What awaits India's cooking gas supplies after 16 days?

NEW DELHI: The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the ensuing crisis could possibly disrupt cooking gas distribution in India. 66 per cent of the total cooking gas supplied to India is imported from this region. If the Iran-Israel conflict worsens, cooking gas distribution will be halted, and India will be one among the many countries that will bear the brunt.

LPG is currently used in 33 crore homes in the country. A large part of this is imported from abroad. More than 90 per cent of the total imports come from the Middle East region. mostly from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. LPG is currently stored at refineries, import terminals and bottling plants. There is only 16 days' worth of stock left in the country.

Importing goods from the US, Europe, and Africa is time-consuming and expensive compared to importing them from West Asian countries. The number of households using natural gas through pipelines in India is only 1.5 million. The ongoing crisis is least likely to affect India's oil imports.

Even if there is a crisis in imports from West Asian countries, it is estimated that the crisis will not have a significant impact, as India depends on countries, including Russia, for crude oil imports. 40 per cent of petrol consumption and 30 per cent of diesel consumption are exported. If necessary, exports can be reduced.