Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas | Photo Credit: -

The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) on Friday pointed out that India’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption is showing signs of softening as peak summers approach.

Generally, the consumption of LPG wanes in summers due to a decline in consumption of hot cooked meals as well as a fall in heating requirements.

LPG demand

Asked about LPG demand, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the MoPNG, at the inter-ministerial briefing on West Asia, said ““Summer, yes. LPG demand is expected to come down. Bookings declined and we are now witnessing booking in the range of 46-50 lakh, which was more than 50 lakh earlier.”

The West Asia conflict completely choked off roughly 54,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of India’s LPG imports in March, which a month later reduced to around 30,000 TPD as the government ramped up production and re-prioritised consumption.

In March, bookings surged to more than 88 lakh 14.2 kg LPG cylinders per day, from the normal of around 45-50 lakh bookings daily. For instance, daily bookings increased from an average 55.7 lakh to 76 lakh on March 12, 2026. Similarly, booking hit 88.8 lakh a day on March 13^th.

Emphasising that India has diversified sources to import crude oil, the MoPNG reiterated that its top priority is to ensure the country’s energy security and refiners are doing their ​best ⁠to line-up oil cargoes to ‌meet local demand.

The Ministry emphasised that it is taking steps to ensure uninterrupted availability of petroleum products and LPG across the country, in the context of the ongoing situation involving the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).

On Iranian crude

Asked if India has been buying Iranian crude oil using Chinese yuan, Sharma said, “Meeting domestic demand is our utmost priority.” She, however, did not clarify any further.

On India continuing to purchase Russian crude oil even after the sanctions waiver ended on April 11, Sharma said that India buys crude oil from more than 40 sources, and refiners procurement depends on various factors such as grades, prices and logistics.

Despite the ongoing geopolitical situation, the government has ensured that 100 per cent supply is being made to domestic LPG domestic PNG and CNG (transport).

LPG supply continues to be affected by the prevailing geopolitical situation. However, no dry-outs have been reported at LPG distributorships. Since March 23, 2026, more than 16.41 lakh 5-kg Free Trade LPG cylinders have been sold.

A three-member committee of Executive Directors from IOCL, HPCL and BPCL is coordinating with State authorities and industry bodies to plan commercial LPG distribution in the States/UTs.

A total of 1,50,367 tonnes, which is equivalent to more than 79.14 Lakh of 19 Kg commercial LPG cylinders, have been sold since March 14, 2026. This includes more than 8,850 tonnes of Auto LPG.

The average auto LPG sale by PSU OMCs in April 2026 (till April 16) is around 296 tonnes per day (TPD) against the average of 177 TPD during February 2026.

Auto LPG sales were observed to have shifted from private to PSU OMCs. To meet the rising demand, the sale of auto LPG by the PSU OMCs has increased by 67 per cent. The major increase has been observed in the States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan, West Bengal etc.

Published on April 17, 2026