We have sufficient supply of crude, our refineries operating at full capacity: Govt

The government on Saturday expressed serious concern over instances of panic booking of LPG across the country, reassuring the people that no stock-outs of the LPG supply has been reported so far in the wake of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

At an inter-ministerial briefing on the situation arising from the conflict, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery) in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, said, “As far as crude oil and refineries are concerned, we have a sufficient supply of crude, and our refineries are operating at full capacity. No instances of stock-outs have been reported at retail outlets; ample petrol and diesel are available. We produce sufficient petrol and diesel domestically to meet our requirements; consequently, we have no need for imports.’’

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Regarding the LPG supply, Sharma acknowledged that the issue remains a matter of concern in light of the prevailing geopolitical situation. ‘’However, no stock-outs have been reported thus far. I would like to re-emphasise one specific point: instances of panic booking remain excessively high. The figure I shared with you yesterday—approximately 7.5 to 7.6 million bookings—has now risen to nearly 8.8 million,” she said.

She said that as far as natural gas is concerned, the government’s objective is that wherever commercial consumers are facing difficulties or disruptions in their LPG supply, they should be transitioned to PNG connections. ‘’In furtherance of this objective, GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited) held a meeting with various CGD operators and advised them to expedite the provision of PNG connections to all eligible commercial consumers wherever feasible,‘’ she added.

Addressing the media, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, said, “All Indian seafarers in the Persian Gulf region are safe, and no untoward incidents involving them have been reported over the last 24 hours. There were 24 Indian-flagged vessels in the Persian Gulf, situated to the west of the Strait of Hormuz. Among these, two vessels— Shivalik and Nanda Devi, (both LPG carriers)– have safely transited the Strait of Hormuz late last night/early this morning and are now proceeding towards India. These vessels are carrying approximately 92,700 metric tons of LPG; their ports of arrival will be Mundra and Kandla, with expected arrival dates of March 16 and March 17, respectively. Consequently, there are now 22 Indian-flagged vessels remaining in the Persian Gulf, carrying a total of 611 seafarers.”