Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri dismissed rumours of a cooking gas levy. He also addressed concerns over E20 petrol, highlighting the resilience of India's fuel network and low contamination rates after extensive testing of around 2,000 samples daily.
No Cooking Gas Levy Under Consideration
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday dismissed speculative reports regarding a potential levy on cooking gas, clarifying that no such move is under consideration by the government. Speaking at the 7th CII International Energy Conference, Puri challenged media reliance on unverified claims, stating, "Someone writes and rumours are spread and then you ask me to respond. It's not fair. It's not fair. If you have something concrete, let me know. But I'm not aware of any such proposal."
India's Fuel Network Resilient Amid Global Shocks
Earlier, addressing concerns over ethanol-blended petrol, the minister highlighted that India's fuel distribution network remained stable through recent market shocks. He said India's fuel retail network had remained fully resilient through recent global disruptions, addressing controversy around the E20 ethanol-blended petrol.
Responding to concerns raised after an industry body wrote on 28 July, Puri said intensive testing had actually begun two weeks earlier. Oil marketing companies collected around 2,000 samples daily from petrol stations nationwide using dedicated testing teams, he said. Out of India's 107,000 retail outlets serving six to seven crore customers a day only four contamination cases were found. He suggested some parties were presenting the findings out of context.
Puri said India's retail fuel network had expanded from 52,000 outlets in 2014 to roughly 107,000 today, and that not one outlet had run out of stock despite global supply pressures.
He attributed this to diversified crude sourcing, resilient infrastructure, trusted international partnerships, technological upgrades and strategic reserves India currently holds about 74 days of reserve capacity, he said.
India's Growing Energy Appetite
Puri noted that India is now the world's third-largest energy consumer and importer, and the fourth-largest refiner, with energy demand growing at roughly three times the global average. Citing the International Energy Agency, he said India could account for nearly 30% of the increase in global oil demand between now and 2050.
He contrasted this with declining refining capacity in Europe and the US, noting Europe is losing around 200,000 barrels per day in refining capacity while the US has not commissioned a new refinery in 50 years.
LPG Supply and Domestic Production
On LPG, Puri said a brief period of concern over supplies from Gulf nations near the Strait of Hormuz was addressed by ramping up domestic LPG production from about 34,000 to 55,000 metric tonnes a day, achieved partly by reconfiguring refinery output. He said the United States now supplies about 67% of India's LPG imports, reducing reliance on the Gulf region.
Plan to Revive Mumbai High Offshore Fields
The minister also highlighted a collaboration between ONGC, Brazil's Petrobras and BP to revive production at the Mumbai High offshore fields, discovered in 1974. The government will support drilling costs by up to 50%, capped at around 650 crore per well, he said.
Fuel Prices Kept Affordable, Says Minister
On fuel prices, Puri said that while global crude volatility had pushed petrol and diesel prices up marginally in recent years, excise duty cuts announced by the central government in November 2021, May 2022 and March 2026 cumulatively around Rs 10 per litre had kept Indian retail fuel prices among the most affordable globally, notably lower than neighbouring countries as well as several European nations.
He struck a cautiously optimistic note on the outlook, saying that while global uncertainties persist, India remains well-placed to manage future challenges. (ANI)
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