New Delhi:The government has increased LPG cylinder booking period from 21 to 25 days in order to prevent hoarding and black marketing, ANI quoted sources assupply of Liquified Petroleum Gas is impacteddue to closer of the 'Strait of Hormuz' amid war in the Gulf region and middle east. The move has come after it was noticed that consumers were bookingLPG cylinders after a gap of just 15 days as usually it was around 55 days. Government sources said, "There were instances that people who were earlier booking LPG cylinders in 55 Days have started booking cylinders in 15 days.
Apart from increasing the booking gap, the government ordered refineries to boost LPG output and also ordered to prioritise domestic LPG over commercial connections.
"Domestic consumers will always be a priority," sources reaffirmed, as India scouts for more LPG partners.
Amid conflict in the middle east, countries like Algeria, Australia, Canada, Norway have approached to sell LPG to India, they added. Petrol and diesel prices in India are unlikely to increase, unless and until crude oil prices breach USD 130 per barrel, government sources said.
The fuel prices are unlikely to increase as India has enough stock, the sources said.
"We expect crude oil prices to be around USD 100 per barrel," one of the sources said. "No problem of shortage of petrol and diesel at any pump in country." They also said that sourcing crude other than the Strait of Hormuz route has been accelerated.
Further, the said sources indicated that India has enough stock of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). "India is a producer and exporter of ATF, no need to panic about ATF," they said. India, the sources said, is better placed than other countries.
LPG cylinder booking gap has been increased days after domestic cooking gas price was hiked by a steep Rs 60 per cylinder, the second increase in rate in less than a year, as the spike in global energy rates following the West Asia crisis weighed on the world's third largest energy consumer.
Top government sources, however, were quick to state that an increase in petrol and diesel prices is not in the offing as state-owned oil firms have enough financial muscle to absorb the warranted increase.
Non-subsidised LPG -- the one that common households use in kitchens -- will now cost Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi as against Rs 853 previously, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) website.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
