Information from the government regarding the fuel situation in the country amidst the crisis in West Asia has been made available. In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Petroleum said that full supply of natural gas is being made to households using PNG and CNG, while to industry consumers, it is approximately 80%.

Speaking during the inter-ministerial briefing, Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma stated that PNG connections are receiving full gas supply while demands for CNG for transport uses are fully met.

Ms. Sharma went ahead to state that the government has put measures at all levels to alleviate any inconveniences among the masses. She further added that there has been some impact on imports due to the West Asia crisis. However, the Government of India is making every effort to ensure uninterrupted domestic supplies.

Regarding LPG, Sujata Sharma reiterated that domestic supplies are running smoothly and there are no reports of any distributors running out of stock. She also cautioned that panic buying has been observed at some distributors due to rumors. She urged consumers to avoid in-person visits to distributor showrooms.

She advised consumers to opt for online booking, as home delivery is available. The government has also increased supplies to the commercial sector. She stated that commercial LPG supplies have been restored to 70 percent capacity. So far, more than 147,000 tons of commercial LPG have been sold in April.

Sujata Sharma stated that fuel availability remains adequate across the country. She added that supplies of petrol and diesel are also adequate. No shortages have been reported at any petrol pump. However, he also expressed concern about panic buying in some areas due to rumors. He stated that crude oil reserves are sufficient and our refineries are operating at full capacity.

To ensure that industries do not face any shortages, supplies of additional fuels such as coal and kerosene are being increased. He stated that petrol and diesel prices have not been increased, so people are requested not to panic buy.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas reported that more than 81,000 five-kg LPG cylinders were sold across the country in April, bringing the total to 17.83 lakh. Five-kg LPG cylinders are used by migrant workers in urban areas for cooking.

In addition, 5.27 lakh PNG connections have been gasified and infrastructure has been created for an additional 2.60 lakh connections, bringing the total number of connections to 7.87 lakh. Nearly 5.97 lakh customers have also registered for new connections. More than 42 thousand PNG consumers have surrendered their LPG connections.