New Delhi: The efforts to expand piped natural gas (PNG) infrastructure backed by incentives and regulatory push have started to show results with a sharp rise in new connections and a gradual shift away from liquified petroleum gas (LPG), according to the government.
The inter-ministerial press note released Tuesday, without a live briefing, underlined that more than 3.1 lakh PNG connections across domestic households, commercial establishments, hostels, messes and canteens have been issued in March.
Additionally, over 2.7 lakh new PNG connections have been finalised, it said.
The note added that Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, a statutory body that regulates downstream (consumer interests, distribution) activities in the petroleum and natural gas sectors, Monday directed city gas distribution (CGD) entities to expedite domestic PNG connections.
The National PNG Drive 2.0 which originally scheduled to end on 31 March has now been extended till 30 June to continue the pace of expansion. The government push for PNG is aimed to ease pressure on LPG supply and ensure more equal distribution.
On domestic LPG availability, the press briefing said that public sector oil marketing companies have delivered more than 50 lakh cylinders per day on average since 1 March.
To relax the threshold on commercial LPG cylinders, the government last week approved an additional 20 percent allocation of non-domestic LPG cylinders, taking total availability to about 70 percent of pre-crisis levels.
Most of the States and Union Territories are aligned with central guidelines for commercial LPG allocation, with commercial entities lifting nearly 47,928 metric tonnes of LPG since 14 March, the press note said.
It updated on the enforcement measures to curb hoarding and black marketing. On Monday, more than 3,000 raids were conducted across states, resulting in the confiscation of over 500 cylinders in a single day, while over 540 show cause notices have been issued to LPG distributors by oil marketing companies.
On the supply side, natural gas availability for key sectors remains stable. Urea plants are currently receiving 70-75 percent of their average gas consumption, with additional LNG cargoes being sourced to maintain supplies.
Industrial consumers have also been asked to indicate spot requirements to enable timely provisioning, the note said.
On Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, it stated that after the departure of BW Tyr and BW Elm, 18 Indian flagged vessels with 485 seafarers remain on the western side of Hormuz and are monitored regularly by relevant Indian authorities.
(Edited by Tony Rai)