LPG full form: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

How to say it: letter by letter.

LPG stands for Liquefied Petroleum Gas. It is the fuel in the red cooking gas cylinder used in homes across India.

What it is

LPG is a mixture mainly of two gases, propane and butane, obtained when crude oil is refined and when natural gas is processed. Under moderate pressure these gases turn into a liquid, which takes up far less space. That is why a cylinder can hold weeks of cooking fuel. When you open the regulator, the pressure falls and the liquid turns back into gas.

The smell

LPG has no smell of its own. A strong-smelling chemical, ethyl mercaptan, is added on purpose so that a leak is noticed at once.

LPG is heavier than air

Leaked LPG sinks and collects near the floor. If you smell gas:

• Do not light a match or lighter, and do not switch any electrical switch on or off.
• Close the regulator and put the safety cap on the cylinder.
• Open the doors and windows.
• Call your distributor's emergency number from outside the room.

LPG, PNG and CNG

• LPG, Liquefied Petroleum Gas: propane and butane in cylinders.
• PNG, Piped Natural Gas: mostly methane, supplied to kitchens by pipe. It is lighter than air.
• CNG, Compressed Natural Gas: methane under high pressure, used as a vehicle fuel.
• LNG, Liquefied Natural Gas: methane cooled to a liquid for transport by ship.

The other LPG

In economics lessons, LPG also stands for Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation, the economic reforms that India began in 1991. The question paper's subject tells you which is meant.

More government full forms

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• CGL Combined Graduate Level
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• IBPS Institute of Banking Personnel Selection
• PO Probationary Officer
• ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation
• DRDO Defence Research and Development Organisation

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Check what matters. These pages explain names and terms in general. Rules, dates, fees and limits change: take them from the official body. Read on 12 November 2026.