New Delhi [India], May 6 : The government on Wednesday said it is making "every possible effort" to ensure uninterrupted supply of LPG, crude oil and natural gas amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, while cautioning against panic buying at retail fuel outlets.
Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said, "Our imports are affected due to the West Asia crisis, whether it is LPG or crude or natural gas. But the Indian government is trying to ensure that domestic supply, domestic LPG consumers are provided with 100 per cent supply."
She added that "70 per cent of the commercial supply is being provided" even as authorities continue efforts to maintain stable fuel availability across the country.
Sharma said the distribution of domestic cooking gas remains normal despite supply concerns linked to the geopolitical situation.
"I would like to say that the distribution of domestic cooking LPG is normal. No dry-out has been reported on LPG distributors," she said.
Highlighting the scale of ongoing supply operations, Sharma said around "87,28,000 LPG cylinders were delivered in the last two days" against bookings of nearly "88,82,000".
She further said that "approximately 95 per cent of LPG cylinders are being delivered" through the delivery authentication system.
On commercial and transport fuel supply, Sharma said "approximately 15,900 tonnes of commercial LPG were sold in the last two days" while "876 tonnes of auto LPG were sold by PSU OMCs."
The official also said that over "1,20,000 5 kg cylinders were sold in the last two days" as part of efforts to improve accessibility of cooking fuel.
Giving details of outreach measures, Sharma said, "More than 10,500 awareness camps have been set up by PSU OMCs since April 3," adding that over "1,84,000 5 kg cylinders have been sold" through these camps.
On piped natural gas (PNG), Sharma said "6,31,000 PNG connections have been gasified," while "approximately 2,67,000 additional infrastructure has been created for PNG connections."
She added that "more than 49,200 PNG consumers have surrendered their LPG connections."
On the fuel retail situation, Sharma said, "Retail outlets are operating normally. But panic buying is seen at some places."
"To ensure adequate supply, every possible effort is being made by PSUs," she added.
The official also said crude oil refineries are operating without disruption and inventories remain sufficient.
"Crude refineries are operating normally. Inventories are maintained sufficiently," Sharma said.
Responding to a question on reports regarding maintenance shutdown at a refinery operated by Reliance Industries, Sharma said refinery shutdowns and maintenance turnarounds are "a normal part of operation".
She added that Nayara Energy's refinery is currently under shutdown and is expected to resume operations "by mid of this month or before that", after which the Reliance refinery shutdown will begin.
"We in the ministry try to ensure that all the shutdowns don't happen at one time. So it has to be scattered so that the supplies for the domestic market is not affected," she said.
"Generally, it takes four weeks or around four weeks for a shutdown to complete," Sharma said.
The ministry also said enforcement action is being intensified to prevent irregularities in fuel distribution.
"Approximately 2,100 raids have been conducted by state governments yesterday," Sharma said, adding that "3,149 show cause notices have been given to distributors", penalties imposed on 366 distributors and 75 distributors suspended.
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