India's state-run oil companies stuck with LPG, refiner paying penalties
India's state-run oil companies are stuck with far more LPG (cooking gas) than they need.
Earlier this year, they increased imports and production to avoid shortages during the Persian Gulf crisis, but demand has not bounced back.
Now, with storage tanks filling up quickly, at least one refiner is even paying penalties because it cannot unload new shipments on time.
India boosted LPG supply, demand dropped
When tensions flared in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz closed temporarily, India boosted daily LPG imports to as much as 40,000 tons and increased local production, too.
But big buyers like restaurants and factories have switched to other fuels like piped gas instead.
With June's LPG use still far below normal levels, there is just nowhere for all that extra supply to go, leaving refiners scrambling for solutions until demand picks up again.