Fertiliser plants will receive up to 70 per cent of their average gas consumption, while tea industries and other industrial consumers will get around 80 per cent supply subject to availability.

The government has invoked the Essential Commodities Act to regulate the supply of natural gas, prioritising the critical commodity for households and CNG vehicles, as well as for the production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for shipment.

The order was issued by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) on Monday.

Priority gas allocation

The order prioritises the supply of natural gas to the Domestic Piped Natural Gas (D-PNG) supply, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for transport, LPG production, Pipeline compressor fuel, and other essential pipeline operational requirements.

These sectors “shall be treated as priority allocation and shall be maintained subject to operational availability to hundred per cent. of their average past six month average gas consumption”.

Fertiliser sector priority

The government’s second priority is to ensure that the supply of natural gas to the fertiliser plants is 70 per cent. of their past six months’ average gas consumption, subject to operational availability.

“The gas marketing entities shall ensure that gas supply to tea industries, manufacturing and other industrial consumers supplied through the national gas grid is maintained at 80 per cent. of their past six month average gas consumption subject to operational availability,” the government order said for the third priority sector.

CGD consumer supplies

All City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities shall ensure that industrial and commercial consumers supplied through their networks receive eighty per cent. of their average gas consumption over the past six months, subject to operational availability, the notification added.

Refineries gas curbs

The oil refining companies shall absorb the impact of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply disruption to the extent feasible by reducing gas allocation to refineries to approximately 65 per cent. of the past six months’ gas consumption, subject to operational feasibility, the government notification said.

Gas allocation mechanism

The government notification also fixes the gas allocation mechanism. State-run GAIL, in coordination with the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), shall manage the supplies of natural gas to implement the above directions, for which it shall submit the invoice price of every diverted volume of natural gas to the PPAC.

Pooled gas pricing

A pooled price shall be notified by the PPAC for the natural gas diverted from non-priority sectors to priority sectors, it added.

“The entities from priority sector to whom the pooled gas is supplied shall give an undertaking that the pooled price is acceptable to them and they shall not make the force majeure mitigation supply subject to any litigation as this may be at variance with their existing contracts,” the notification said.

Mandatory supply data

Every producer, importer, transporter, marketer, or distributor of natural gas, including LNG and regasified LNG, shall furnish information relating to production, imports, stocks, allocation, supply, and consumption to the Central Government or to any officer authorised by it.

Published on March 10, 2026