New Delhi. The central government on Tuesday took a major step to protect the domestic energy market amid increasing pressure on global fuel supplies due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Invoking the Essential Commodities Act (EC Act), the government has directed refineries and petrochemical units to increase LPG production, so that the supply of LPG in the country remains uninterrupted. According to the Petroleum Ministry, major hydrocarbon resources will be diverted to the LPG pool under the control order issued. Also, a new priority list has been fixed for distribution of natural gas, so that the existing supply constraints can be handled effectively.
Under the new system, 100% supply of domestic piped gas (PNG) and CNG for vehicles has been ensured. At the same time, tea industry, manufacturing units and industrial consumers connected to the gas grid will get only 80% of the average gas consumption of the last six months. Fertilizer plants have also been allocated 70% of the average gas consumption. Under this rebalancing, natural gas supply to refineries and petrochemical plants has been cut by 35%.
