The Iran war has already rattled India's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market. Now another energy artery is under scrutiny: the country's rapidly expanding network of piped natural gas (PNG) - gas delivered by pipeline to homes and businesses.
Demand for this natural gas comes from fertiliser plants, industry, and gas-fired power, as well as city gas networks - which supply PNG to households and CNG (compressed natural gas) to vehicles. Of these, city gas to homes is the standout grower, expanding steadily as the network spreads across urban India.
India now has more than 15 million PNG connections, a number rising fast as policymakers nudge households to swap cylinders for gas on tap. At the same time, demand from CNG vehicles has also climbed steadily, with CNG now India's second-largest auto fuel after petrol.
If tankers carrying LPG struggle to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the question in many urban Indian homes is simple - could the gas in their kitchen pipelines be next to feel the squeeze?
Probably not - at least not immediately. India's piped gas supply is a blend of domestic production and imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). About half of India's PNG supply is sourced from domestic gas drilled from onshore and offshore fields by companies such as ONGC and Reliance, while the balance is met through LNG imports.
According to Rahul Chopra, managing director for the Haryana City Gas Distribution Limited, No disruption is expected for homes and vehicles [using piped gas]. The government has given priority to these two sectors. However, around 2,200 industrial and commercial customers are facing a government-mandated 20% supply cut, as gas is diverted to households and vehicles.
In a supply squeeze, the government tends to protect priority sectors - especially fertiliser plants and households connected to piped gas. That means the first casualties are usually industry and power generators. When LNG prices spike or cargoes tighten, factories often switch fuels or cut power generation.
Despite the domestic cushion, India's piped gas system, like its LPG market, is also exposed to global shocks. In recent years LNG has supplied roughly half of the country's total gas availability, making India one of the world's largest LNG buyers.
A big chunk of that comes from Qatar, where more than half of India's LNG imports are tied up in long-term contracts. However, LNG cargoes from Qatar and the UAE must pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime choke-point now at the centre of the Middle East war.
So far, the flow has not stopped entirely. Tankers loaded before the conflict escalated are still sailing. Supplies have not been completely disrupted yet, says Go Katayama, principal insight analyst for LNG and natural gas at Kpler Insight. However, exports from Qatar's giant Ras Laffan LNG complex have been halted since 2 March, highlighting a structural vulnerability.
Gas is stored mainly as working inventory at regasification terminals which dot the Indian coastline, and those stocks are modest—covering about one to two weeks of imports, depending on operations and cargo schedules. For India's urban consumers using piped gas, the immediate risk is not a shortage but price. If disruption at Hormuz persists, higher prices are likely, pushing costs onto both households and factories.
In conclusion, the current situation raises multiple challenges, primarily focused on pricing rather than supply exhaustion. Households may keep their kitchen taps running, but not without an anticipated rise in gas prices.
