Amid reports of shortage of cylinders for commercial use in many parts of India, the central government has constituted a grievance redressal committee and taken steps to increase the supply of liquefied petroleum gas. This comes as the US-Iran conflict is affecting supply lines from West Asia.
Sources told news agency ANI that the three-member panel includes executive directors of public sector companies Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
stay: Update on US-Iran conflict
Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) posted on its X handle: “In view of the current geopolitical disruptions impacting global fuel supplies, steps have been taken to increase LPG production and prioritize its availability for domestic consumers and essential non-domestic sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions.”
for this non-domestic sector For those that are not “essential” such as hotels and restaurants, HPCL said their requests will be reviewed by this committee “on the basis of merit, need and product availability”.
It also shared three email IDs where applications can be made “for urgent requirements of other sectors”: edlpg@bhartpetroleum.in, indanecareho@Indianoil.in, and lpg.sbu.head@hpcl.in.
“The actual requirement of the restaurant associations for commercial LPG will be met and this committee will re-prioritize the supply as per the requirements,” sources told ANI.
What do reports, announcements say
Meanwhile, India Today quoted sources as saying that domestic LPG production has “increased by 10% in the last few days”, although on-record confirmation was not yet available. “We were in crisis earlier but today we are not in any crisis of petroleum products,” a source told India Today.
is at the heart of the situation strait of hormuzA sea route that has reportedly been closed by Iran. But government sources have said India is now supplying 70% of its crude oil from non-Strait of Hormuz sources.
He said that the government has not taken any decision to curb the export of refined oil.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said in recent days that India has “adequate buffer stockOf petro products like LPG.
Meanwhile, the central government has already invoked the Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic LPG, directing refineries and petrochemical units to maximize liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production and divert key hydrocarbon streams into LPG pools.
The order prescribes certain times under this:
- Natural gas supply to certain sectors is prioritized, and will be maintained at 100% of the average consumption of the last six months, subject to operational availability. These sectors include domestic piped natural gas supply and CNG for transportation in addition to pipeline operational requirements.
- Supply to fertilizer plants will be 70% of their average gas consumption of the last six months, again subject to operational availability. It is earmarked for 80% of tea industries, manufacturing and other industrial consumers supplied through the national gas grid.
- For urban gas distribution, outlets have been asked to ensure that industrial and commercial consumers in their network receive 80% of their last six month average.
Union Oil Ministry says
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued orders to refineries to increase LPG production, and directed that such additional production be channeled exclusively for domestic use, it said in a post on Twitter.
The gap from earlier 21 days between two bookings has been increased to 25 days “to avoid hoarding and black marketing”, officials said.
Ground reports from states
However, in Maharashtra, minister Chhagan Bhujbal confirmed that hotels will face cuts in commercial LPG supply.
State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bhujbal said in a video message that several hotel owners met him and expressed concern over the situation arising out of disruptions in LPG supply.
He said, “I personally met the Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) and discussed the situation. There are clear instructions from the Central Government to all oil companies to give priority to domestic gas. Therefore, there will be a shortage in commercial gas supply in the times to come.”
He said its impact will be felt especially in Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of the country.
He said the option of using kerosene was suggested by eateries, but hotel owners raised safety concerns and pointed out that switching to the fuel would require a complete overhaul of the existing system.
State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule warned of strict action against those hoarding LPG cylinders.
He also criticized the Congress and alleged that the opposition party was trying to create confusion among the people on the issue of gas supply.
Its impact was felt in Kerala also. News agency PTI’s Thiruvananthapuram report noted an acute shortage of LPG cylinders, and quoted industry sources as saying that gas distribution to commercial establishments such as hotels has “almost come to a standstill”.
‘Had to switch to wood stove’
Sources said hotels and restaurants in Kerala consume many LPG cylinders, even up to 15 a day, depending on their size and scale of operations.
On Tuesday, a busy, mid-scale hotel with round-the-clock operations in Kochi partially shifted its cooking to traditional firewood stoves due to the unexpected crisis.
Its owner said, “We cooked rice today using a traditional wood stove. We cannot close the hotel suddenly as around 25 people are working here.”
He said they usually use up to five cylinders a day and now they have no cylinders in reserve.
A hotel owner in Kozhikode said that if the LPG shortage continues for a long time, he will be forced to close the hotel. “During the normal season, we require at least six cylinders per day. Since it is the Ramzan fasting time, we can manage with a maximum of four cylinders. But, when we placed the order this morning, we were not getting even that many,” he said.
Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) officials said, “Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) informed us on Monday that refilling of commercial cylinders has been stopped. But as per our information, institutions and households falling under the essential services category will not be affected.”
He said that the association has already sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and CM Pinarayi Vijayan making the immediate demand.
State Civil Supplies Minister GR Anil said a meeting of industry stakeholders and concerned officials was called. “Kerala is a consumer state and hence we have requested the Center to pay special attention to the hotel industry in the state in the distribution of LPG cylinders,” he said.
scale of need
India consumes about 31.3 million tonnes of LPG annually. About 87% of this is in the domestic sector, i.e. home kitchens; and the rest in commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants.
About 62% of the demand is met through imports.
The US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation have closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea route through which India gets 85-90 per cent of its LPG imports from West Asian countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
impact on booking
Hotel associations in Bengaluru and Chennai have also warned of disruption, warning that restaurants in the respective cities may be forced to close operations on Tuesday, March 10, if LPG supply is not restored.
The Chennai organization said that food supply to IT parks and college hostels as well as banquet bookings taken by hotels will also be affected.
The National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) also urged government intervention as it warned of a “catastrophic closure” of businesses.
Restaurants in Gurugram and Mumbai have also reported shortage of commercial LPG.
“We have backup cylinders that can last for about three days. If the situation continues, we may have to switch to residential cylinders or reduce menu items,” Rohit Arora, manager of a restaurant in Gurugram, told HT.
According to an NDTV report, eateries in areas like Dadar, Andheri and Matunga have removed slow-cooking items from their menus and shortened their operating hours to save on commercial LPG.
Meanwhile, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has temporarily closed gas crematoriums in the city, and directed that priority be given to available propane and butane for domestic LPG supply across the country.
LPG cylinder prices for commercial use increased ₹115 and for home use ₹60 last week.
Global issue: how America is responding
Gen. Dan Cain, US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked on Tuesday whether the US military was prepared to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kane said he was “looking at a number of options to set the military conditions to be able to do this”.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to President Donald Trump’s social media posts threatening Iran against blocking the flow of oil through the shipping route. “He takes the situation across that strait very seriously,” Hegseth said.
