Indian gas firms restrict local supplies due to Middle East crisis

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, March 4 (Reuters) - Several Indian companies have restricted the domestic supply of natural gas, including to the important fertiliser sector, under a force majeure clause due to an escalating conflict in the Middle East, gas importers and sources said on Wednesday.

The U.S and Israel's air war on Iran has disrupted fuel shipments in the region, affecting India's key supplier of liquefied natural gas, Qatar.

Sources familiar with the matter said lower gas supplies had already marginally hit production of some fertiliser companies including the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd and Kribhco Fertilizers Ltd.

The two companies did not respond to Reuters' request for comment outside normal working hours.

Gujarat Gas Ltd, which supplies gas for domestic and industrial clients, said in a stock exchange filing that it had declared a force majeure to restrict gas supplies to industries from Thursday. Its parent company, GSPC, gets most of the gas from Qatar and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co for sale to local customers.

India's top gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd PLNG.NS issued a force majeure notice to its supplier, QatarEnergy, and to local buyers GAIL (India) Ltd GAIL.NS, Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, and Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, after its three LNG tankers were unable to reach the Ras Laffan loading port, it said in an exchange filing.

GAIL and IOC have already reduced gas supplies to industries, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

QatarEnergy has also issued a notice to Petronet "indicating a potential event of force majeure" due to the hostilities in the region, the Indian company said.

So far the companies have not announced any cuts in gas supplies for households or the automobile sector.

India imported 27 million tonnes of LNG in 2024/25, about half of its overall gas consumption, according to the government data. The bulk of the LNG is imported from Qatar.

As a result of the attacks on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory strikes, transit through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally, as well as large quantities of liquefied natural gas, has ground to a near-halt after some vessels in the area were hit.