‘The Situation is Dire’: Hostilities on Iran Constricts India's LPG Stock.
The repercussions of a conflict being fought nearly 1,864 miles away are now being felt in India's homes.
As aerial attacks on Iran disrupt energy transports through the key maritime chokepoint, stocks of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are dwindling across India, pushing restaurants to shorten food lists, close earlier and in some cases shut down altogether.
Social media is awash with video clips showing lines outside LPG distributors across Indian urban and rural areas as concerns over fuel supplies spread. Businesses appear the hardest struck: the biggest crunch is in restaurant kitchens.
"Conditions are critical. Kitchen fuel simply isn't available," says a official of the National Restaurant Association of India.
Most food outlets run either on industrial fuel canisters or direct gas lines, and the scarcities are now being felt across the country. "Many restaurants have ceased operations - some in northern India, many in the southern region. People are adopting coal and wood and induction stoves to keep kitchens going."
Regional Impact
In Mumbai, media reports say up to a 20% of hospitality businesses are already completely or partially closed as business fuel stocks tighten. In the southern cities of Bangalore and Madras, some eateries say their cylinder inventory have shrunk with minimal reserves. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no food items - it is extremely difficult. Businesses are going to suffer," says a business operator in Bengaluru.
Restaurant owners are scrambling to adapt. "Food options are being cut, some are opening only for dinner and reducing hours," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are varying as supplies come and go. "Several establishments in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a changing landscape."
Retailers note a surge in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are facing stockouts.
Government Stance
Yet, the government maintains there is no shortage.
India has more than 300 million domestic LPG users and spokespersons say cylinders are being prioritized to households as tensions from the Middle East conflict ripple through energy markets.
About a majority of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about the vast majority of those consignments pass through the critical waterway, the vital passage now effectively closed by the war.
The relevant department says that it directed refineries to boost LPG output for domestic use, enhancing domestic production by about a significant margin. Commercial stock is being reserved for vital industries such as hospitals and educational institutions, while distribution will be "just and open".
"A degree of anxious stocking and hoarding has been sparked by misinformation. The normal delivery cycle for household cylinders remains about 60 hours," says a government spokesperson.
Widening Concern
Now the concern is extending beyond kitchens. On digital platforms, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a long, snaking queue of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "The panic is real," the caption reads.
According to reports from energy specialists, concerns about India's broader fuel supplies may be exaggerated.
India imports the overwhelming majority of its oil. Around 50% of its petroleum shipments - about millions of barrels a day - travel through the strait, 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 sector expert.
Based on shipping data and industry information, increased Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, lessening India's effective shortfall from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day.
"A large quantity of Russian oil barrels are currently in transit at sea in the Indian Ocean and, with only two major Asian economies as major buyers, those barrels remain a viable alternative," an analyst noted.
Cooking Gas: The Critical Weakness
The key weakness is cooking gas, commentators observe.
India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only less than half domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through the chokepoint.
Refineries can tweak operations to squeeze out a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only lift domestic supply to about under half of demand, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports.
In short: "Crude supply risk can be partially mitigated through varied suppliers. Processed petroleum stocks remains relatively comfortable. Cooking gas supply is the key factor to watch in the coming weeks."
What may be intensifying the concern on the ground is not just tight supply but uneven distribution - and the common threat of stockpiling.
An industry representative alleges price gouging.
"Suppliers are exploiting the situation - selling fuel on the black market and selling them at a high cost. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being stockpiled and sold at a premium."
For now, India's energy imports may be buffered by global trade flows. But in kitchens across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next refill.
