The federal government has for the primary time fastened most cooking gasoline LPG manufacturing targets for particular person public- and private-sector refineries and upstream firms, because it seeks to construct a home provide buffer after the West Asia battle uncovered the nation’s vulnerability to disruptions in imported cooking gasoline.
The Petroleum and Pure Fuel Ministry, in an order issued on August 13, has specified most LPG manufacturing ranges for 21 refineries and upstream firms, with mixed manufacturing potential set at 63,810 tonnes a day — greater than double the home LPG output within the fiscal yr ended March 31, 2026 and about 70 per cent of the nation’s day by day consumption.
The manufacturing limits will kick in each time there’s a provide constraint.
The lion’s share of the deliberate output has been set from Reliance Industries Ltd’s older refinery, which must produce as much as 18,000 tonnes a day of LPG, in accordance with the order.
India consumed 33.2 million tonnes of LPG within the 2025-26 fiscal yr (about 91,000 tonnes per day). Of this, 13.1 million tonnes a yr was produced regionally (about 35,900 tonnes a day) whereas the remaining 21.3 million tonnes each year (about 58,400 tonnes a day) was imported.
This excessive import dependence of over 64 per cent left the nation uncovered when the beginning of the Iran battle successfully shut the Strait of Hormuz, the slim sealane by which India acquired 90 per cent of its imports from nations like Saudi Arabia.
With provides impacted, the federal government in March ordered refineries to divert streams used for petrochemicals manufacturing to maximise LPG output.
It additionally initially stopped gross sales to industrial and industrial customers and thereafter steadily scaled it up. For home households, periodicity of reserving a refill was elevated, they usually have been inspired to shift to piped pure gasoline, whose provides weren’t so severely impacted because of the battle.
Home manufacturing was ramped as much as about 55,000 tonnes a day on the peak of the disaster, however the emergency orders asking refiners to maximise output have been steadily withdrawn after provides eased from mid-June.
The brand new order goes additional than the emergency one issued in the course of the West Asia disaster by creating facility-wise manufacturing benchmarks and requiring refiners and upstream firms to keep up sufficient infrastructure for LPG storage, evacuation and transportation. Firms should additionally pursue technically and economically possible upgrades to maximise output.
The federal government has empowered itself to order refiners, oil advertising firms and upstream producers to ramp up LPG manufacturing for specified portions and durations each time it considers such motion crucial to make sure sufficient home availability, equitable distribution and provide at honest costs.
The manufacturing schedule shall be reviewed each six months, permitting the federal government so as to add output from new refineries and upstream fields and account for extra capability created by know-how and infrastructure upgrades.
The order additionally requires refiners to contemplate measures comparable to changing naphtha into LPG and upgrading fluid catalytic cracking items the place technically and economically viable, underscoring the federal government’s push to extract extra LPG from present refining infrastructure.
The federal government had launched a number of emergency measures in the course of the West Asia disaster, together with prioritising family LPG provides and proscribing provides to some industrial and industrial customers as imports have been disrupted.
The brand new manufacturing framework is aimed toward making certain {that a} future disruption to abroad LPG provides doesn’t translate into the shortages and rationing seen in the course of the latest disaster.
Taking classes from the disaster, the federal government has now put the nation’s refineries and upstream producers below a standing framework to keep up and, when crucial, enhance LPG output.
Eighteen refineries owned and operated by public sector oil firms have been ordered to supply a complete of 31,470 tonnes a day.
Within the non-public sector, Reliance’s 33 million tonnes a yr domestic-tariff space (DTA) refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat, merchandise from that are bought regionally, has been ordered to supply 18,000 tonnes. No goal has been set for Reliance’s 35.2 million tonnes a yr only-for-exports refinery on the similar website.
Russia’s Rosneft-backed Nayara Power’s 20 million tonnes a yr Vadinar refinery has been requested to supply 4,480 tonnes a day, in accordance with the order.
Upstream gasoline producers and processors like ONGC and GAIL, who make LPG from pure gasoline, have been given a goal of 6,460 tonnes a day.
“It’s hereby ordered that each one public sector, three way partnership and personal sector oil refining firms, and upstream oil firms shall develop, increase and always preserve sufficient infrastructure for storage, evacuation and transport of Liquefied Petroleum Fuel (LPG) both by itself or by different entities viz railways or street tankers sufficient for the required portions,” the order mentioned.
They have been additionally ordered to “implement all technically and economically possible measures and applied sciences comparable to naphtha-to-LPG conversion, gasoline-based fluid catalytic cracking unit to petro-fluid catalytic cracking unit, or different upgrades, to maximise LPG manufacturing past present minimal producible portions as specified within the Schedule, with intimation to Centre for Excessive Know-how or every other authorised company, each time such an improve is undertaken.” The ministry additional mentioned “if Central Authorities is of the opinion that it’s crucial in public curiosity to make sure sufficient availability, equitable distribution and availability at honest costs of home LPG, it could by itself or by Centre for Excessive Know-how or every other authorised company, by order in writing, challenge path to grease refining firms, oil advertising firms and upstream oil firms to ramp up the LPG manufacturing ranges for such amount and interval specified therein, together with compliance with any restrictions on different makes use of of enter streams required to supply the LPG.” At any time when instructions are issued, the businesses should ramp-up LPG manufacturing ranges throughout the stipulated timeframe.
The central authorities, the order mentioned, shall replace the manufacturing Schedule on 1st January and 1st July of yearly, together with updates to LPG manufacturing from new refineries and upstream oil firms or extra LPG portions from present refineries and upstream firms as a result of modifications to related infrastructure and manufacturing know-how, evacuation, provide, transport or distribution of LPG.
