India may levy charges on cooking gas and natural gas users to help fund a
planned $42 billion strategic fuel reserve, two sources said, after supply
disruptions from the war in Iran. The plan would extend strategic reserves
beyond crude to cover roughly two months of crude and LNG demand and about six
weeks of LPG consumption. Funding for LPG and gas storage infrastructure would
be raised via user levies expected to yield about $1.5 billion a year. The oil
and gas ministry is considering an LPG charge of INR1.29/kg—projected to raise
about $460 million annually and add roughly INR18 to a standard household
cylinder—and a natural gas charge of INR1.43 per standard cubic metre—projected
to raise about $1 billion a year.
