‘The Situation is Dire’: Conflict on Iran Squeezes India's LPG Supplies.

The ripple effects of a war being fought nearly a significant distance away are now being felt in India's households.

As military actions on Iran disrupt energy transports through the Strait of Hormuz, availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are tightening across India, pushing restaurants to reduce offerings, close earlier and in some cases shut down altogether.

Social media is awash with video clips showing lines outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian urban and rural areas as concerns over fuel supplies spread. Businesses appear the hardest struck: the biggest crunch is in restaurant kitchens.

"The situation is dire. Cooking gas simply isn't available," says a spokesperson of the an industry group.

Most food outlets 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 southern region. People are switching to traditional burners and electric cookers to keep food preparation going."

City-Specific Fallout

In Mumbai, media reports say up to a fifth of hotels and restaurants are already operating at reduced capacity as cylinder availability dry up. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some eateries say their fuel reserves have depleted with little backup. "We can only make coffee and nothing else - it is extremely difficult. Commerce will take a hit," says a business operator in Bengaluru.

Restaurant owners 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 closures are changing as supplies come and go. "Several establishments in Delhi were shut yesterday - two have already reopened. It's a fluid situation."

Retailers report a spike in sales of electronic cooking appliances, with some saying they are running out of them.

Government Stance

Yet, the authorities insists there is adequate supply.

India has more than 30 crore household consumers and spokespersons say stocks are being prioritized to households as tensions from the war in the Gulf impact energy markets.

Approximately six out of ten of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about nine out of ten of those consignments pass through the key maritime route, the strategic bottleneck now significantly disrupted by the conflict.

The relevant department says that it directed refineries to boost LPG output for domestic use, lifting domestic production by about a quarter. Business-grade fuel is being reserved for critical services such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "just and open".

"Unnecessary hoarding and accumulation has been sparked by misinformation. The normal delivery cycle for home fuel remains about 60 hours," says a ministry representative.

Growing Panic

Now the anxiety is extending beyond kitchens. On social media, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a long, snaking queue of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "The panic is real," the text reads.

According to data from energy specialists, concerns about India's broader energy security may be premature.

India imports the overwhelming majority of its crude oil. Around 50% of its petroleum shipments - about millions of barrels a day - travel through the passage, largely from Gulf countries.

Even if crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz are hindered, the deficit could be partly compensated for by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a industry commentator.

Based on vessel tracking and expert analysis, incremental Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million 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 on the water in the Indian Ocean and, with only two major Asian economies as major buyers, those barrels remain a available backup," an analyst noted.

Cooking Gas: The Critical Weakness

The primary concern is kitchen fuel, commentators observe.

India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through the Strait.

Refineries can modify output to extract a bit more LPG, but even a 10-20% boost would only raise domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country significantly leaning on imports.

In short: "Crude supply risk can be moderately reduced through diversification. Fuel availability remains fairly adequate. Kitchen fuel stocks is the key factor to watch in the coming weeks."

What may be intensifying the anxiety on the ground is not just scarcity but erratic supply chains - and the usual problem of stockpiling.

An industry representative states price gouging.

"Suppliers are taking advantage of the situation - illegally trading canisters and selling them at a premium. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being stockpiled and sold at a premium."

For now, India's petroleum stocks may be cushioned by worldwide shipping. But in restaurants across the country, the more immediate question is simple: how to get the next gas canister.