Government assures fertiliser plants of 70% LNG supply

NEW DELHI: Govt on Tuesday said fertiliser plants had been placed under ‘priority sector-2’ for natural gas supply, thereby guaranteeing the industry at least 70% of its average natural gas consumption, reports Dipak Dash.In a notification, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas said the average would be calculated on the basis of the previous six months’ consumption. The fertiliser department said the measure aims to safeguard production against global supply chain disruptions, particularly LNG issues.Though the ministry said the current stock of around 6.2 MT of urea was good, the 30% cut in LNG supply, the key feedstock for producing the soil nutrient, may bring down the opening stock in April, industry insiders said. They added that it would all depend on how long the crisis persists.