India Begins Sourcing Cooking Gas From US
NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing West Asian crisis, India has started procuring cooking gas or LPG from the US as part of the government’s measure to increase supply. A senior government official said that in a bid to diversify LPG sources and ease the pressure of ongoing conflicts, oil marketing companies (OMCs) have started buying LPG from the US as the government is making all efforts to keep adequate fuel available in the country.
“Fuel availability is stable as we are getting more crude oil today due to increased diversification. Majority of LPG comes from the Gulf. Also, our OMCs have started buying LPG from the US despite our refineries running at full capacity and adequate stocks of petrol and diesel. The government is making all efforts to diversify LPG sources,” Sujata Sharma, joint secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said in a media briefing.
Meanwhile, the government also said that a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker reached the country early on Tuesday after safely leaving the war-torn Strait of Hormuz, and efforts are on to ensure the safe passage of the remaining 22 Indian ships still stranded in the conflict zone. “On Monday, the first ship reached Mundra port in Shivalik, Gujarat and the other LPG tanker Nanda Devi reached Kandla port in Gujarat around 2.30 am this morning,” said Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary, ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, adding that the two ships were carrying around 92,712 tonnes of LPG, which is equivalent to a day’s cooking gas requirement in the country.
Officials also said that commercial LPG supplies, which were stopped earlier, have now partially resumed and states have resumed distribution. “Alternative fuels such as kerosene and coal have also been activated to ease the pressure on domestic LPG demand. Authorities have also increased enforcement to prevent malpractices such as hoarding and black marketing,” officials said.
“More than 12,000 inspections were carried out, leading to the seizure of around 15,000 LPG cylinders. Panic-induced demand is decreasing and there is a downward trend in panic booking. On March 13, there were 89 lakh panic bookings. Today it has fallen to 70 lakh. LPG refill distribution rate remains the same as before the conflict.” Sharma urged consumers to avoid hoarding and avoid buying from the black market.
