restrictions were relaxed in mid-June.
