Centre for the first time has fixed the maximum cooking gas LPG production targets for individual public- and private-sector refineries and upstream companies. Through the move, it seeks to build a domestic supply buffer after the West Asia conflict exposed the country’s vulnerability to disruptions in imported cooking gas.
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has specified maximum LPG production levels for 21 refineries and upstream companies, with combined production potential set at 63,810 tonnes a day. This is more than double the domestic LPG output in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 and about 70 per cent of the country’s daily consumption.
The production limits will kick in whenever there is a supply constraint, it said.
Notably, the lion’s share of the planned output has been set from Reliance Industries Ltd’s older refinery, which would have to produce up to 18,000 tonnes a day of LPG, according to the order.
Eighteen refineries owned by public sector oil companies have been directed to produce a combined 31,470 tonnes a day.
India consumed 33.2 million tonnes of LPG in the 2025-26 fiscal year (about 91,000 tonnes per day). Of this, 13.1 million tonnes a year was produced locally (about 35,900 tonnes a day) while the remaining 21.3 million tonnes per annum (about 58,400 tonnes a day) was imported.
The high import dependence of over 64 per cent left the country exposed. The start of the Iran war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane through which India got 90 per cent of its imports from nations like Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in March, centre had ordered refineries to divert streams used for petrochemicals production to maximise LPG output.
The order states that the Central Government will update the production schedule on January 1 and July 1 every year.
Centre Fixes Maximum Cooking Gas LPG Production Targets For Refineries
