Bhubaneswar: In a move to ensure an uninterrupted supply of cooking gas across the country , the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued a revised order on March 9, 2026, directing all domestic and Special Economic Zone oil refining companies to prioritize Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production.
According to the directive, refineries and their associated petrochemical complexes must utilize their entire production of C3 and C4 streams, which include Propane, Butane, Propylene, and butenes, specifically for the production of the LPG pool. The government has strictly prohibited these companies from diverting, processing, cracking, or converting these streams for the manufacturing of petrochemical products or other downstream derivatives.
The refineries are instructed to make this LPG available exclusively to the three major public sector Oil Marketing Companies: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Currently, these three companies supply more than 99 percent of the domestic LPG consumed in India. Furthermore, the order explicitly mandates that these marketing companies must supply the procured LPG solely to domestic consumers.
The Ministry invoked powers under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 and Clauses 3 and 5 of the Petroleum Products (Maintenance of Production, Storage and Supply) Order of 1999 to enforce these regulations in the public interest. Any contravention of the order will attract action under these laws.
This revised order supersedes an earlier directive issued on March 5, 2026, and comes into effect immediately, remaining in force until further orders from the Central Government.