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

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

As military actions on Iran impede energy shipments through the key maritime chokepoint, stocks of kitchen fuel are tightening across India, compelling restaurants to cut menus, shorten hours and in some cases shut down altogether.

Social media is filled with video clips showing crowds outside cooking-gas dealers across Indian metros and localities as worries over fuel supplies grow. Commercial LPG users appear the hardest struck: the biggest crunch is in food service establishments.

"The situation is dire. Cooking gas simply cannot be found," says a representative of the a major restaurant body.

Most food outlets run either on business-grade gas tanks or direct gas lines, and the lack of supply are now being noticed across the country. "A lot of restaurants have ceased operations - some in the capital, many in the southern states. People are adopting traditional burners and electric cookers to keep their operations going."

City-Specific Fallout

In a western metro, local news say up to a fifth of hotels and restaurants are already fully or partly shut as commercial LPG supplies dry up. In the southern cities of tech and coastal hubs, some establishments say their gas stocks have shrunk with minimal reserves. "Our menu is reduced to coffee and no other dishes - it is nothing less than pathetic. Businesses are going to suffer," says a chain proprietor in Bengaluru.

Restaurant owners are scrambling to adapt. "Menus are being curtailed, some are skipping midday meals and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are fluctuating 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 note a spike in sales of electric cookers, with some saying they are running out of them.

Authority's View

Yet, the officials maintains there is sufficient stock.

India has more than 300 million domestic LPG users and spokespersons say stocks are being redirected to households as tensions from the Middle East conflict impact energy markets.

Roughly 60% of India's LPG is sourced from abroad, and about nine out of ten of those consignments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital passage now significantly disrupted by the conflict.

The relevant department says that it instructed refineries to boost LPG output for home needs, raising domestic production by about 25%. Commercial stock is being prioritised for vital industries such as medical and academic centers, while distribution will be "fair and transparent".

"Unnecessary hoarding and stockpiling has been triggered by rumors. The standard supply timeline for home fuel remains about 60 hours," says a ministry representative.

Widening Concern

Now the anxiety is spreading beyond kitchens. On online networks, a widely shared video from Chennai shows a long, snaking queue of two-wheelers outside a fuel station. "Concern is genuine," the caption reads.

According to reports from market experts, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be exaggerated.

India imports the overwhelming majority of its petroleum. Around a significant portion of its oil purchases - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the waterway, largely from Middle Eastern nations.

Even if oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are hindered, the shortfall could be partly compensated for by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a industry commentator.

Based on maritime intelligence and industry information, increased Russian crude imports could reach around 1-1.2 million barrels a day, lessening India's effective deficit from exposure to the Strait of Hormuz to about 1.6 million barrels a day.

"A large quantity of 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 ready fallback," an analyst noted.

Kitchen Fuel: The Primary Concern

The key weakness is cooking gas, analysts say.

India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only a minority share domestically, importing the rest - the vast majority through the chokepoint.

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

In short: "Oil import vulnerability can be somewhat alleviated through alternative sourcing. Processed petroleum stocks remains fairly adequate. Cooking gas supply is the key factor to track in the coming weeks."

What may be intensifying the panic on the ground is not just limited availability but uneven distribution - and the usual problem of hoarding.

An industry representative claims exploitative practices.

"Distributors are exploiting the situation - illegally trading canisters and selling them at a inflated price. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being hoarded and sold to the highest bidder."

For now, India's petroleum stocks may be buffered by worldwide shipping. But in homes across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next cylinder.