India has invoked emergency powers and directed refiners to maximise production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to prevent a shortage of the cooking fuel after supply disruptions caused by the Middle East crisis, a government order ‌showed. The world's ⁠second-biggest ⁠importer of LPG last year consumed 33.15 million metric tons of cooking gas, which is a mixture of propane and butane. All oil refiners are asked to "maximise and ensure ⁠that propane and ‌butane available with them are utilized for production of LPG", the order issued late on ⁠Thursday showed. The government has asked producers to make LPG, propane and butane available to state refiners - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp for distribution to households. The government also ordered refiners not to divert propane and butane for petrochemical production.

Source: Economic Times March 07, 2026 12:36 UTC