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| Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
India’s current natural gas supply crunch is prone to be short-lived because the prevailing larger costs proper now make imports from distant sources corresponding to Norway and the U.S. economically viable, in line with authorities sources. However, such shipments usually take longer to reach, which means the nation may face a scarcity within the interim, they stated.
Requesting anonymity, an official stated India’s LPG output has elevated by 10% after the federal government determined to prioritise provides to households over trade customers. On March 5, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) requested all oil refining firms to maximise manufacturing, directing that each one propane and butane produced, recovered or in any other case obtainable be utilised for LPG output.
Difficult to pivot rapidly
“On LNG, it is very difficult to make changes quickly,” the official stated. “Apart from Qatar, our other options are Norwegian or American gas, and that takes a long time to reach India.”
“We were getting Qatar gas at $6-8 per MMBtu [Metric Million British Thermal Unit], and now the price is $15 per MMBtu,” he additional defined. “But, the economics of it is that, once the price crosses even $10 per MMBtu, then gas from Norway and the U.S. becomes viable even despite the long distance.”
Another authorities official stated that each LPG and LNG provides have been diversified, with cargoes “already arriving”. “Some geographies are distant and therefore take time, but supplies are coming,” the official said.
Shipping trade estimates counsel it takes about two months for vessels to journey to the U.S. or Norway and return to India with gasoline cargo.
“There will, of course, be a lead time between placing orders and receiving deliveries from those countries,” the official stated. “Gas will not be a long-term problem, but there will be some short-term pain.”
Priority for households
Another official, who additionally didn’t want to be recognized, stated the federal government’s utmost precedence is to make sure an uninterrupted LPG provide to home households with out “jeopardising commercial entities”.
To allay considerations amongst restaurateurs about potential scarcity of economic LPG cylinders, the federal government on Monday constituted a committee comprising three govt administrators of oil advertising firms (OMCs) to “review the representations for LPG supply and try to provide some volumes to them.”
The official said, “We [the committee] are already in touch with the restaurateurs. All genuine requirements will be addressed and relief provided to the extent possible.”
Asked whether or not the committee had been accorded a timeline, the official stated, “We will have to evaluate on a case-to-case basis, and will act accordingly.”
Published – March 10, 2026 09:04 pm IST
