‘The Situation is Dire’: Conflict on Iran Constricts India's Cooking-Gas Supplies.

The ripple effects of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now being felt in India's homes.

As aerial attacks on Iran impede energy transports through the vital shipping lane, availability of kitchen fuel are dwindling across India, pushing restaurants to reduce offerings, reduce operating times and in some cases cease operations entirely.

Social media is awash with video clips showing queues outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian metros and localities as concerns over fuel supplies escalate. Businesses appear the worst hit: the sharpest squeeze is in food service establishments.

"Conditions are critical. LPG simply cannot be found," says a representative of the National Restaurant Association of India.

Most restaurants run either on business-grade gas tanks or piped gas, and the scarcities are now being noticed across the country. "A lot of restaurants have ceased operations - some in northern India, many in the southern states. People are adopting traditional burners and induction stoves to keep kitchens going."

Regional Impact

In Mumbai, media reports say up to a significant portion of hospitality businesses are already fully or partly shut as business fuel stocks dry up. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some eateries say their cylinder inventory have dwindled with little backup. "We can only make coffee and nothing else - it is extremely difficult. Businesses are going to suffer," says a chain proprietor in Bengaluru.

Restaurant managers are scrambling to adapt. "Food options are being cut, some are cutting lunch service and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that shutdowns are changing as supplies wax and wane. "A number of eateries in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a changing landscape."

Retailers observe a spike in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are facing stockouts.

Government Stance

Yet, the authorities maintains there is sufficient stock.

India has more than a vast number of household consumers and officials say cylinders are being redirected to households as geopolitical strain from the Middle East conflict ripple through energy markets.

Roughly six out of ten of India's LPG is imported, and about the vast majority of those imports pass through the critical waterway, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now largely blocked 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. Non-domestic supply is being prioritised for vital industries such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "equitable and clear".

"Some panic booking and hoarding has been caused by false reports. The standard supply timeline for home fuel remains about two-and-a-half days," says a ministry representative.

Growing Panic

Now the worry is spreading beyond kitchens. On digital platforms, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a extended procession of motorbikes 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 almost all of its petroleum. Around half of its crude oil imports - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the passage, largely from Gulf countries.

Even if oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted, the gap could be partly made up by higher imports of discounted Russian crude, according to a sector expert.

Based on shipping data and industry information, increased Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million barrels a day, lessening India's effective gap from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about a substantial volume of barrels a day.

"Around 25-30 million 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 ready fallback," an analyst noted.

Cooking Gas: The Critical Weakness

The real vulnerability is kitchen fuel, analysts say.

India consumes roughly a million barrels a day, but produces only less than half domestically, importing the rest - 80–90% through the chokepoint.

Refineries can adjust processes to produce a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only increase domestic supply to about 47-50% of demand, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports.

In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be partially mitigated through alternative sourcing. Refined product supply remains fairly adequate. LPG availability is the real variable to track in the coming weeks."

What may be intensifying the anxiety on the ground is not just scarcity but patchy deliveries - and the usual problem of hoarding.

An industry representative alleges opportunistic profiteering.

"Distributors are exploiting the situation - black-marketing cylinders and selling them at a inflated price. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being accumulated and sold at a premium."

For now, India's oil supplies may be buffered by worldwide shipping. But in homes across the country, the more urgent issue is simple: how to get the next cylinder.