India prioritises household gas supply amid Middle East war disruptions, forcing cuts to industry and sparking warnings of widespread restaurant closures.

MUMBAI: India has imposed strict controls on natural and cooking gas supplies following import disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East war.

The Ministry of Petroleum issued an order stating the conflict has disrupted liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

It said the new rules are designed to ensure equitable distribution and continued availability for priority sectors.

Under the order, LNG supplies will be prioritised for households, the transport sector, and the production of liquefied petroleum gas.

Other sectors, including fertiliser plants and tea industries, will receive only 70% to 80% of their consumption needs, subject to operational availability.

To meet the supply gap, gas supplied to petrochemical facilities and power plants will be either fully or partially curtailed.

The world’s most populous nation is the fourth-largest LNG buyer and second-largest buyer of LPG, much of which is sourced from the Middle East.

A separate ministry order on Monday also prioritised domestic LPG supplies to households over commercial users.

The National Restaurant Association of India warned this has resulted in LPG suppliers across the country signalling that supplies to eateries will be stopped.

“The restaurant industry is predominantly dependent on commercial LPG for its operations,” it said in a statement.

“Any disruption therein will lead to a catastrophic closure of majority of restaurants.”

PC Rao, head of a hotel industry association in the southern tech-city Bengaluru, said the situation was dire.

“Supply of gas has been hit and many of the smaller establishments only have one to two days of stock left,” Rao told AFP.

“The big ones probably have about 10 days worth remaining.”

He added that people would now look to change or restrict their menus bearing in mind the situation.

Indian industries including several ceramics and tile firms have already said they are facing a cutback in gas supplies that could impact production.

 The Sun Malaysia