🔗 Share this article ‘The Situation is Dire’: War on Iran Tightens India's LPG Supplies. People wait in lines to buy fuel canisters for household consumption in a major Indian city. The repercussions of a war being fought nearly a significant distance away are now reaching India's households. As military actions on Iran impede energy deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz, availability of cooking gas are shrinking across India, forcing restaurants to reduce offerings, shorten hours and in some cases cease operations entirely. Social media is flooded by video clips showing crowds outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian metros and localities as worries over fuel supplies grow. Restaurant kitchens appear the hardest struck: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens. "The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply cannot be found," says a representative of the an industry group. Most restaurants run either on commercial LPG cylinders or pipeline-supplied fuel, and the lack of supply are now being noticed across the country. "A lot of restaurants have closed - some in the capital, many in the south. People are turning to traditional burners and electronic appliances to keep kitchens going." Localized Effects In a financial hub, local news say up to a fifth of eateries are already operating at reduced capacity as cylinder availability tighten. In the southern cities of Bangalore and Madras, some restaurants say their gas stocks have depleted with scarce alternatives. "Coffee is the sole item we can prepare and no other dishes - it is nothing less than pathetic. Operations will be impacted," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru. A eatery in Chennai which has shut down due to a lack of LPG. Restaurant managers are seeking alternatives. "Food options are being cut, some are cutting lunch service and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are fluctuating as supplies ebb and flow. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a changing landscape." Retailers note a spike in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are running out of them. Government Stance Yet, the officials states there is adequate supply. India has more than a vast number of household consumers and officials say supplies are being reallocated to households as tensions from the Middle East conflict affect energy markets. Roughly a majority of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about the vast majority of those imports pass through the key maritime route, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now effectively closed by the war. The relevant department says that it instructed refineries to increase LPG output for domestic use, enhancing domestic production by about 25%. Commercial stock is being prioritised for vital industries such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "equitable and clear". "Some panic booking and hoarding has been triggered by misinformation. The normal delivery cycle for domestic LPG remains about two-and-a-half days," says a ministry representative. Spreading Anxiety Now the worry is extending beyond kitchens. On digital platforms, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "The panic is real," the description reads. India brings in up to a vast majority of the petroleum it uses, leaving it particularly vulnerable to interruptions in global supplies. According to analysis from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be premature. India imports almost all of its petroleum. Around a significant portion of its crude oil imports - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Gulf countries. Even if petroleum transit through the Strait of Hormuz are blocked, the gap could be partly compensated for by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a industry commentator. Based on vessel tracking and credible market sources, increased Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, narrowing India's effective shortfall from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day. "Tens of millions of Russian oil barrels are currently floating on ships in the Indian Ocean and, with only key buyers as major buyers, those barrels remain a ready fallback," an analyst noted. Cooking Gas: The Critical Weakness The primary concern is cooking gas, analysts say. India consumes roughly 1 million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - the vast majority through Hormuz. Refineries can tweak operations to produce a bit more LPG, but even a 10-20% boost would only increase domestic supply to about under half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports. In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be moderately reduced through varied suppliers. Fuel availability remains largely sufficient. Kitchen fuel stocks is the critical issue to monitor in the coming weeks." What may be heightening the anxiety on the ground is not just limited availability but uneven distribution - and the common threat of hoarding. An industry representative claims price gouging. "Suppliers are exploiting the situation - illegally trading canisters and selling them at a premium. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being accumulated and sold to the highest bidder." For now, India's energy imports may be buffered by worldwide shipping. But in homes across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next cylinder.
People wait in lines to buy fuel canisters for household consumption in a major Indian city. The repercussions of a war being fought nearly a significant distance away are now reaching India's households. As military actions on Iran impede energy deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz, availability of cooking gas are shrinking across India, forcing restaurants to reduce offerings, shorten hours and in some cases cease operations entirely. Social media is flooded by video clips showing crowds outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian metros and localities as worries over fuel supplies grow. Restaurant kitchens appear the hardest struck: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens. "The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply cannot be found," says a representative of the an industry group. Most restaurants run either on commercial LPG cylinders or pipeline-supplied fuel, and the lack of supply are now being noticed across the country. "A lot of restaurants have closed - some in the capital, many in the south. People are turning to traditional burners and electronic appliances to keep kitchens going." Localized Effects In a financial hub, local news say up to a fifth of eateries are already operating at reduced capacity as cylinder availability tighten. In the southern cities of Bangalore and Madras, some restaurants say their gas stocks have depleted with scarce alternatives. "Coffee is the sole item we can prepare and no other dishes - it is nothing less than pathetic. Operations will be impacted," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru. A eatery in Chennai which has shut down due to a lack of LPG. Restaurant managers are seeking alternatives. "Food options are being cut, some are cutting lunch service and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are fluctuating as supplies ebb and flow. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a changing landscape." Retailers note a spike in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are running out of them. Government Stance Yet, the officials states there is adequate supply. India has more than a vast number of household consumers and officials say supplies are being reallocated to households as tensions from the Middle East conflict affect energy markets. Roughly a majority of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about the vast majority of those imports pass through the key maritime route, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now effectively closed by the war. The relevant department says that it instructed refineries to increase LPG output for domestic use, enhancing domestic production by about 25%. Commercial stock is being prioritised for vital industries such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "equitable and clear". "Some panic booking and hoarding has been triggered by misinformation. The normal delivery cycle for domestic LPG remains about two-and-a-half days," says a ministry representative. Spreading Anxiety Now the worry is extending beyond kitchens. On digital platforms, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "The panic is real," the description reads. India brings in up to a vast majority of the petroleum it uses, leaving it particularly vulnerable to interruptions in global supplies. According to analysis from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be premature. India imports almost all of its petroleum. Around a significant portion of its crude oil imports - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Gulf countries. Even if petroleum transit through the Strait of Hormuz are blocked, the gap could be partly compensated for by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a industry commentator. Based on vessel tracking and credible market sources, increased Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, narrowing India's effective shortfall from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day. "Tens of millions of Russian oil barrels are currently floating on ships in the Indian Ocean and, with only key buyers as major buyers, those barrels remain a ready fallback," an analyst noted. Cooking Gas: The Critical Weakness The primary concern is cooking gas, analysts say. India consumes roughly 1 million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - the vast majority through Hormuz. Refineries can tweak operations to produce a bit more LPG, but even a 10-20% boost would only increase domestic supply to about under half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports. In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be moderately reduced through varied suppliers. Fuel availability remains largely sufficient. Kitchen fuel stocks is the critical issue to monitor in the coming weeks." What may be heightening the anxiety on the ground is not just limited availability but uneven distribution - and the common threat of hoarding. An industry representative claims price gouging. "Suppliers are exploiting the situation - illegally trading canisters and selling them at a premium. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being accumulated and sold to the highest bidder." For now, India's energy imports may be buffered by worldwide shipping. But in homes across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next cylinder.