Govt shares key updates on oil, gas shortage, shipping & more amid Israel-Iran war

The Indian government on Sunday shared key updates of country's oil and gas situation amid the US-Israel war with Iran, as supply of LPG remains affected due to the prevailing geopolitical situation.

Two LPG carriers, BW TYR and BW ELM, carrying a combined LPG cargo of about 94,000 MT have safely transited the Gulf region and are moving towards the Indian shores. As per official information, BW TYR is proceeding towards Mumbai with an expected time of arrival on March 31 and BW ELM is en route to New Mangalore with an estimated arrival date of April 1.

Check live updates of US-Israel war with Iran

Amid India's diplomatic efforts, a total of 18 Indian-flagged vessels with 485 Indian seafarers still remain in the western Persian Gulf region. The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping), in coordination with ship owners, RPSL agencies, and Indian Missions, is actively monitoring the situation.

Amid the government's appeal to shift to Piped Natural Gas (PNG), the Defence Ministry, on March 27, issued a short-term policy modification to expedite the installation of PNG infrastructure in all residential areas/unit lines of defence. The policy will be effective until June 30, 2026.

The Centre is taking "proactive measures" to maintain uninterrupted availability of petroleum products and LPG across the country.

On supply of natural gas, the government is prioritising consumers with 100% supplies to D-PNG and CNG-Transport. It noted that supplies to industrial & commercial consumers connected to the grid are at 80% of their average consumption.

Also read: India sends 38,000 MT petroleum to Sri Lanka amid global energy crisis

The government has advised City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities prioritise PNG connections for commercial establishments such as restaurants, hotels and canteens across all their geographical areas, to address concerns regarding the availability of commercial LPG.

Gas supply to operating urea plants is now steady at around 70-75% of their last six-month average consumption. The country is also sourcing additional LNG cargoes and Regasified LNG (RLNG) to maintain the supplies and pipeline hydraulics.

The government has advised all industrial consumers, including fertilizer plants, to provide their additional requirements on spot basis so that the same may be arranged by the Gas marketing companies. It has also requested state governments to expedite approval of applications required for the expansion of CGD network.

The Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways has adopted “Accelerated Approval Framework for CGD Infrastructure with reduced timelines” as a special measure for 3 months, wherein applications pertaining to CGD infrastructure shall be processed on priority.

The Centre has asked all Chief Secretaries, ACS/Principal Secretary/Secretary Food & Civil supply of all the States/UTs:

• To institutionalise daily press briefings at State/District level and issue regular public advisories.
• To setup dedicated control rooms/helplines
• To actively monitor and counter fake news/misinformation on social media.
• To intensify daily enforcement drives by District administrations and to continue raids and inspections in coordination with OMCs
• To issue Commercial LPG allocation orders within their States/UTs
• To issue SKO allocation orders for additional SKO allotted to the States/UTs.
• To fast-track CGD expansion incl. expediting RoW/RoU permissions, 24x7 work permissions etc.
• To promote PNG adoptions and alternate fuels.
• To nominate senior nodal officers for coordination with MoPNG

It has also requested Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs to conduct daily press briefs and active social media/electronic media updates to disseminate correct information and eliminate rumour mongering. Currently, 14 States and UTs are carrying out daily press briefs.

For the safety of Indian nationals and their safe return to the country, around 80 flights are expected to operate today from various airports of UAE to India. With the partial reopening of Qatar airspace, around 8–10 non-scheduled flights are expected today. The Ministry of External Affairs added that as Kuwait and Bahrain airspaces remain closed, special non-scheduled commercial flights of Jazeera Airways and Gulf Air are operating from Dammam Airport in Saudi Arabia to various destinations in India.

Travel is also being facilitated from Iran, Israel and Iraq.