LPG Booking Gap Now Extended To 45 Days In Rural Areas, 25 In Urban

New Delhi: The booking gap for LPG cylinders has now been extended for both rural and urban regions of the country, amid global energy disruption in the backdrop of the war in Iran.

The minimum gap for booking in the rural areas has been increased from 25 to 45 days; while in urban areas the gap has been increased from 21 to 25 days.

"A 25-day minimum booking gap has been introduced as a demand management measure in urban areas and 45 days in rural and durgam kshetra areas," Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri said on Thursday while speaking at the Lok Sabha amid widespread concerns over gas supply.

The standard time from booking to delivery for domestic LPG cylinders, however, remains unchanged at 2.5 days, Puri said. 

The concerns come at a time when the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil vessels, remain blocked for days as the war in Iran continued.

"Hospitals and educational institutions have been placed on uninterrupted priority supply; their access to LPG is fully assured regardless of broader demand conditions," Puri added.

‘No Shortage’

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday assured the nation on Thursday that India’s fuel supply remains stable. Puri said the Union government has taken a slew of measures to make sure that India does not face any shortage of petrol, diesel, gas or LPG.

The minister said in the Lok Sabha that the world is currently facing an unprecedented energy disruption due to the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

“Today is the 13th day since the passage through the state of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's food, 20% of the world's natural gas, and 20% of the world's LPG flows was disrupted following the military operation between Iran, Israel and the US,” he said, adding, “For the first time in recorded history, the state of Hormuz has been effectively closed to commercial shipping.”

Despite the situation, he said that India is managing the crisis better than many countries. “Despite India having no role in causing the conflict, like many countries, India has to navigate through its consequences,” he said.

“Refineries are operating at high capacity utilisation. In several cases, they are exceeding 100%. There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, ATF or fuel oil. The availability of petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, kerosene and fuel oil is fully assured. Retail outlets across the country are stocked, and supply chains for these products are functioning normally. Additional allocation of PDS kerosene has been issued to all the states,” he emphasised.

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