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

The shockwaves of a conflict being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's kitchens.

As US-Israeli strikes on Iran hinder energy transports through the key maritime chokepoint, availability of kitchen fuel are tightening across India, forcing restaurants to shorten food lists, shorten hours and in some cases shut down altogether.

Social media is flooded by video clips showing crowds outside LPG distributors across Indian metros and localities as concerns over fuel supplies spread. Commercial LPG users appear the worst hit: the biggest crunch is in restaurant kitchens.

"The state of affairs is alarming. Kitchen fuel simply isn't available," says a spokesperson of the National Restaurant Association of India.

Most eateries run either on industrial fuel canisters or direct gas lines, and the scarcities are now being experienced across the country. "A lot of restaurants have ceased operations - some in the capital, many in the south. People are turning to solid fuels and induction stoves to keep food preparation going."

City-Specific Fallout

In Mumbai, media reports say up to a 20% of hospitality businesses are already operating at reduced capacity as business fuel stocks dry up. In the southern cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, some restaurants say their gas stocks have dwindled with little backup. "We can only make coffee and no other dishes - it is nothing less than pathetic. Businesses are going to suffer," says a business operator in Bengaluru.

Restaurant owners are scrambling to adapt. "Offering lists are shrinking, some are opening only for dinner and opening only for dinner," an industry representative says, adding that stoppages are fluctuating as supplies wax and wane. "Three restaurants in Delhi were shut yesterday - a couple are back in business. It's a dynamic scenario."

Retailers note a increase in sales of induction stoves, with some saying they are selling out quickly.

Authority's View

Yet, the officials maintains there is no shortage.

India has more than a vast number of home fuel subscribers and officials say cylinders are being prioritized to households as conflict-related stress from the regional hostilities ripple through energy markets.

About a majority of India's LPG is sourced from abroad, and about the vast majority of those shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic bottleneck now effectively closed by the conflict.

The petroleum ministry says that it instructed refineries to increase LPG output for domestic use, raising domestic production by about 25%. Commercial stock is being prioritised for essential sectors such as healthcare and education, while distribution will be "fair and transparent".

"A degree of anxious stocking and hoarding has been sparked by false reports. The regular refill period for home fuel remains about under three days," says a senior official.

Growing Panic

Now the concern 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. "Anxiety is palpable," the description reads.

According to analysis from energy specialists, concerns about India's broader petroleum stocks may be overstated.

India imports almost all of its oil. Around a significant portion of its petroleum shipments - about 2.5 to 2.7 million barrels a day - travel through the passage, largely from Middle Eastern nations.

Even if petroleum transit through the Strait of Hormuz are blocked, the deficit could be partly made up by higher imports of competitively priced oil from Russia, according to a refinery and oil markets analyst.

Based on maritime intelligence and credible market sources, 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 a substantial volume of barrels a day.

"Around 25-30 million Russian oil barrels are currently on the water 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 primary concern is LPG, experts note.

India consumes roughly one million barrels a day, but produces only less than half domestically, importing the rest - most of it through the Strait.

Refineries can modify output to extract a bit more LPG, but even a limited rise would only lift domestic supply to about under half of demand, leaving the country significantly leaning on imports.

In short: "Petroleum shortage concerns can be somewhat alleviated through varied suppliers. Fuel availability remains fairly adequate. Kitchen fuel stocks is the real variable to track in the coming weeks."

What may be intensifying the concern on the ground is not just limited availability but patchy deliveries - and the usual problem of panic buying.

An industry representative alleges exploitative practices.

"Retailers are taking advantage of the situation - black-marketing cylinders and selling them at a premium. In one small town, I heard of cylinders being hoarded and auctioned off."

For now, India's petroleum stocks may be cushioned by global trade flows. But in restaurants across the country, the more pressing concern is simple: how to get the next cylinder.