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Natural Gas
India added more than 3.1 lakh new piped natural gas (PNG) connections in March and another 2.7 lakh connections were issued as the government accelerated expansion of cleaner fuel networks amid supply disruptions following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. With the war in West Asia disrupting cooking gas LPG supplies, the government has been pushing for greater adoption of piped natural gas - considered more convenient than LPG cylinders for everyday use as gas is delivered through a pipeline directly to home without the botheration of booking refills. The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz - the shipping lane through which India got most of its LPG. While LPG supplies have been disrupted, half of the country's requirement of natural gas is produced locally and for the rest there are diversified sources. "During the month of March, more than 3.1 lakh connections including domestic, commercial, hostel, mess, canteen etc. have been gasified. In addition to above, more .
The supply of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to commercial establishments in Maharashtra has been increased by 20 per cent, state Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has said, offering relief to restaurants and eateries. The government has decided to ease PNG distribution to businesses, the minister said on Sunday. "From March 23, until further notice, commercial PNG supply has been increased by 20 per cent," he added. With this, supply to the commercial sector will rise to 50 per cent. Restaurant and eateries were hit after the war in West Asia broke out, as it impacted the supply of commercial cooking gas. Several food joints have been forced to suspend operations due to the gas supply disruptions. The conflict involving US-Israel and Iran has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies. Bhujbal said the PNG distribution to commercial establishments, ever since the crisis hit, was initially raised to 20 per cent, followed by
Fertiliser companies have purchased additional natural gas from the spot market to ramp up urea production at their plants, which are operating well below capacity due to a fuel shortage amid the West Asia crisis, a senior government official said on Thursday. After the procurement of additional natural gas, urea plants are expected to operate at 78-80 per cent capacity compared to 62 per cent currently. India produced 306.67 lakh tonnes of urea in 2024-25 and imported 56.47 lakh tonnes of the nutrient to meet the domestic demand. The country has imported 98 lakh tonnes of urea in the first eleven months of this fiscal. Fertiliser plants in the country require about 52 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of natural gas to operate at full capacity, but were receiving only around 32 MMSCMD, meeting barely 62 per cent of their requirement, resulting in a significant shortfall in urea output, the official told PTI. To address this, a spot auction was conducted by the
The government has barred households with piped cooking gas (called PNG) connections from retaining or obtaining subsidised domestic LPG connections, even as the sector regulator pushed city gas distributors to accelerate PNG rollout to ease pressure on cooking gas supplies amid global energy supply disruptions. In a notification issued on March 14, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas amended the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000, under the Essential Commodities Act, making it mandatory for consumers with PNG connections to surrender their domestic LPG connections. The amended order also prohibits government oil companies and their distributors from providing domestic LPG connections or refilling cylinders for consumers who already have a PNG supply. "No person having a piped natural gas (PNG) connection and also having a domestic LPG connection shall retain a domestic LPG connection, or take refills of domestic LPG cylinders from any