🔗 Share this article ‘An Alarming State of Affairs’: Hostilities on Iran Squeezes India's Cooking-Gas Availability. People wait in lines to buy LPG tanks for home cooking in Chennai. The repercussions of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now impacting India's homes. As US-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupt energy deliveries through the key maritime chokepoint, availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are dwindling across India, forcing restaurants to shorten food lists, reduce operating times and in some cases cease operations entirely. Social media is awash with video clips showing crowds outside LPG distributors across Indian cities and towns as worries over fuel supplies grow. Commercial LPG users appear the hardest struck: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens. "The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply isn't available," says a official of the National Restaurant Association of India. Most restaurants run either on industrial fuel canisters or piped gas, and the lack of supply are now being noticed across the country. "Numerous restaurants have closed - some in northern India, many in the southern states. People are adopting traditional burners and induction stoves to keep kitchens going." Localized Effects In a financial hub, accounts say up to a fifth of hospitality businesses are already completely or partially closed as business fuel stocks dwindle. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some restaurants say their gas stocks have shrunk with minimal reserves. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no food items - it is truly dismal. Businesses are going to suffer," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru. A food joint in a southern city which has ceased operations due to a shortage of LPG. Restaurant operators are scrambling to adapt. "Offering lists are shrinking, some are opening only for dinner and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that closures are varying as supplies come and go. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a fluid situation." Retailers observe a increase in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are running out of them. Official Position Yet, the government insists there is adequate supply. India has more than 30 crore household consumers and spokespersons say stocks are being reallocated to households as geopolitical strain from the Middle East conflict ripple through energy markets. Approximately 60% of India's LPG is imported, and about 90% of those shipments pass through the key maritime route, the strategic bottleneck now significantly disrupted by the conflict. The relevant department says that it ordered refineries to increase LPG output for domestic use, lifting domestic production by about a quarter. Commercial stock is being allocated for vital industries such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "fair and transparent". "Unnecessary hoarding and stockpiling has been triggered by rumors. The normal delivery cycle for home fuel remains about 60 hours," says a government spokesperson. Spreading Anxiety Now the concern is moving beyond kitchens. On social media, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of two-wheelers outside a gas outlet. "Concern is genuine," the text reads. India sources up to 90% of the crude it consumes, leaving it particularly vulnerable to disruptions in international markets. According to data from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be premature. India imports 90% of its crude oil. Around a significant portion of its petroleum shipments - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the passage, largely from Middle Eastern nations. Even if crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted, the gap could be partly made up by higher imports of Russian petroleum, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst. Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, incremental 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. "Around 25-30 million 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. Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern The key weakness is LPG, analysts say. India consumes roughly 1 million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through Hormuz. Refineries can tweak operations to extract a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only lift domestic supply to about 47-50% of demand, leaving the country significantly leaning on imports. In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be somewhat alleviated through alternative sourcing. Processed petroleum stocks remains fairly adequate. LPG availability is the key factor to monitor in the coming weeks." What may be worsening the anxiety on the ground is not just tight supply but uneven distribution - and the familiar spectre of panic buying. An industry representative claims exploitative practices. "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 accumulated and sold to the highest bidder." For now, India's energy imports may be buffered by international market dynamics. But in restaurants across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next refill.
People wait in lines to buy LPG tanks for home cooking in Chennai. The repercussions of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now impacting India's homes. As US-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupt energy deliveries through the key maritime chokepoint, availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are dwindling across India, forcing restaurants to shorten food lists, reduce operating times and in some cases cease operations entirely. Social media is awash with video clips showing crowds outside LPG distributors across Indian cities and towns as worries over fuel supplies grow. Commercial LPG users appear the hardest struck: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens. "The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply isn't available," says a official of the National Restaurant Association of India. Most restaurants run either on industrial fuel canisters or piped gas, and the lack of supply are now being noticed across the country. "Numerous restaurants have closed - some in northern India, many in the southern states. People are adopting traditional burners and induction stoves to keep kitchens going." Localized Effects In a financial hub, accounts say up to a fifth of hospitality businesses are already completely or partially closed as business fuel stocks dwindle. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some restaurants say their gas stocks have shrunk with minimal reserves. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no food items - it is truly dismal. Businesses are going to suffer," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru. A food joint in a southern city which has ceased operations due to a shortage of LPG. Restaurant operators are scrambling to adapt. "Offering lists are shrinking, some are opening only for dinner and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that closures are varying as supplies come and go. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a fluid situation." Retailers observe a increase in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are running out of them. Official Position Yet, the government insists there is adequate supply. India has more than 30 crore household consumers and spokespersons say stocks are being reallocated to households as geopolitical strain from the Middle East conflict ripple through energy markets. Approximately 60% of India's LPG is imported, and about 90% of those shipments pass through the key maritime route, the strategic bottleneck now significantly disrupted by the conflict. The relevant department says that it ordered refineries to increase LPG output for domestic use, lifting domestic production by about a quarter. Commercial stock is being allocated for vital industries such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "fair and transparent". "Unnecessary hoarding and stockpiling has been triggered by rumors. The normal delivery cycle for home fuel remains about 60 hours," says a government spokesperson. Spreading Anxiety Now the concern is moving beyond kitchens. On social media, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of two-wheelers outside a gas outlet. "Concern is genuine," the text reads. India sources up to 90% of the crude it consumes, leaving it particularly vulnerable to disruptions in international markets. According to data from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be premature. India imports 90% of its crude oil. Around a significant portion of its petroleum shipments - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the passage, largely from Middle Eastern nations. Even if crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted, the gap could be partly made up by higher imports of Russian petroleum, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst. Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, incremental 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. "Around 25-30 million 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. Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern The key weakness is LPG, analysts say. India consumes roughly 1 million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through Hormuz. Refineries can tweak operations to extract a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only lift domestic supply to about 47-50% of demand, leaving the country significantly leaning on imports. In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be somewhat alleviated through alternative sourcing. Processed petroleum stocks remains fairly adequate. LPG availability is the key factor to monitor in the coming weeks." What may be worsening the anxiety on the ground is not just tight supply but uneven distribution - and the familiar spectre of panic buying. An industry representative claims exploitative practices. "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 accumulated and sold to the highest bidder." For now, India's energy imports may be buffered by international market dynamics. But in restaurants across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next refill.