More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2026

 

--Govt: Two LPG ships expected to reach India in next two days 

--CONTEXT: Govt ministries briefing media on West Asia conflict 

 

NEW DELHI – Expanding domestic piped natural gas connections is among the government's top priorities amid the war in West Asia and the disruption to gas supplies, a senior petroleum and natural gas ministry official said Wednesday. "The government is focusing on expanding the PNG network. Many steps have been taken to accelerate it, and many companies have provided incentives like security deposit waivers," Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said at an inter-ministerial briefing on India's preparedness amid the ongoing military conflict.

 

In Delhi, road restoration charges have been removed and pipeline laying activities will now be allowed 24x7, Sharma said. Late Tuesday, the government issued a notification to ease the framework surrounding the expansion of the PNG network. "Whatever steps we have taken till now have started showing us good results. In the last 25 days, 250,000 new (PNG) connections have been provided and around 220,000 consumers have transitioned from LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to PNG," Sharma said.

 

The Centre has already cut LPG supplies to commercial and industrial consumers, preferring to keep the gas running for households. Similarly, it has cut the supply of natural gas to commercial and industrial users, though not as severely. India depends on imports to meet roughly half of its natural gas consumption, about 30% of which comes via the Strait of Hormuz. This is one reason why the government is pushing the transition towards PNG, Sharma said.

 

India depends on imports to meet around 60% of its LPG needs and around 90% of those imports transit through the crucial chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz. Israel and the US attacked Iran on Feb. 28, killing its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf Cooperation Council member countries and its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have severely affected the production and supply of crude oil and gas.

 

Two India-flagged ships carrying LPG have already made their way through the Strait of Hormuz following dialogue between New Delhi and Tehran. Two more crossed the channel on Tuesday. These two ships will reach the Kandla Port and New Mangalore Port, one on Thursday and the other on Friday. The two containers are carrying a combined 92,000 metric tonnes of LPG.   End

 

Reported by Anand JC

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.