India's LPG Crisis: How the West Asia War Is Hitting Your Kitchen
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Divya Sharma 2026-03-12 India LPG Crisis, LPG Price Hike 94
There is a strange kind of helplessness in opening your kitchen cabinet and wondering whether your gas cylinder will get refilled on time. That is the reality millions of Indians are facing right now — and the reason has nothing to do with anything happening inside India. It starts thousands of kilometres away, in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has triggered a chain of events that has landed directly on Indian households in the form of an LPG shortage. Here is what is happening, why it is happening, and what the government is doing about it.
How Did a War in West Asia Affect India's Gas Supply?
India is one of the world's largest consumers of LPG, thanks largely to the expansion of household cooking gas connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. But here is the uncomfortable truth — India produces far less LPG than it consumes. In January 2026, India produced 1.158 million tonnes of LPG while importing 2.192 million tonnes in the same month alone.
The majority of those imports — over 80 to 90 percent — come from Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Iraq, and almost all of them travel to India through the Strait of Hormuz.
When the US-Israel military strikes on Iran began in late February 2026 and Iran responded by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, India's primary LPG supply route was cut off almost overnight. Tanker traffic through the strait fell sharply, shipping companies suspended transits, and insurance premiums for vessels attempting the route shot up to six-year highs. The result was an immediate and sharp reduction in LPG supply reaching Indian shores.
To make things worse, Qatar — which supplies a significant share of India's natural gas — declared force majeure on gas contracts and halted production at Ras Laffan, one of the world's largest LNG export terminals.
What Is Happening on the Ground in India?
The impact has been felt most severely in the commercial sector. Restaurants in major cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Bhopal, have reported irregular or completely halted LPG deliveries. The National Restaurant Association of India warned that 50 to 60 percent of restaurants could face shutdowns within days if commercial LPG supply is not restored.
For households, the situation is more managed — but not without stress. The government has introduced a mandatory 25-day inter-booking period between cylinder refills for domestic consumers, up from the earlier 21-day norm. This is designed to prevent panic buying and hoarding, but it has still caused anxiety among families who are used to refilling more frequently.
Reports of panic buying emerged from several states, including long queues at distribution centres in Uttar Pradesh. In some areas, black-market activity has also surfaced, with commercial cylinders reportedly being sold at inflated prices.
Domestic LPG prices were raised by ₹60 per cylinder, while commercial LPG prices increased by ₹114.5 per cylinder nationwide — a direct consequence of the global supply shock.
What Is the Government Doing?
The central government has moved quickly to manage the crisis. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has invoked provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, giving it emergency powers to regulate LPG production, distribution, and supply across the country.
Key steps taken so far include directing all oil refineries — including those run by Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum — to maximise LPG output. Refineries have been ordered to stop diverting hydrocarbon streams to petrochemical manufacturing and instead channel them into LPG production for domestic use. Reliance Industries has also been directed to divert KG-D6 gas to priority sectors and step up LPG output at its Jamnagar facility.
The government has also signed an agreement to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from the US Gulf Coast in 2026, representing around 10 percent of India's annual LPG requirement. This is a significant strategic move aimed at reducing dependence on Gulf suppliers — though it comes with longer delivery times of 25 to 35 days compared to the 3 to 7 days for Gulf shipments.
India has also reached out to international traders, including Vitol, Trafigura, and ADNOC Trading to secure additional crude oil and LPG cargoes from alternative markets. Indian refiners have separately purchased nearly 30 million barrels of Russian crude following a 30-day waiver issued by the US Treasury allowing such purchases for cargoes already in transit.
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has publicly assured citizens that uninterrupted energy imports are flowing through routes not impacted by the conflict, and that domestic consumers will be protected.
Who Is Not Affected?
It is worth noting that the government has maintained supply to essential services. Hospitals, educational institutions, and establishments connected to piped natural gas networks — such as GAIL's infrastructure — remain largely unaffected. Areas with a piped natural gas supply, like parts of Greater Noida and other planned cities, are seeing considerably less disruption than areas dependent on cylinder-based LPG.
How Long Will This Last?
That depends almost entirely on how the West Asia conflict evolves. India currently holds crude oil stocks to last around 25 days, with strategic petroleum reserves providing an additional buffer. The government is confident that domestic consumers will not face severe shortages.
However, analysts warn that if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed beyond a few weeks, the situation could worsen. India's energy vulnerability is real — and this crisis has made it clearer than ever that diversifying energy sources away from a single volatile region is not a policy choice anymore. It is a necessity.
For now, the message to households is simple: do not panic, avoid hoarding, stick to the 25-day booking rule, and let the system manage itself. But it would not hurt to start thinking about backup options — something we explore in detail in our related piece on whether you should switch to an induction cooktop.
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