Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: With energy supplies still tight amid the West Asia conflict, India is securing LPG cargo through spot purchases to meet demand for cooking gas cylinders among households as well as commercial establishments.People aware of the development said state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have tied up with the US to bridge the supply shortfall. Besides long-term contracts with the country, OMCs have also added spot cargoes in the last few weeks, which are likely to reach India in June and July.When asked, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the petroleum and natural gas ministry, said India was importing nearly 60% of its LPG requirement before the war broke out in West Asia. “With the increase in domestic production, our import dependency has decreased. Govt’s priority is to ensure domestic supplies, and for that, we will source cargo from wherever it is possible,” Sharma said.According to the ministry, against a daily LPG requirement of approximately 80,000 tonnes, India has raised domestic output by nearly 20% to about 46,000 tonnes. For the remaining requirement, it has diversified imports from 10 countries earlier to 15 now. While 90% of LPG supplies earlier came from Gulf nations – the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman – more purchases are now being made from the US, Norway, Canada, Algeria and Russia.Earlier this month, govt said that at least eight lakh tonnes of assured import cargo had already been secured and are en route. Of the 10 vessels that have reached India after crossing the Strait of Hormuz, since the war began and supply lines were choked, nine carried cooking gas.
