India has directed its state companies and private refiners to prepare for a sharp increase in cooking gas production, seeking to bolster domestic supplies as the Iran war prolongs uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway for about 90% of the country’s liquefied petroleum gas imports.
Refiners have been ordered to “implement all technically and economically feasible measures” to maximize LPG output beyond current minimum producible levels, as per a government notification.
That includes exploring alternative uses of feedstocks, such as converting naphtha into LPG. Companies will be required to raise production within stipulated timelines, while the government plans to review the output targets every January and July. The government now wants the industry to be capable of producing as much as 63,810 tons a day, according to the notification. It has set upper-limit production targets for individual refiners, with Reliance Industries Ltd.’s domestic-market-focused unit assigned the largest target at 18,000 tons a day.
Refiners and crude oil explorers have been ordered to “implement all technically and economically feasible measures” to maximize LPG output beyond current minimum producible levels, according to an August 13 government notification. Refiners have additionally been told to expand infrastructure for LPG storage, evacuation and transportation.
