What the lifting of gas curbs means? | Explained

The story so farOn July 4, 2026, the government lifted emergency curbs it had imposed on the supply of natural gas during the West Asia crisis in March. It cited “ceasefire and negotiations” and the resumption of “sea traffic through the Strait of Hormuz” to restore gas supplies to fertilizer plants, refineries, distributors and industrial users. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, in a notification, amended the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026, and omitted provisions that had prioritised sale of domestically produced natural gas and imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as per a priority list released by the government during the U.

S.-Israel war on Iran.The priority listOn March 12, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament about the “immediate priority sequence”.

“Domestic piped gas to homes and CNG for vehicles receive 100% supply with no cuts. Industrial and manufacturing consumers will receive up to 80% of their previous six-month average. Fertilizer plants will receive up to 70%, protecting the agricultural input chain ahead of the sowing season.

Refineries and petrochemical units absorb a managed reduction, with that gas redirected to higher-priority sectors,” he had said. Government withdraws emergency gas curbs imposed during Hormuz disruption as LNG supplies normaliseWhy the relaxation?The latest measure follows a series of steps the government has taken to ease the supply of gas in the wake of an improved supply situation.

On June 25, it restored the supply of industrial and commercial LPG to the pre-West Asia crisis levels. “In a major relief to industrial and commercial LPG consumers, the government has removed all sectoral restrictions on the supply of non-domestic packed LPG and restored supplies to the levels prevailing prior to the West Asia crisis,” the Petroleum Ministry said. Why is India pushing piped gas now?

| ExplainedWhich sectors benefit?The move is expected to benefit the refineries, city gas distributors, and industries such as ceramic. These sectors need reliable supply of natural gas at affordable rates.

According to Prashant Vashisht, senior vice-president at ratings agency ICRA, the biggest beneficiaries of this move will be the industrial and commercial users of natural gas. He said the supplies to fertilizer units and domestic users were all but normalised.“The emergency measures had affected supplies of city gas distributors to their industrial and commercial clients.

There were industries which did not get even alternate fuel to carry out operations. Hotels, for instance, had to stop making items that consumed more fuel,” he said.Gas supplies to ceramic, power, sponge iron and petrochem sectors were curtailed.

“So factories that were operating in reduced capacity can now ramp up their capacities as and when the fuel supplies come in,” he said.When the West Asia crisis peaked in March, ceramic manufacturing units based in Gujarat’s Morbi bore the brunt with reports indicating that 600 factories and 4 lakh workers were affected amid a shortage of propane and natural gas, both used in the production of ceramic. Commercial LPG prices cut by ₹183 per refillWhich sector uses LNG the most?

Fertilizer plants are known to consume a bulk of India’s LNG. According to a July 2025 article published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a global team of energy analysts, on India’s LNG consumption, “The fertiliser sector... has accounted for almost all of India’s LNG demand growth since FY2016.”

In an earlier interaction with The Hindu in March, Mr. Vasisht had said, “A little less than 30% of natural gas use goes into making fertilizers, while power plants account for 13% and city gas distribution 21%.”Urea, which has around 46% of nitrogen, is the most common nitrogen fertilizer.

It is produced by converting natural gas (methane) into ammonia and then combining it with carbon dioxide. The energy-dependent process, hence, makes LNG a crucial ingredient of the product. The strategic vulnerability in India’s LPG supply modelLPG vs LNGLPG, mostly used as cooking gas in India in cylinders, is made of propane and butane, and stored as liquid under pressure.

India imports around 60% of its LPG and with supplies via the Strait of Hormuz stopped during the war, it procured LPG from the U.S., chiefly from its Gulf coast.

India’s LPG crisis is the wake-up call it cannot ignoreLNG is natural gas, mostly methane. It is cooled to around -160°C and liquefied so that it can be shipped in specialised tankers. It is re-gasified in vaporisers (heat exchangers) at port terminals before being supplied through pipes.

India imports half of its LNG, most of which would come from Qatar before the war through long-term contracts. But as supply from Qatar dwindled to a trickle after its gas fields were attacked, the U.S.

(26%), Oman (24%), Nigeria (22%), and Angola (16%) became the major sources, according to a report by Businessline.What