India eased restrictions on natural gas supplies to industrial users following an improvement in liquefied natural gas (LNG) availability, as maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz shows signs of stabilization after recent disruptions.
According to a government notice issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has revised its 2026 gas allocation order, removing provisions that had previously led suppliers to invoke force majeure and redirect gas toward priority sectors.
The move marks a partial rollback of emergency measures introduced in March, when India diverted gas supplies away from lower-priority industries to households and essential users amid disruptions in LNG shipments linked to regional tensions.
India has traditionally rationed natural gas supplies to industry during periods of tight availability, prioritizing residential consumption and critical services.
However, improved LNG inflows following the easing of maritime constraints have allowed authorities to relax some of these controls, signaling greater confidence in supply stability.
The adjustment is expected to provide relief to energy-intensive industries that had faced reduced allocations in recent months.
The policy shift comes alongside renewed emphasis by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on expanding India’s domestic refining capacity and strengthening energy security.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new refinery on Saturday, Modi said India would continue building refining infrastructure to secure its supply chains, even as some Western economies scale back investments in downstream capacity.
He noted that no new oil refinery has been built in the United States in the past five decades, while Europe’s refining capacity has been steadily declining.
India’s latest energy infrastructure milestone includes the commissioning of a greenfield refinery in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, which is expected to become the only major new refinery globally to begin operations this year.
According to BloombergNEF analysis, the facility has a crude processing capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and an annual petrochemical output of 2.4 million tons, with total investment costs estimated at $8.3 billion.
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