Govt invokes ESMA powers, orders refiners to ramp up LPG production
NEW DELHI, Mar 6 (PTI): The government invoked sparingly used emergency powers to direct oil refineries to ramp up LPG production as it looks to increase the availability of domestic cooking gas to hedge against potential disruptions from the widening Middle East conflict.
India consumed 31.3 million tonnes of LPG in 2024-25, of which only 12.8 million tonnes were produced domestically, with the remainder imported. Imports have become increasingly vulnerable as 85-90 per cent come from countries like Saudi Arabia that rely on the narrow but critical Strait of Hormuz for transit. The Strait has been effectively blocked following a week-old escalation in the region, after US and Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran to retaliate against US bases in neighbouring countries.
While India has surplus oil refining capacity, it is short in LPG production. And now all public and private sector refiners have been asked to “maximise and ensure that propane and butane streams produced… are utilised for production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),” according to an oil ministry order of March 5.
