LPG refill booking gap cut to 25 days for all domestic consumers

With improvement in LPG supplies and a fall in refill backlogs, govt Monday reduced the minimum time gap for booking LPG refills in rural areas to 25 days from 45 days, bringing it on a par with the interval for urban consumers. Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Suresh Gopi said the restriction had been
imposed amid pressure on LPG supplies following the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia, with the booking interval set at 25 days in urban areas and 45 days in rural areas. He said, now, all domestic LPG consumers, regardless of urban or rural, can book refills at an interval of 25 days. The Minister in his post also shared a copy of the letter issued by the Petroleum Ministry to the OMCs to immediately implement the change. 
The decision comes as the government assesses the LPG supply situation to have improved considerably, with refill backlogs declining from the levels seen when the temporary demand-management measures were introduced earlier this year. Now, citing the improved supply position and a “considerable reduction” in refill backlogs, the Ministry has decided to rationalise the existing booking intervals.
During the West Asia crisis, cargo movement through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted. The waterway handles nearly 40% of India's crude oil imports, 60% of its LNG imports and about 90% of its LPG imports. LPG was the worst-hit fuel as India imports nearly 60% of its domestic requirement, with around 90% of those imports traditionally sourced from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait through the Strait of Hormuz.