What Happened
- India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that India is exploring the option of procuring Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from Russia, stating it would "go where supply is available" to meet citizens' energy needs.
- The statement came amid a severe LPG supply disruption caused by the West Asia conflict affecting shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz — through which approximately 80% of India's LPG imports transit.
- The MEA characterised LPG supply as "a matter of concern" and stated India would not want to be reliant on any single supplier, emphasising supply diversification as the guiding strategy.
- India, the world's second-largest LPG consumer, typically sources the bulk of its LPG from Gulf producers: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
- As of mid-March 2026, an estimated 3.2 lakh tonnes of LPG (along with 1.67 million tonnes of crude oil and 2 lakh tonnes of LNG) were stuck on Indian-flagged ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to transit the Strait.
- The government issued a Natural Gas Control Order on March 9, 2026 under the Essential Commodities Act to manage gas supplies and prioritise household consumers.
Static Topic Bridges
India's Energy Security Framework and Import Dependence
Energy security — ensuring reliable, affordable, and sustainable supply of energy — is a foundational concern for India's development trajectory. India is heavily import-dependent for its hydrocarbon needs: it imports over 85% of its crude oil and about 60% of its LPG requirement. The country has worked to diversify supplier nations, now importing crude oil from approximately 40 countries. However, LPG supply geography is narrower, with Gulf nations dominant.
- India is the world's third-largest crude oil importer (after the US and China) and the second-largest LPG consumer globally.
- About 90% of India's LPG imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz, making it uniquely vulnerable to disruptions in the Persian Gulf.
- India's strategic petroleum reserves are managed by the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) — currently around 5.33 million metric tonnes of crude stored in underground caverns at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, and Padur.
- The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), launched in 2016, has connected over 10 crore below-poverty-line households to LPG — making domestic LPG supply a social welfare imperative, not just an economic one.
Connection to this news: The acute LPG shortage triggered by the Strait of Hormuz disruption directly exposes the structural vulnerability in India's energy import geography — an issue the MEA's turn towards Russian LPG is designed to mitigate in the short term.
The Strait of Hormuz — India's Critical Chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway (about 33 km at its narrowest) between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the world's most strategically important maritime chokepoint for energy: approximately 21 million barrels of oil per day — nearly 20% of global oil trade — pass through it. For India specifically, it is the conduit for the vast majority of energy imports from Gulf countries.
- Any closure or disruption of the Strait — whether due to conflict, blockade, or mines — would immediately impact energy prices globally and supply chains specifically for Asia.
- Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait during periods of geopolitical tension with the US and its allies.
- Other critical maritime chokepoints relevant to India's trade include the Malacca Strait (Southeast Asia), Bab-el-Mandeb (Red Sea/Gulf of Aden), and the Suez Canal.
- India has no direct overland pipeline access to alternative energy sources — making maritime routes non-negotiable in the medium term.
Connection to this news: The current disruption is a real-world stress test of India's energy supply vulnerability at the Strait of Hormuz — the very scenario energy security planners have long warned about — and is driving India's urgent exploration of Russian LPG via alternative routes.
India-Russia Energy Ties: From Oil to LPG
Since the Russia-Ukraine war began in 2022, India dramatically increased its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, becoming one of Russia's top oil clients and a subject of Western criticism. Russia's share in India's crude oil imports rose from under 1% pre-war to over 35-40% by 2023-24. Extending this diversification to LPG is a logical next step given current supply pressures.
- Russian crude purchases have been transacted in non-dollar currencies (including Indian rupees and UAE dirhams) as part of efforts to navigate Western sanctions.
- India's position has consistently been that it acts in its national interest on energy purchases, exercising strategic autonomy rather than aligning with Western-led sanction regimes.
- Russia's Novatek and Gazprom are major LNG and LPG producers; Russia is the world's second-largest natural gas producer.
- LPG from Russia would need to travel longer sea routes (via Arctic or the Suez Canal) compared to Gulf supplies — potentially offsetting some cost advantage, though Russian pricing has historically been discounted.
Connection to this news: The MEA's signal on Russian LPG extends India's established pattern of pragmatic energy diversification — prioritising supply security and price advantage over geopolitical alignment — in the face of a concrete supply crisis.
Key Facts & Data
- ~80% of India's LPG imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz
- ~60% of India's total LPG requirement is met through imports
- 3.2 lakh tonnes of LPG stranded on Indian ships in the Persian Gulf (as of mid-March 2026)
- India is the world's second-largest LPG consumer
- India now imports crude from ~40 countries (up from a narrower set pre-2022)
- Natural Gas Control Order issued: March 9, 2026 under the Essential Commodities Act
- Key Gulf LPG suppliers: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE
- Strategic petroleum reserves: ~5.33 million MT (crude only) at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, Padur