Is there going to be a fuel crisis? Modi government asked companies to keep 30 days of LPG stock

LPG Crisis: Tension seems to be increasing once again between Iran and America. In view of the current situation, the Narendra Modi government at the Center has come into alert mode. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has directed state-owned oil marketing companies to maintain LPG stock of at least 30 days.

Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Petroleum Ministry, said that the government is continuously working on oil and gas storage. Oil companies have been asked to keep a minimum stock of LPG for 30 days and preparations are going on in this direction. He said that earlier the demand for LPG was 80,000 metric tons, which has now come down to 72,000 metric tons. Whereas Indian refineries are currently producing 52,000 metric tons of LPG.

How is production being increased?

Regarding LPG production, Sujata Sharma said that it largely depends on the optimization done in the refineries. He said that efforts are also being made to maintain production balance by using C3 and C4 molecules. Some refineries have restarted, due to which there has been improvement in supply.

Apart from this, the availability of LPG has also increased due to optimization done by different refiners. According to Sharma, demand for LPG is affected due to seasonal changes, due to which consumption fluctuates.

How much loss are the oil companies incurring?

Responding to the concerns being raised regarding the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, Sujata Sharma said that due to the increase in the prices of crude oil in the international market, oil companies are currently facing a loss of about Rs 550 crore daily. The prices of petrol and diesel have been increased for the fourth time in the last ten days. The price of petrol has increased by Rs 2.61 per liter and that of diesel by Rs 2.71 per liter.

After this increase, the total increase in the prices of petrol and diesel has reached about Rs 7.5 per liter. The average price at which refiners are importing oil rose to $106.83 a barrel in May, from $69.01 in February, before the war started, according to government data.

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The government has asked states to form special enforcement teams to stop fuel hoarding, black marketing, illegal storage and misappropriation. Also, an appeal has been made to the common people not to pay attention to rumors and trust only official information.