GAIL warns of gas supply cuts as 30% of imports blocked

New Delhi: State-run GAIL (India) Ltd is planning slash natural gas supplies to select customers after roughly 30 per cent of India’s imported LNG shipments were blocked due to escalating military conflict in West Asia.

Following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iranian government, military and nuclear facilities, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned vessels against transiting the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow sea lane through which crude oil and natural gas from Gulf producers move to global markets - prompting major insurers to withdraw or sharply raise war-risk coverage and forcing several shipping lines to suspend tanker movements through the route.

For India, a bulk of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Qatar and the UAE flows through the Strait.

Force majeure - the legal clause in the contract that refers to extraordinary events beyond the control of parties - was possibly due to the reported shutdown of LNG facilities in Qatar. “Consequently, due to supply restrictions imposed, the allocation of LNG quantities to GAIL under the said contract has been reduced to zero with effect from March 4, 2026,” GAIL said. “GAIL is currently assessing the situation with respect to any supply curtailment that may need to be imposed on its downstream customers.”

A top oil ministry official said as much as 60 million standard cubic meters per day of gas supplies has been halted due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

India consumes 195 mmscmd of gas for generating electricity, producing fertiliser, turning into CNG to run automobiles, fire household kitchens and serve as feedstock for various industries.