India’s GAIL weighs supply cuts to gas customers after Petronet LNG force majeure

NEW DELHI: India’s GAIL (India) said on Thursday it will assess curbing supplies to natural gas customers after a force majeure notice from long-term supplier Petronet LNG over constraints on vessels as conflict escalates in the Middle East.

The U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran has disrupted fuel shipments from the Gulf, affecting India’s imports of liquefied natural gas from key supplier Qatar.

Fallout from the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and a widening war has brought the transit of oil and LNG through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt after some vessels in the area were hit.

The allocation of LNG from Petronet to GAIL has been reduced to zero with effect from March 4, GAIL said, adding that the potential impact from the force majeure could not be quantified.

LNG supplies to GAIL from other sources and suppliers are currently unaffected, the gas marketing company said in a statement to stock exchanges.

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Petronet LNG, India’s top gas importer, on Wednesday issued a force majeure notice to its supplier, QatarEnergy, and to local buyers like GAIL and Indian Oil Corp, after its LNG tankers were unable to reach the LNG loading terminal at Ras Laffan, it said in an exchange filing.

GAIL and IOC have already reduced gas supplies to industrial customers, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

India imported 27 million metric tons of LNG in 2024/25, about half of its overall gas consumption, according to government data. The bulk of the LNG comes from Qatar.

Separately, ONGC Petro Additions also said that it is operating its Dahej gas cracker in western India at a “drastically” lower capacity due to falling supplies of gas and other feedstock.

Lower run rates at the Dahej cracker will impact downstream petrochemical plants, it said.