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

The shockwaves of a military engagement being fought nearly 1,864 miles away are now impacting India's homes.

As military actions on Iran impede energy shipments through the vital shipping lane, stocks of kitchen fuel are dwindling across India, forcing restaurants to shorten food lists, reduce operating times and in some cases shut down altogether.

Social media is awash with video clips showing crowds outside fuel suppliers across Indian metros and localities as worries over fuel supplies grow. Restaurant kitchens appear the most affected: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens.

"Conditions are critical. LPG simply cannot be found," says a official of the an industry group.

Most food outlets run either on commercial LPG cylinders or piped gas, and the shortages are now being experienced across the country. "Numerous restaurants have closed - some in Delhi, many in the southern states. People are adopting traditional burners and electronic appliances to keep their operations going."

Localized Effects

In a financial hub, media reports say up to a fifth of hotels and restaurants are already operating at reduced capacity as business fuel stocks dry up. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some establishments say their fuel reserves have dwindled with minimal reserves. "We can only make coffee and no food items - it is truly dismal. Operations will be impacted," says a chain proprietor in Bengaluru.

Restaurant operators are rushing to adjust. "Menus are being curtailed, some are opening only for dinner and operating solely in the evening," an industry representative says, adding that shutdowns are fluctuating as supplies come and go. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a fluid situation."

Retailers note a spike in sales of electric cookers, with some saying they are selling out quickly.

Authority's View

Yet, the authorities states there is adequate supply.

India has more than 30 crore home fuel subscribers and officials say stocks are being redirected to households as tensions from the war in the Gulf impact energy markets.

Approximately a majority of India's LPG is sourced from abroad, and about the vast majority of those shipments pass through the key maritime route, the strategic bottleneck now effectively closed by the hostilities.

The oil ministry says that it directed refineries to maximise LPG output for home needs, raising domestic production by about a quarter. Non-domestic supply is being prioritised for vital industries such as hospitals and educational institutions, while distribution will be "just and open".

"A degree of anxious stocking and accumulation has been triggered by misinformation. The standard supply timeline for household cylinders remains about two-and-a-half days," says a government spokesperson.

Spreading Anxiety

Now the anxiety is moving beyond kitchens. On social media, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of scooters outside a fuel station. "Anxiety is palpable," the text reads.

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

India imports the overwhelming majority of its oil. Around half of its crude oil imports - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the passage, largely from Middle Eastern nations.

Even if oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are hindered, the gap could be partly compensated for by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.

Based on shipping data and credible market sources, increased Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million barrels a day, reducing India's effective shortfall 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 two major Asian economies as major buyers, those barrels remain a ready fallback," an analyst noted.

LPG: The Real Vulnerability

The key weakness is LPG, analysts say.

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

Refineries can tweak operations to extract a bit more LPG, but even a moderate increase would only raise domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports.

In short: "Petroleum shortage concerns can be moderately reduced through diversification. Refined product supply remains largely sufficient. LPG availability is the key factor to watch in the coming weeks."

What may be worsening the panic on the ground is not just limited availability but patchy deliveries - and the common threat of hoarding.

An industry representative claims exploitative practices.

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

For now, India's energy imports may be buffered by worldwide shipping. But in restaurants across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next refill.