‘A Critical Scenario’: War on Iran Squeezes India's Kitchen Fuel Availability.
The repercussions of a military engagement being fought nearly a significant distance away are now reaching India's kitchens.
As aerial attacks on Iran impede energy transports through the key maritime chokepoint, stocks of cooking gas are shrinking across India, pushing restaurants to cut menus, reduce operating times and in some cases shut down altogether.
Social media is filled with video clips showing crowds outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian cities and towns as anxieties over fuel supplies spread. Commercial LPG users appear the worst hit: the most severe shortage is in restaurant kitchens.
"The state of affairs is alarming. LPG simply is unavailable," says a representative of the National Restaurant Association of India.
Most restaurants run either on business-grade gas tanks or direct gas lines, and the shortages are now being noticed across the country. "Numerous restaurants have ceased operations - some in northern India, many in the southern states. People are switching to solid fuels and induction stoves to keep food preparation going."
Localized Effects
In a western metro, accounts 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 establishments say their cylinder inventory have depleted with scarce alternatives. "Coffee is the sole item we can prepare and no other dishes - it is truly dismal. Businesses are going to suffer," says a restaurant owner in Bengaluru.
Restaurant owners are scrambling to adapt. "Offering lists are shrinking, some are cutting lunch service and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that shutdowns are varying as supplies come and go. "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 selling out quickly.
Authority's View
Yet, the officials maintains there is adequate supply.
India has more than 300 million domestic LPG users and officials say supplies are being prioritized to households as geopolitical strain from the war in the Gulf impact energy markets.
Roughly a majority of India's LPG is brought in from overseas, and about nine out of ten of those shipments pass through the critical waterway, the narrow Gulf chokepoint now largely blocked by the war.
The oil ministry says that it directed refineries to boost LPG output for home needs, lifting domestic production by about a significant margin. Commercial stock is being reserved for essential sectors such as medical and academic centers, while distribution will be "just and open".
"Unnecessary hoarding and accumulation has been sparked by rumors. The normal delivery cycle for home fuel remains about 60 hours," says a government spokesperson.
Spreading Anxiety
Now the anxiety is spreading beyond kitchens. On digital platforms, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a lengthy, winding line of motorbikes outside a gas outlet. "The panic is real," the caption reads.
According to data from industry analysts, concerns about India's broader fuel supplies may be overstated.
India imports the overwhelming majority of its petroleum. Around 50% 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 petroleum transit through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted, the deficit could be partly offset by higher imports of Russian petroleum, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.
Based on shipping data and expert analysis, incremental Russian crude imports could reach around a significant volume of barrels a day, reducing India's effective shortfall from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day.
"Tens of millions of Russian oil barrels are currently floating on ships in the Indian Ocean and, with only key buyers as major buyers, those barrels remain a available backup," an analyst noted.
Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern
The real vulnerability is cooking gas, experts note.
India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - the vast majority through Hormuz.
Refineries can tweak operations to squeeze out a bit more LPG, but even a limited rise would only increase domestic supply to about around half of demand, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports.
In short: "Crude supply risk can be moderately reduced through alternative sourcing. Refined product supply remains largely sufficient. Cooking gas supply is the real variable to watch in the coming weeks."
What may be intensifying the panic on the ground is not just tight supply but uneven distribution - and the usual problem of panic buying.
An industry representative alleges price gouging.
"Retailers are taking advantage of the situation - black-marketing cylinders and selling them at a high cost. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being accumulated and sold to the highest bidder."
For now, India's oil supplies may be buffered by global trade flows. But in homes across the country, the more urgent issue is simple: how to get the next refill.
