IndianOil lifts LPG output 30% as Hormuz disruption pressures India’s fuel supply

IndianOil has increased LPG production by nearly 30% and run refineries above nameplate capacity to protect fuel availability amid Strait of Hormuz-linked disruption. The company is also targeting an expansion of group refining capacity to about 98 million tonnes a year.

— Source publishedMon, 31 Aug, 2026, 15:35 IST·First seen Mon, 31 Aug, 2026, 15:46 IST·Source ET Small Business

What happened

Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil/IOC) · IndianOil raised LPG output nearly 30% and ran refineries above capacity to maintain fuel availability amid Strait of

Key facts

  • LPG production increased nearly 30%
  • India imports more than 88% of crude oil needs
  • Around 45% of crude imports are linked to the Strait of Hormuz
  • Nearly 90% of LPG imports are linked to the Strait of Hormuz
  • FY ended March 2026 standalone net profit: Rs 36,802 crore
  • Turnover: about Rs 8.86 lakh crore
  • Aggregate sales exceeded 105 million tonnes
  • Refineries processed 75.45 million tonnes of crude
  • Liquid pipeline throughput: 102.52 million tonnes
  • Domestic petroleum-product sales: 88.97 million tonnes
  • Q1 crude processing: 19.17 million tonnes
  • Q1 capacity utilisation: 109.4%
  • Q1 pipeline throughput: 28.55 million tonnes
  • Domestic petroleum-products market share: 43.1%
  • Group refining capacity to rise from 80.75 million tonnes/year to around 98 million tonnes/year
  • India refining-capacity target: 300 million tonnes/year
  • Petrochemical intensity target: around 15% by 2030
  • Natural-gas sales target: 1.5x by 2030
  • Upstream integration target: over 10% by 2031
  • Terra Clean renewable capacity under development: 1 GW
  • Additional renewable capacity under preparation: 4.3 GW

Why this matters

IndianOil’s planned expansion toward 98 million tonnes of refining capacity strengthens the case for supply-chain partnerships, storage assets and domestic fuel-infrastructure investments.

What to watch

  • Duration and severity of any Strait of Hormuz shipping restriction, including vessel queues, diversions and tanker availability.
  • India's crude and LPG import arrival data, port discharge delays, and refinery crude-inventory days.
  • Brent crude, Asian LPG benchmarks, tanker freight rates and war-risk insurance premiums.
  • IndianOil, BPCL and HPCL marketing margins, inventory disclosures, and announcements on retail fuel or domestic LPG pricing.
  • Reports of LPG bottling-plant delays, regional stock-outs, dealer allocation cuts, or emergency product transfers.
  • Government decisions on strategic reserve releases, fuel-tax changes, marketer compensation, export restrictions or demand-control measures.
  • State oil marketers increase crude-source diversification toward non-Hormuz suppliers and seek term cargoes with alternative routing options.
  • IndianOil maintains above-nameplate refinery runs, maximizes LPG recovery, and shifts product balances among refineries, bottling plants and high-consumption markets.
  • Oil marketing companies build inventories of LPG, petrol, diesel and aviation fuel near major consumption centers and accelerate inter-company product swaps.
  • The government may coordinate strategic petroleum reserve drawdowns, shipping/insurance support, and fiscal relief if marketer under-recoveries widen.
  • Fuel retailers tighten allocation planning for commercial, aviation and fleet customers before affecting household LPG or core retail networks.