NEW DELHI — Two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes are on their way to India to augment supplies for domestic consumers as the public sector oil and gas companies have stepped up imports from outside the Middle East amid the Iran war, a senior Central government official said on Wednesday.
“Crude supply remains secure. Volumes secured today exceed what normally would arrive from the Strait of Hormuz. Oil marketing companies secured various crude cargoes from different countries. As much as 75 per cent of crude is now coming from routes other than Hormuz against 55 per cent earlier,” Joint Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma, said at a press conference here.
On the panic booking of LPG triggered by the Middle East crisis, she said that the normal delivery cycle for domestic LPG remains 2.5 days, so there is no need for customers to rush and book cylinders.
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The government is constantly monitoring energy supplies and undertaking important measures amid the Middle East crisis, she added.
“Procurement through alternative routes is underway to secure supplies. We import 60 per cent of our requirements. Domestic LPG production has increased by 25 per cent and is being directed to household consumers after the government took steps to increase output,” the official said.
“Our refineries are operating at the highest capacity utilisation, some are even operating at more than 100 per cent of their capacity. The total consumption of gas is 189 mmscmd, of which 97.5 mmscmd is produced domestically, while the rest is imported. About 47.4 mmscmd supply has been affected due to force majeure conditions triggered by the Iran war,” she added.