MoS Suresh Gopi speaks in Rajya Sabha
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During the West Asia conflict, the PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs) implemented strict system-controls to clear long-pending bookings while adhering to the First In First Out (FIFO) principle bringing down the high average LPG cylinder refill time during March-June 2026, but it still trails January-February levels.Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Suresh Gopi in a written response in the Rajya Sabha emphasised that the steps taken by the government and the PSU OMCs helped reduce the average refill delivery time across the country from 4.33 days on June 1, 2026 to 2.15 days on July 27, 2026Data shared by the Minister showed that average domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder refill time for PSU OMCs stood at 1.57 days and 1.32 days during January and February 2026.This average time rose to 3.79 days in March 2026 rising further to 5.54 days in April and 5.21 days in May, before cooling down to 3.68 in June and then to 2.15 days as of July 27.West Asia conflictPrior to the outbreak of conflict in West Asia in February 2026, India used to import about 60 per cent of its LPG consumption, out of which about 90 per cent was transiting through the Strait of Hormuz (SoH). With its closure, supplies of imported LPG were severely constrained, Gopi pointed out.The government took a series of proactive measures to ensure stability in LPG supplies post the outbreak of the conflict. In order to prioritise supply in the domestic LPG sector, several temporary demand management measures were also implemented such as implementation of an inter-refill gap of 25 days for urban areas and 45 days for rural areas and rationalizing stock management at bottling plants, he added.Besides, PSU OMCs implemented system-controls to ensure that their distributors clear long-pending bookings while adhering to the FIFO principle. This prevented customers facing prolonged delay and ensured timely and equitable delivery of LPG refill to maximum genuine consumers, the Minister said.The measures also enabled OMCs to identify distributors with excessive pendency and take corrective action, thereby improving delivery efficiency and ensuring more equitable and timely supply of LPG refills to genuine consumers, he added.Published on August 3, 2026
