Most of the Morbi ceramic manufacturers, if not all, will be using natural gas bought from newer sources, such as Oman and Angola, by May, when dozens of units are set to resume operations after weeks of inactivity caused by disruptions to the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply due to an ongoing conflict in West Asia.Sources told The Indian Express that 680 out of the total 792 ceramic units in the Gujarat town had already signed contracts to source piped natural gas or PNG from Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL) in May. They had to shut down mid-March days after a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—the key transit point for propane/LPG, on which a majority of these units ran.With this transition—from LPG to PNG—the Morbi cluster will be using over half of the PNG supply from the Gujarat government-run PSU.Before the war in West Asia, about a quarter of GGL’s portfolio of liquified natural gas or LNG was imported from Qatar, but the supply was disrupted due to the blockade. Some LNG was sourced with the help of long-term contracts with Nigeria and Texas (the US), and from domestic sources including the RIL-BP KG-D6 Basin, Cairn Oil & Gas (Vedanta) in Barmer. Gujarat Gas is also a major player in the country’s city gas distribution network.GGL said in a statement on Thursday, “During the recent geopolitical crisis, the company proactively sourced natural gas from non-Middle East markets at higher spot rates to maintain continuous supply in line with the Government of India directives”. The company also announced “uninterrupted gas supply with price certainty” for May.The company also stated how the crisis led to a “surge in raw material costs, restrictions on industrial propane usage, and increased freight expenses”, prompting several ceramic units in Morbi to voluntarily suspend operations mid-March. The shutdown affected “more than two lakh workers”, it said.At the beginning of the conflict, these spot purchases skyrocketed costs for Gujarat Gas, which passed on the burden to its new customers. This caused a massive price differential between the company’s regular and new customers.Story continues below this adOn how GGL managed to reduce the “effective price” of natural gas, from Rs 93 per cubic metre on April 1 to Rs 77 per cubic metre on April 17, for non-regular users in the Morbi ceramic cluster, a senior official said, “We are buying natural gas from the spot market. At the beginning of the crisis, prices had climbed to more than USD 20 per cubic metre, which then came down to USD 17 after a ceasefire and announcements from POTUS (President of the United States). We sourced gas at that time, so we could get it at lower prices, which were then passed down to the ceramic industry.”With the entire Morbi ceramic cluster moving to PNG, its total demand from GGL will reach around 149 lakh standard cubic metre (SCM) per day, out of which 70 lakh SCM will be for the Morbi cluster alone.Officials hoped that PNG prices in the international market would stay stable in June, when more purchases, specifically from the Morbi ceramics cluster, would be on the anvil again.On April 19, The Indian Express reported that the Morbi Ceramics Manufacturers Association (MCMA) had agreed to reopen their units shut since March 17 after a resolution with GGL over it levying separate costs on traditional customers and others who used LPG before the conflict.Story continues below this adOn April 1, GGL offered PNG to non-regular users for Rs 88 per cubic metre plus 6% GST or Rs 93 per cubic metre. On the other hand, the 142-odd units that had been regularly using PNG. even before the conflict were asked to pay Rs 66.00 per cubic metre plus 6% GST or Rs 70 per cubic metre. This Rs 23 per cubic metre differential had incensed the tile manufacturers.Later, the firm reduced the rates for the new customers to Rs 77.38 per cubic metre.According to Gujarat Gas data, as of February 2026 (pre-West Asia conflict), out of the 792 ceramic units in Morbi, 377 used PNG supplied by the firm. The remaining 415 units used propane/LPG supplied by oil marketing companies IOCL, BPCL and HPCL. While the 110-odd sanitaryware units and smaller tiles units used PNG, all other tile units used propane/LPG.However, by April 23, as many as 680 ceramic units had already put in demand volumes for May and signed one-month contracts to avail PNG from GGL. GGL officials believe that the remaining will also sign up with the firm in the last week of April.Story continues below this adIn the statement, GGL added, ”Industrial activity in Morbi has resumed in April 2026, with gas consumption increasing from approximately 0.36 mmscmd (serving around 83 units) as of March 31, 2026, to approximately 2.70 mmscmd (serving around 290 units) as of April 22, 2026. The number of active gas consumers is expected to increase from the current ~290 (with volumes of ~2.70 mmscmd) to approximately 675–700 units, with total gas consumption projected to reach 6–7 mmscmd in May 2026.”