Iran war: OMCs ask LPG distributors to supply commercial cylinders only to hospitals, educational institutions

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• OMCs stop LPG supply to hotels, prioritize hospitals, schools
• Domestic LPG booking interval increased from 21 to 25 days
• Bengaluru hotels warn of shutdown over LPG supply disruption

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Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have instructed LPG distributors to supply commercial cylinders only to hospitals and educational institutions, temporarily halting sales to hotels, restaurants and other commercial establishments.

In an internal communication to LPG distributors accessed by Moneycontrol, OMCs (Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited) said: “As per latest directions from the Ministry (Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas), non-domestic cylinders (commercial) are to be sold only to hospitals and educational institutions. No non-domestic sale for hotels/restaurants/other commercial establishments.”

This comes as the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran has disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East, putting pressure on fuel supplies.

Meanwhile, booking interval for domestic LPG cylinders has been increased from 21 days to 25 days.

Also, read: Bengaluru Hotels Association warns of shutdown from March 10 over LPG supply disruption

NDNE dispatches suspended

In another communication issued on March 8, OMCs said: “Urgent and Important - Suspension of NDNE (Non-Domestic Non-Essential) dispatches. In view of the worsening war situation and the resulting disruption in imports, it has been decided that no dispatches of NDNE (commercial) shall be effected from tomorrow until further notice.”

“All distributors and direct customers must be informed appropriately. A formal communication should be issued to stakeholders explaining the prevailing situation and the disruption in imports. Important customers must be personally contacted and apprised by the concerned divisional managers and state office sales teams,” the communication said.

It added that distributors, retailers, high-volume customers and business associates should be regularly updated about product availability and assured that supplies will resume once the situation normalises.

Commercial loading on hold

An Indane distributor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said all commercial loading and invoicing have been put on hold until confirmation of LPG shipments.

“All commercial loading and invoicing have been suspended until confirmation of LPG shipments. Currently, LPG stocks at bottling plants are being kept on standby for domestic cylinder filling. Commercial supplies will be limited to emergency services such as hospitals,” the distributor said.

At Indian Oil Corporation’s Bengaluru terminal at Devanagonthi, supply of commercial cylinders has also been suspended due to the lack of LPG shipments from Chennai and Mangaluru ports, distributors said.

Hotels threaten shutdown

The disruption has led to a severe shortage of commercial cylinders in Bengaluru, forcing the Bengaluru Hotels Association to threaten a shutdown of hotel operations from March 10.

Another LPG dealer said the government has temporarily suspended bottling of commercial cylinders across the country. “The government has temporarily stopped bottling of commercial cylinders from this morning. There have been no dispatches across the country. It is not only in Bengaluru but nationwide. Depending on the availability of bulk LPG, the government will decide when supplies can resume,” the dealer said.

A distributor said commercial cylinder filling at Indian Oil’s bottling plant in Devanagonthi was halted from Monday. “They have stopped loading commercial cylinders at the Indian Oil bottling plant in Devanagonthi. They are waiting for shipments to arrive at the ports. Only after confirmation of incoming shipments will filling resume,” the distributor said.