The government on Friday urged citizens not to indulge in panic buying of LPG cylinders after bookings surged sharply amid concerns triggered by ongoing US-Iran war and Strait of Hormuz closure.
Officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said LPG bookings have risen significantly in recent days, touching 75.7 lakh bookings, compared to the pre-war daily average of 55.7 lakh, indicating panic-driven demand.
A senior Oil Ministry official said the spike reflects precautionary bookings by households rather than any real shortage of cooking gas.
“There is no need for panic booking; no dry-out has been reported at any LPG dealer,” said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
She said that despite the surge in bookings, all 25,000 LPG distributors across the country continue to maintain supplies and no dealer has reported running out of cylinders.
But as a precaution, she also urged Indians to get PNG connections to reduce load on the LPG supply chain.
“No need for panic, we have 1.5 crore PNG users, ensuring supplies to all, apart from this 1.5 crore, 60 lakh households have PNG connectivity nearby hai… I urge users to take PNG connection to reduce pressure over LPG,” Sharma said.
Sharma added that India’s petroleum sector remains stable, with adequate fuel availability across the country.
Speaking about fuel supplies, she said India has a refining capacity of 258 million metric tonnes and is self-sufficient in the production of petrol and diesel, meaning there is no need to import these fuels.
“All our refineries are operating at 100% capacity or higher. They hold adequate crude oil inventories and supplies are being consistently maintained,” she said.