India’s LPG consumption declines due to shortages in wake of Iran war

NEW DELHI: Indian state fuel retailers’ sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) slowed in the first half of March, preliminary data showed, as the country reels from its worst LPG crisis in decades due to shipping disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

India buys about 90% of its imports of LPG - mainly used for cooking - from the Middle East and its supplies have been disrupted after traffic through the strait ground to a near standstill in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

State fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp sell cooking gas in India.

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The three companies sold about 1.15 million metric tons of LPG in the first half of March, a decline of 17.3% from a year earlier and 26.3% from the same period in the previous month, the data showed.

India has 22 tankers, including six LPG ships, four crude carriers and one liquefied natural gas vessel, stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, said Rajesh Kumar Sinha, special secretary in the federal shipping ministry.

The federal government has cut supplies of LPG for industries to shield households from any shortage of cooking gas.

Sales of jet fuel by the three retailers totalled 327,900 tons in the first half of this month, a decline of about 12.3% from the previous month and a 4% fall from the same period a year ago, the data showed.

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Since the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran , Tehran has largely halted ?traffic through the strait, which runs past its coast and normally supplies around 20% of global oil ?and seaborne LNG. Iran has said it will not permit any supplies for the United States or its allies to leave the strait, but India has sought exemptions.