India, March 20 -- The Government has classified energy data as a matter of national security, mandating all entities across the oil and gas value chain to furnish detailed operational information. The Oil Ministry's Petroleum and Natural Gas (Furnishing of Information) Order, 2026 requires refiners, LNG importers, pipeline operators, city gas distributors and petrochemical firms, across both public and private sectors, to regularly (even daily in some cases) report granular data to the ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

The data to be disclosed includes production, imports, stock levels and consumption patterns, with the order overriding existing confidentiality provisions, according to a March 18 gazette notificati...