Petroleum Ministry issues directions to strengthen natural gas infra, address present complexities and delays
The Hindu
Petroleum Ministry directs reforms to enhance natural gas infrastructure, streamline approvals, and ease transition from LPG to PNG.
Seeking to accelerate the push for piped natural gas (PNG), the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), late on Tuesday (March 24, 2026), invoking the Essential Commodities Act (ECA), instituted reforms to ease provisions towards expanding piped gas network — both domestic and commercial.
The Ministry underlined the reforms were aimed at “addressing delays in approvals and access to land, and enabling faster development of natural gas infrastructure, including in residential areas”, alongside instituting an investor-friendly network and improving last-mile connectivity.
Further, they seek to reduce “compliance burden” through simplified procedures and clearer documentation requirements.
The Ministry’s push for expanding piped natural gas (PNG) is aimed at easing some of the pressure from liquified petroleum gas (LPG), supplies of which have been affected amidst the ongoing tensions in West Asia.
However, as underlined by officials during the daily inter-ministerial briefings about the ongoing conflict, current domestic production of LPG is accounting for 50-60% of consumption requirements.
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