‘The Situation is Dire’: Hostilities on Iran Constricts India's Cooking-Gas Availability.
The repercussions of a conflict being fought nearly 1,864 miles away are now being felt in India's kitchens.
As military actions on Iran hinder energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, availability of kitchen fuel are shrinking across India, pushing restaurants to reduce offerings, close earlier and in some cases close completely.
Social media is flooded by video clips showing queues outside fuel suppliers across Indian urban and rural areas as concerns over fuel supplies escalate. Businesses appear the hardest struck: the sharpest squeeze is in commercial eateries.
"The state of affairs is alarming. Cooking gas simply isn't available," says a spokesperson of the a major restaurant body.
Most eateries run either on industrial fuel canisters or pipeline-supplied fuel, and the scarcities are now being felt across the country. "Numerous restaurants have closed - some in the capital, many in the southern region. People are turning to traditional burners and induction stoves to keep their operations going."
Regional Impact
In Mumbai, local news say up to a 20% of hotels and restaurants are already fully or partly shut as business fuel stocks tighten. In the southern cities of Bangalore and Madras, some restaurants say their fuel reserves have dwindled with minimal reserves. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and nothing else - it is nothing less than pathetic. Businesses are going to suffer," says a business operator in Bengaluru.
Restaurant owners are scrambling to adapt. "Menus are being curtailed, some are cutting lunch service and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are changing as supplies wax and wane. "A number of eateries in Delhi were shut yesterday - some have resumed operations. It's a fluid situation."
Retailers note a increase in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are running out of them.
Government Stance
Yet, the officials maintains there is no shortage.
India has more than a vast number of home fuel subscribers and authorities say supplies are being redirected to households as geopolitical strain from the regional hostilities impact energy markets.
Approximately six out of ten of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about 90% of those consignments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital passage now effectively closed by the conflict.
The petroleum ministry says that it directed refineries to maximise LPG output for domestic use, lifting domestic production by about 25%. Business-grade fuel is being allocated for critical services such as hospitals and educational institutions, while distribution will be "fair and transparent".
"Some panic booking and stockpiling has been sparked by rumors. The normal delivery cycle for household cylinders remains about two-and-a-half days," says a government spokesperson.
Widening Concern
Now the worry is extending beyond kitchens. On social media, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of scooters outside a petrol pump. "Concern is genuine," the text reads.
According to reports from market experts, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be overstated.
India imports the overwhelming majority 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 compensated for by higher imports of discounted Russian crude, according to a sector expert.
Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, additional Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million barrels a day, narrowing India's effective gap 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 India and China as major buyers, those barrels remain a viable alternative," an analyst noted.
Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern
The real vulnerability is LPG, analysts say.
India consumes roughly 1 million barrels a day, but produces only 40-45% domestically, importing the rest - most of it through Hormuz.
Refineries can tweak operations to extract a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only raise domestic supply to about under half of demand, leaving the country largely dependent on imports.
In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be moderately reduced through varied suppliers. Fuel availability remains fairly adequate. Cooking gas supply is the real variable to monitor in the coming weeks."
What may be worsening the anxiety on the ground is not just tight supply but patchy deliveries - and the familiar spectre of hoarding.
An industry representative claims price gouging.
"Suppliers are misusing the situation - black-marketing cylinders 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 protected by worldwide shipping. But in homes across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next refill.
