India's Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (PSU OMCs) now serve 326.8 million active domestic LPG customers, reflecting an 8.2% annual growth since April 2015, according to a report by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). In the first quarter of fiscal year 2024-25, the companies, including industry leaders IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL, added 1.02 million new domestic customers and established 14 new distributorships, expanding their network to 25,495 distributors nationwide. LPG sales during this period reached nearly 7.2 million metric tonnes (MMT), with the domestic sector accounting for approximately 89.5% of total sales, marking a 4.7% increase compared to the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. The PPAC report also highlighted the sector's infrastructure, noting that PSU OMCs operate 211 LPG bottling plants with a combined rated capacity of around 23.0 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). Additionally, the total gross LPG tankage across India is approximately 1,288.1 thousand metric tonnes (TMT), equivalent to about 16 days of consumption based on the current daily average of 79.1 TMT.
In the automotive sector, PSU OMCs reported auto LPG sales of 18.2 TMT in the first quarter, predominantly in the Southern region, which accounted for about 84% of sales across 448 Auto LPG Dispensing Stations (ALDS).
The report also covered the progress of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme, noting that as of July 1, 2024, the initiative has benefited approximately 10.33 crore households since its launch in May 2016. The Eastern region leads in PMUY connections, contributing 32.4% of the total. (ET)
