‘The Situation is Dire’: Hostilities on Iran Squeezes India's Cooking-Gas Stock.

The ripple effects of a war being fought nearly a significant distance away are now reaching India's homes.

As US-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupt energy deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz, stocks of cooking gas are shrinking across India, compelling restaurants to cut menus, shorten hours and in some cases close completely.

Social media is awash with video clips showing lines outside fuel suppliers across Indian cities and towns as worries over fuel supplies escalate. Restaurant kitchens appear the hardest struck: the most severe shortage is in food service establishments.

"Conditions are critical. Cooking gas simply cannot be found," says a representative of the a major restaurant body.

Most food outlets run either on commercial LPG cylinders or pipeline-supplied fuel, and the lack of supply are now being felt across the country. "Numerous restaurants have ceased operations - some in the capital, many in the southern region. People are switching to traditional burners and electronic appliances to keep food preparation going."

Localized Effects

In a western metro, local news say up to a significant portion of eateries are already fully or partly shut as business fuel stocks dwindle. In the southern cities of Bangalore and Madras, some restaurants say their fuel reserves have depleted with scarce alternatives. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and nothing else - it is extremely difficult. Businesses are going to suffer," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru.

Restaurant operators are rushing to adjust. "Food options are being cut, some are skipping midday meals and reducing hours," an industry representative says, adding that shutdowns are changing as supplies ebb and flow. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - two have already reopened. It's a changing landscape."

Retailers observe a increase in sales of electronic cooking appliances, with some saying they are facing stockouts.

Government Stance

Yet, the government insists there is no shortage.

India has more than a vast number of domestic LPG users and officials say stocks are being redirected to households as tensions from the war in the Gulf ripple through energy markets.

About six out of ten of India's LPG is sourced from abroad, and about the vast majority of those imports pass through the key maritime route, the strategic bottleneck now significantly disrupted by the war.

The petroleum ministry says that it directed refineries to maximise LPG output for household consumption, enhancing domestic production by about a significant margin. Non-domestic supply is being reserved for vital industries such as medical and academic centers, while distribution will be "just and open".

"A degree of anxious stocking and stockpiling has been triggered by misinformation. The regular refill period for household cylinders remains about two-and-a-half days," says a ministry representative.

Growing Panic

Now the anxiety is moving beyond kitchens. On online networks, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of scooters outside a gas outlet. "Concern is genuine," the description reads.

According to analysis from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader energy security may be premature.

India imports almost all of its petroleum. Around 50% of its petroleum shipments - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Middle Eastern nations.

Even if petroleum transit through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted, the deficit could be partly made up by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.

Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, additional Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million barrels a day, reducing India's effective deficit 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 key buyers as major buyers, those barrels remain a ready fallback," an analyst noted.

LPG: The Real Vulnerability

The primary concern is kitchen fuel, analysts say.

India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only 40-45% domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through Hormuz.

Refineries can modify output to extract a bit more LPG, but even a 10-20% boost would only raise domestic supply to about 47-50% of demand, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports.

In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be moderately reduced through varied suppliers. Refined product supply remains largely sufficient. Kitchen fuel stocks is the key factor to track in the coming weeks."

What may be intensifying the anxiety on the ground is not just tight supply but erratic supply chains - and the common threat of stockpiling.

An industry representative states opportunistic profiteering.

"Retailers are exploiting the situation - selling fuel on the black market and selling them at a inflated price. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being stockpiled and sold to the highest bidder."

For now, India's petroleum stocks may be protected by international market dynamics. But in homes across the country, the more urgent issue is simple: how to get the next cylinder.