New Delhi: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has announced plans to enable the creation of a regulated petroleum products exchange, as part of its Action Plan for 2025–26. The move is aimed at bringing greater transparency, efficiency, and price discovery to the downstream petroleum market.
The exchange will provide a structured and competitive trading platform for petrol, diesel and other refined fuels. The initiative is being driven by PNGRB’s Strategic Planning Division and is intended to mirror the success of existing gas trading exchanges by ensuring supply-demand alignment and pricing visibility across the petroleum sector.
Alongside the exchange, the Strategic Planning Division has also been tasked with preparing a marketing framework for petroleum products and a monetisation plan for petroleum and natural gas (P&NG) infrastructure. These measures are designed to unlock investment, optimise asset utilisation, and strengthen service delivery in a rapidly evolving energy ecosystem.
The division will also formulate a National Distribution Logistics Plan for petroleum products, focused on ensuring efficient and cost-effective fuel distribution across the country.
One of the most consequential reforms outlined in the plan is the gradual shift to a unified pipeline tariff structure for natural gas. PNGRB’s Commercial Division will oversee the implementation of a “One Nation, One Tariff” system to remove regional price disparities and facilitate wider gas access, especially in remote and underserved areas.
This shift is expected to accelerate the creation of a truly integrated gas market, support industrial decarbonisation, and enhance the competitiveness of domestic gas relative to imported fuels.
The Strategic Planning Division will also work on enabling co-retailing of petrol and diesel at existing CNG and LCNG stations to improve infrastructure efficiency and enhance consumer convenience.
In the bio-energy segment, PNGRB’s Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) Division plans to link over 130 functional CBG plants to city gas distribution (CGD) networks by March 2026 through pipeline connectivity. It is also developing a centralised digital platform to track CBG procurement and offtake and is preparing Renewable Gas Certificate regulations, pending legislative approval to bring CBG under its regulatory scope.
To prepare for energy transition, PNGRB’s Technical and Coordination Divisions will implement safety frameworks for hydrogen blending and develop a Hydrogen Testing Loop Bed in collaboration with institutions such as IITs and the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
Meanwhile, the Sustainability Division has been directed to create monitoring mechanisms for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the CGD and pipeline segments and to evaluate the potential use of electricity-powered compressors to reduce emissions intensity.
Together, the initiatives announced in PNGRB’s 2025–26 action plan reflect a decisive move toward modernising India’s downstream energy governance. By focusing on market reforms, infrastructure resilience, digital oversight, and transition preparedness, the regulator aims to strengthen energy security, attract private investment, and build a transparent and competitive gas and petroleum products market for the future.
