🔗 Share this article ‘The Situation is Dire’: Conflict on Iran Squeezes India's LPG Availability. People line up to buy LPG tanks for home cooking in a major Indian city. The shockwaves of a conflict being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's households. As US-Israeli strikes on Iran impede energy deliveries through the key maritime chokepoint, stocks of cooking gas are dwindling 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 cities and towns as concerns over fuel supplies grow. Commercial LPG users appear the most affected: the most severe shortage is in commercial eateries. "The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply is unavailable," says a official of the National Restaurant Association of India. Most eateries run either on industrial fuel canisters or direct gas lines, and the shortages are now being noticed across the country. "Many restaurants have shut down - some in the capital, many in the south. People are switching to coal and wood and electronic appliances to keep food preparation going." Regional Impact In a financial hub, local news say up to a significant portion of hotels and restaurants are already operating at reduced capacity as business fuel stocks dry up. In the southern cities of tech and coastal hubs, some eateries say their fuel reserves have shrunk with scarce alternatives. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no food items - it is nothing less than pathetic. Commerce will take a hit," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru. A food joint in Chennai which has shut down due to a shortage of cooking gas. Restaurant operators are scrambling to adapt. "Offering lists are shrinking, some are cutting lunch service and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are varying as supplies ebb and flow. "Several establishments in Delhi were shut yesterday - two have already reopened. It's a changing landscape." Retailers report a surge in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are facing stockouts. Authority's View Yet, the government maintains there is no shortage. India has more than 30 crore domestic LPG users and officials say stocks are being redirected to households as geopolitical strain from the war in the Gulf affect energy markets. Roughly six out of ten of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about 90% of those imports pass through the critical waterway, the vital passage now significantly disrupted by the hostilities. The oil ministry says that it directed refineries to boost LPG output for home needs, lifting domestic production by about 25%. Non-domestic supply is being reserved for critical services such as hospitals and educational institutions, while distribution will be "just and open". "A degree of anxious stocking and stockpiling has been sparked by misinformation. The normal delivery cycle for domestic LPG remains about under three days," says a ministry representative. Growing Panic Now the worry is spreading beyond kitchens. On online networks, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a extended procession of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "Concern is genuine," the caption reads. India sources up to a vast majority of the crude it uses, leaving it significantly susceptible to problems in global supplies. According to analysis from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader fuel supplies may be exaggerated. India imports almost all of its oil. Around half of its crude oil imports - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Gulf countries. Even if crude flows 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 sector expert. Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, additional Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, lessening India's effective gap from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day. "A large quantity of Russian oil barrels are currently floating on ships in the Indian Ocean and, with only India and China as major buyers, those barrels remain a viable alternative," an analyst noted. Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern The real vulnerability is cooking gas, analysts say. India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - most of it through Hormuz. Refineries can adjust processes to produce a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only raise domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports. In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be partially mitigated through alternative sourcing. Processed petroleum stocks remains fairly adequate. LPG availability is the real variable to monitor in the coming weeks." What may be worsening the anxiety on the ground is not just tight supply but patchy deliveries - and the common threat of panic buying. An industry representative alleges price gouging. "Retailers are exploiting the situation - black-marketing cylinders and selling them at a high cost. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being hoarded and auctioned off." For now, India's oil supplies may be protected by global trade flows. But in restaurants across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next gas canister.
People line up to buy LPG tanks for home cooking in a major Indian city. The shockwaves of a conflict being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's households. As US-Israeli strikes on Iran impede energy deliveries through the key maritime chokepoint, stocks of cooking gas are dwindling 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 cities and towns as concerns over fuel supplies grow. Commercial LPG users appear the most affected: the most severe shortage is in commercial eateries. "The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply is unavailable," says a official of the National Restaurant Association of India. Most eateries run either on industrial fuel canisters or direct gas lines, and the shortages are now being noticed across the country. "Many restaurants have shut down - some in the capital, many in the south. People are switching to coal and wood and electronic appliances to keep food preparation going." Regional Impact In a financial hub, local news say up to a significant portion of hotels and restaurants are already operating at reduced capacity as business fuel stocks dry up. In the southern cities of tech and coastal hubs, some eateries say their fuel reserves have shrunk with scarce alternatives. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no food items - it is nothing less than pathetic. Commerce will take a hit," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru. A food joint in Chennai which has shut down due to a shortage of cooking gas. Restaurant operators are scrambling to adapt. "Offering lists are shrinking, some are cutting lunch service and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are varying as supplies ebb and flow. "Several establishments in Delhi were shut yesterday - two have already reopened. It's a changing landscape." Retailers report a surge in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are facing stockouts. Authority's View Yet, the government maintains there is no shortage. India has more than 30 crore domestic LPG users and officials say stocks are being redirected to households as geopolitical strain from the war in the Gulf affect energy markets. Roughly six out of ten of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about 90% of those imports pass through the critical waterway, the vital passage now significantly disrupted by the hostilities. The oil ministry says that it directed refineries to boost LPG output for home needs, lifting domestic production by about 25%. Non-domestic supply is being reserved for critical services such as hospitals and educational institutions, while distribution will be "just and open". "A degree of anxious stocking and stockpiling has been sparked by misinformation. The normal delivery cycle for domestic LPG remains about under three days," says a ministry representative. Growing Panic Now the worry is spreading beyond kitchens. On online networks, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a extended procession of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "Concern is genuine," the caption reads. India sources up to a vast majority of the crude it uses, leaving it significantly susceptible to problems in global supplies. According to analysis from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader fuel supplies may be exaggerated. India imports almost all of its oil. Around half of its crude oil imports - about 2.5-2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Gulf countries. Even if crude flows 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 sector expert. Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, additional Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, lessening India's effective gap from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day. "A large quantity of Russian oil barrels are currently floating on ships in the Indian Ocean and, with only India and China as major buyers, those barrels remain a viable alternative," an analyst noted. Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern The real vulnerability is cooking gas, analysts say. India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - most of it through Hormuz. Refineries can adjust processes to produce a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only raise domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports. In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be partially mitigated through alternative sourcing. Processed petroleum stocks remains fairly adequate. LPG availability is the real variable to monitor in the coming weeks." What may be worsening the anxiety on the ground is not just tight supply but patchy deliveries - and the common threat of panic buying. An industry representative alleges price gouging. "Retailers are exploiting the situation - black-marketing cylinders and selling them at a high cost. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being hoarded and auctioned off." For now, India's oil supplies may be protected by global trade flows. But in restaurants across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next gas canister.