Facing domestic cooking gas supply squeeze, Indian refiners up LPG production by 10%, secure 20 very large gas carriers

New Delhi: Indian refiners have ramped up daily domestic production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by around 10% in the past few days in the face of a supply squeeze from the US-Iran war, two people aware of the development said.The refiners have also secured 20 very large gas carriers (VLGC) carrying around 1 million tonne (mt) cargo, mostly from the US, the people said on condition of anonymity.However, the country is still short of another 20 VLGCs—totalling 2 mt—which Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been scouting for since the war broke out on 28 February, these people added.“Production has already gone up by 10%,” the first person cited above said, adding that India is looking at sourcing more LPG from all available sources, including the US, Canada, Australia and Algeria.The second person said: “There was a shortfall of about 40 VLGCs, and 20 VLGCs have already been booked.

So, import diversification is also taking place.”The developments follow a late Monday evening tweet from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG), where it said that it has issued orders to oil refineries to increase LPG production and use such extra production for domestic LPG use.It also said in the tweet that non-domestic supplies from imported LPG are being prioritized to essential non-domestic sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions.Further, for LPG supply to other non-domestic sectors, a committee of three executive directors of the state-run OMCs has been constituted to review the representations for LPG supply to restaurants, hotels and other industries.The officials cited above said that the committee would be available for requests from all industry bodies across the country and look into these