India boosts LPG production by 28%: Hardeep Puri assures amid West Asia crisis

As consumers across India report a shortage of LPG cylinders, Hardeep Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, on Thursday (Mar 12) assured there is ample supply. He informed the Lok Sabha that almost 45 per cent of “India’s crude imports transited through the Hormuz route” before the crisis. He reiterated his previous stance that India’s crude supply position is secure, assuring that the “volume secured exceeds what Hormuz could have delivered".

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic outreach, he said, “Outstanding diplomatic outreach and goodwill: India has secured a good volume that exceeded what the disrupted Hormuz could have delivered in the same period.”

The minister noted that in the last five days, the LPG production in the country has been ramped by 28% through the refinery directive, and further procurement is underway.

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60% of the country's LPG requirement is imported from Gulf nations viz. Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. While 40% is produced domestically. Puri informed the House that the procurement has been “actively diversified with cargos secured from US, Norway, Algeria Canada, and Russia in addition to Gulf sources.”

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“Non-Hormuz sourcing has risen to approximately 70 per cent of crude imports, up from 55 per cent before the conflict began,” he added.