Indian families face an acute cooking gas shortage in the coming weeks as the West Asia conflict traps liquefied petroleum gas cargoes in the Persian Gulf and disrupts supply chains. The shortfall is likely to affect tens of millions of households given the fuel's role in domestic cooking and the high reliance on Gulf shipments. Immediate relief depends on cargoes due in March beginning to move within days, according to industry sources.

India is the world's second-largest buyer of LPG and sources more than 90 per cent of its supplies from the Middle East, industry data shows. New long-term contracts with the United States offer a route to diversification but volumes remain far smaller, availability is constrained and freight costs are higher. Even last-minute purchases from the United States are not expected to reach India before April, limiting short-term options.

Market participants say alternative suppliers such as Russia and Argentina could provide incremental shipments but those volumes would be marginal and heavily dependent on freight economics and global spot availability. In liquefied natural gas, or LNG, the situation is already constraining industrial consumers as storage is limited and freight rates have risen sharply. Petronet LNG has declared force majeure on Qatari supplies, producing almost a 50 per cent cut in flows to some clients and underscoring wider stress across fuels.

Indian refiners and government officials have held meetings to discuss contingency plans and assess the resilience of strategic and commercial stocks, which currently cover nearly eight weeks of needs for crude and products. Officials indicated some comfort in stock levels while noting that if the Persian Gulf remains blocked for weeks the country may have to ration supplies and reduce refinery run rates. Backup measures being considered include tapping Russian cargoes loitering in Indian waters and the possibility of halting fuel exports to preserve domestic availability.