For First Time, Govt Sets Refinery-Wise LPG Targets, Reliance Gets Largest Share

India is building a new LPG emergency safety net after the recent West Asia crisis exposed the country’s heavy dependence on imported cooking gas. For the first time, the government has fixed refinery-wise LPG production targets for public- and private-sector refineries and upstream companies. These are not quantities companies must produce every day. Instead, they are emergency preparedness benchmarks that can be activated when imports are disrupted.

India consumed about 33.2 million tonnes of LPG in 2025-26, or roughly 91,000 tonnes a day. Domestic production was around 13.1 million tonnes, or 35,900 tonnes a day, while 21.3 million tonnes was imported. Imports therefore supplied more than 64 per cent of consumption.

That vulnerability became clear during the West Asia conflict, when disruption around the Strait of Hormuz affected LPG supplies. The government directed refiners to maximise production, prioritised household supplies and restricted some commercial and industrial deliveries. Domestic output reached around 55,000 tonnes a day at the height of the crisis.

The new framework aims to make that emergency response faster and more organised.

The government has identified up to 63,810 tonnes of LPG per day of potential emergency production across 21 refineries and upstream companies — equivalent to roughly 70 per cent of India's current daily consumption.

Reliance Industries' Jamnagar domestic refinery has the largest individual target at 18,000 tonnes a day, while Nayara Energy's Vadinar refinery has been assigned 4,480 tonnes. Eighteen public-sector refineries together account for 31,470 tonnes a day, with upstream producers and processors such as ONGC and GAIL accounting for another 6,460 tonnes.

But this does not mean India can simply stop importing LPG. Refining capacity is not the same as LPG production capacity. Refineries produce petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, naphtha and petrochemical feedstocks alongside LPG. Producing more LPG can require diverting streams from other products, making it less attractive during normal times.

During a crisis, however, supply security takes priority. The government can order companies to increase LPG output and pursue feasible measures such as naphtha-to-LPG conversion and refinery upgrades.

The order also requires companies to maintain adequate storage, evacuation and transportation infrastructure, because producing extra LPG is useless if it cannot reach consumers.

The framework will be reviewed every six months. The message is clear: India is not ending LPG imports; it is building a stronger domestic shield so the next global supply shock does not quickly become a household shortage.