New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) The government has increased domestic LPG production by about 25 per cent and is directing the entire output towards household consumers to ensure uninterrupted cooking gas supply amid the evolving situation in West Asia, it was informed on Wednesday.
According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the government issued an order on March 8 asking refineries and petrochemical complexes to maximise LPG production.
Officials said India imports nearly 60 per cent of its LPG needs and around 90 per cent of those imports usually pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been affected by recent developments in the region.
To ensure essential supply, priority is being given to domestic users while non-domestic LPG is being reserved for critical sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions.
A three-member committee consisting of executive directors from Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited has been formed to review LPG allocations to restaurants, hotels and other commercial users and ensure fair distribution.
The government said the price of a domestic LPG cylinder in Delhi currently stands at Rs 913 after a recent Rs 60 increase.
However, beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana continue to pay Rs 613 per cylinder.
Officials said that for a PMUY household the recent price increase works out to less than 80 paise per day.
To support oil marketing companies, the government has approved compensation of Rs 30,000 crore for LPG under-recoveries.
Authorities also said they have noticed some panic booking and hoarding behaviour by consumers, but the normal delivery cycle remains around two and a half days.
To prevent diversion of cylinders at the distributor level, the Delivery Authentication Code system is being expanded to cover about 90 per cent of LPG consumers.
As a temporary measure to manage demand, the minimum gap between LPG bookings has also been increased from 21 days to 25 days.
Officials also said India’s overall crude oil supply remains secure. The country consumes around 55 lakh barrels of crude oil every day and imports from nearly 40 countries.
Due to diversified sourcing, about 70 per cent of crude imports now come from routes outside the Strait of Hormuz.
–IANS
pk
