New Delhi, March 10 (IANS). Keeping in mind the constraints in supply due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Central Government on Tuesday issued an order under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) directing to ensure uninterrupted supply of pipelined natural gas for domestic kitchens, LPG and CNG for transportation on top priority basis.
The order said the Center has assessed that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has resulted in disruption to the shipment of LNG through the Strait of Hormuz and suppliers have declared force majeure, under which natural gas will be sent to priority areas first.
The central government has directed refineries and petrochemical units to maximize production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and divert the major hydrocarbon stream to the LPG pool.
Supply of natural gas to fertilizer plants listed in Priority Sector 2 will be ensured equal to 70 per cent of the average gas consumption of the last six months, subject to operational availability. The order also states that these units will not use the gas supply for any purpose other than fertilizer production and a certificate in this regard will be submitted to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) through the Ministry of Fertilizer.
Gas Marketing Units will also ensure that gas is supplied to tea industries, manufacturing and other industrial consumers listed in Priority Sector 1 through the National Gas Grid and maintained equal to 80 per cent of the average gas consumption of the last six months, subject to operational availability.
Further, the order states that City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities shall ensure that industrial and commercial consumers supplied through their networks receive 80 per cent of the average gas consumption of the last six months, subject to operational availability.
–IANS
abs/
