What Happened
- The Central Government announced a comprehensive set of measures to secure fuel and cooking gas supplies for India following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict, while urging citizens to avoid panic buying after sporadic rushes were reported at fuel stations.
- Refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories; petrol and diesel stocks are reported sufficient nationwide.
- Commercial LPG supply has been gradually restored to approximately 70% of pre-crisis levels, with priority given to hospitality, food services, and key industries.
- For piped gas, 100% allocation has been maintained for household piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles; industrial and commercial users are receiving approximately 80% of average consumption.
- Enforcement against hoarding and black marketing has been intensified: approximately 2,900 raids conducted, approximately 1,000 cylinders seized.
- The expansion of city gas distribution (CGD) networks is being accelerated, with 2,90,000 new PNG connections added in March 2026 to reduce dependence on LPG cylinders.
- The government is also pursuing alternative supply routes and sources, including non-Hormuz origin oil from suppliers in the Americas, West Africa, and Russia.
Static Topic Bridges
The Strait of Hormuz: Strategic Geography and Global Energy Dependence
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway — approximately 33–55 km wide at its narrowest — between the Omani coast (specifically the Musandam exclave) and the Iranian coast, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and then the Arabian Sea. It is the world's most important maritime oil chokepoint.
- In 2024, approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day transited the Strait — roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
- About one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade also passes through the Strait, primarily Qatar's LNG exports.
- India's Middle Eastern crude suppliers — Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE — all require passage through the Strait; approximately 60% of India's crude imports are sourced from the broader Gulf region.
- Very few alternatives exist to bypass the Strait: the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) has a capacity of approximately 1.5 million barrels/day; Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline can handle about 5 million barrels/day but only moves oil to the Red Sea, which then requires passage through other potentially contested waterways.
- India's Operation Sankalp — a naval mission launched in 2019 to provide escort to Indian-flagged vessels — has been upgraded to a more active deterrence posture in the current crisis.
Connection to this news: India's dependence on Hormuz-transiting crude and LPG is the structural vulnerability being managed by the government's emergency supply measures; every escalation in the Strait raises the risk premium on Indian energy imports.
India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) and Energy Security Architecture
India maintains Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) — underground cavern storages of crude oil — as an emergency buffer against supply disruptions. The SPR programme was launched by the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB).
- India's current SPR capacity covers approximately 9.5 days of national crude oil consumption, stored at three sites: Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Mangaluru (Karnataka), and Padur (Karnataka), with a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes.
- The government has approved expansion to add SPR capacity at additional sites (Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur Phase-2), which would take total coverage to approximately 12 days.
- India also has operational crude and product stocks held by refineries and OMCs, which together provide an additional 65–70 days of demand coverage under normal conditions.
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) recommends a minimum 90-day strategic reserve for member countries; India, as a non-IEA member but IEA association partner, has not yet reached this standard.
- India has participated in coordinated SPR releases — including a 5 million barrel release in 2021 alongside the US, Japan, South Korea, and other allies to cool oil prices.
Connection to this news: The government's statement that refineries have "adequate crude inventories" draws on both SPR reserves and commercial crude stocks; the 65–70 day combined buffer explains why the immediate crisis can be managed even with Hormuz disrupted.
City Gas Distribution (CGD) and the PNG-LPG Transition
India's city gas distribution (CGD) network distributes natural gas through pipelines to households (as piped natural gas — PNG), vehicles (as CNG), and commercial/industrial users in urban and semi-urban areas. CGD is operated under a regulatory framework by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) through geographic area licensing.
- The PNGRB has licensed CGD networks across 307 geographical areas (GAs) covering nearly 98% of India's population by district, though actual pipeline penetration varies significantly.
- As of early 2026, India had approximately 14 million PNG household connections; the government's target is to rapidly expand this to reduce household LPG dependence.
- LPG imports are largely sourced from Gulf countries (particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE), making LPG supply more directly vulnerable to Hormuz disruption than domestically sourced piped natural gas.
- PNG is primarily supplied from domestic gas sources (ONGC, Reliance-BP) and imported LNG, which may arrive from non-Gulf sources (US, Australia, Qatar) via longer but potentially Hormuz-independent routes.
- The CGD network expansion is part of India's broader vision of a "gas-based economy," targeting a 15% share for natural gas in the primary energy mix (up from ~6% currently).
Connection to this news: The government's rapid addition of 2,90,000 PNG connections in March 2026 reflects an emergency acceleration of the PNG-LPG transition — recognising that households on piped gas are insulated from LPG cylinder supply disruptions caused by Hormuz closure.
Key Facts & Data
- Strait of Hormuz daily oil transit (2024): ~20 million barrels (approximately 20% of global consumption)
- India's crude oil import from Gulf region: approximately 60% of total crude imports
- LPG supply restoration level: approximately 70% of pre-crisis levels
- PNG and CNG allocation priority: 100% (full supply maintained)
- Enforcement actions: ~2,900 raids, ~1,000 LPG cylinders seized
- PNG connections added in March 2026: 2,90,000 new connections
- India's SPR capacity: 5.33 million MT crude (~9.5 days of consumption)
- SPR sites: Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, Padur
- India's combined crude + product stock (normal conditions): ~65–70 days
- Operation Sankalp: Indian Navy mission for escort of commercial vessels in Persian Gulf, launched 2019
- PNGRB licensed CGD areas: 307 geographical areas
- India's current natural gas share in primary energy: approximately 6%
- Gas-based economy target: 15% share in primary energy mix