India’s Cooking Gas Supply Faces Renewed Risk After Fresh Hormuz Escalation

Imports fell sharply and cylinder prices climbed after February’s Strait of Hormuz disruption, and the government is now working on a 30-day storage buffer

New Delhi, The recent attacks on Iran this week reinitiated fresh concerns over India’s cooking gas supply and security, months after a disruption in the Strait of Hormuz cut the country’s LPG imports and pushed up domestic cylinder prices.

Tanker traffic through the strait fell sharply and at times approached a standstill following attacks on Iran in late February, according to Reuters. The Delhi price of a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder was ₹913 in March 2026, compared with ₹803 in March 2024.

How exposed India is

India imports about 60% of its LPG requirements, with as much as 85 to 95% of those imports historically transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Tribune, citing PTI. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry, told reporters in March that 22 Indian-flagged ships were stranded in the Persian Gulf, carrying 1.67 million tonnes of crude oil, 3.2 lakh tonnes of LPG and about 2 lakh tonnes of LNG.

“All 611 seafarers on 22 vessels on the west side of the Strait are safe,” Sinha said at the same briefing.

At the height of the crisis, nearly 500 tanker vessels in total were confined to the Persian Gulf, including 108 crude oil tankers, 166 oil product tankers, 104 chemical and product tankers, 52 chemical tankers and 53 other types, according to The Tribune.

India’s LPG imports dropped sharply in the weeks that followed, falling to nearly half of February levels by April, according to the Times of India.

India’s response

Two LPG tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz and were heading to India in March, providing some relief to acute shortages, Bloomberg reported. Officials also began loading LPG onto empty stranded vessels in the Persian Gulf to maximise available capacity, according to Reuters.

Additionally, the government and state-run oil marketing companies have been working on plans for a 30-day LPG storage buffer since at least May 2026, according to reports in the Times of India. “A 30-day reserve for LPG is our medium- to long-term strategy for securing key energy supplies,” a Petroleum Ministry official told the Times of India.

State-run oil marketing companies are working on a plan to build this reserve after the Middle East conflict exposed India’s vulnerability to Hormuz disruptions, the Economic Times reported, as cited by the Times of India.

What comes next

The Indian Express reported in May that the disruption had cut LPG imports and triggered supply tightness, with continued uncertainty at the time over vessel movements returning to normal. With hostilities flaring again this week, the still-developing 30-day reserve plan may face an early test of its readiness.

The latest flare-up serves as a reminder that geopolitical shocks can quickly translate into higher energy costs for Indian households. Until strategic LPG reserves are fully operational and import sources become more diversified, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz will continue to pose a significant risk to India’s energy security and domestic fuel prices.

Subsequently, the renewed uncertainty in West Asia underscores that energy security is no longer just about securing supplies, but also about building resilience against geopolitical risks. For an import-dependent economy like India, strategic reserves and diversified sourcing are becoming essential tools for managing future disruptions rather than emergency responses.