NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, India has begun sourcing cooking gas or LPG from the United States as part of the government’s measure to augment supplies. In order to diversify sources of LPG and ease the pressure in the ongoing conflicts, oil-marketing companies (OMCs) have started taking LPG from the US as the government is putting all efforts to keep sufficient fuel available in the country, a top government official said.
“The fuel availability is stable now as we are getting more crude today due to increased diversification. Most of the LPG is coming from the Gulf. Besides, our OMCs have started taking LPG from the US despite our refineries running at full capacity and sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel. The government is putting all efforts to diversify sources of LPG,” said Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, while briefing the media.
Meanwhile, the government also informed that a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker reached the country early Tuesday after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz, and efforts are on to ensure the safe passage of the remaining 22 Indian vessels still stranded in the conflict zone. “On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat and another LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached Kandla port in Gujarat at around 2.30 am this morning,” said Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, adding that the two ships are carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, which is equivalent to a day’s requirement of cooking gas in the country.
Officials further said that commercial LPG supplies, which had earlier been halted, have now been partially restored, with states resuming distribution. “To ease pressure on domestic LPG demand, alternative fuels such as kerosene and coal have also been activated. Authorities have also stepped-up enforcement to prevent malpractice — hoarding and black marketing as well,” they said.
“More than 12,000 inspections have been carried out, leading to the seizure of around 15,000 LPG cylinders. The panic-driven demand is easing and there is a downward trend in panic booking. On March 13, there were 89 lakh panic bookings. It has come down to 70 lakhs today. LPG refill distribution rate remains the same as before the conflict.” Sharma urged consumers to avoid hoarding and refrain from black-market purchases.
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