Petroleum ministry has directed oil marketing companies (OMCs) to revise the inter-refill booking interval for domestic LPG cylinders from 45 days to 25 days.
The move will allow consumers across urban and rural areas to book a refill after a uniform gap of 25 days. In February 2026, following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict, the ministry had prescribed different booking intervals for LPG consumers as a temporary measure to manage demand. Under the arrangement, consumers in urban areas could book a refill after 25 days, while those in rural areas had to wait 45 days.
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.
Oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) — have been advised to implement the revised interval with immediate effect across urban and rural areas.
During the West Asia crisis, cargo movement through the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints — 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.
After the West Asia crisis, which lasted for more than 100 days, India significantly diversified its LPG imports, with the United States emerging as the country's largest supplier, overtaking traditional Gulf suppliers such as the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The country also increased LPG production through public sector, joint venture and private refineries as well as upstream oil companies, taking total production to 63.81 thousand metric tonnes a day, or 63,810 tonnes a day.
