Amid the US-Iran conflict, which lasted for nearly four months, Indian consumers witnessed minimal disruption, as not a single fuel retail outlet ran dry and every household had access to LPG cylinders, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Monday.
This was achieved across all fuel categories through a layered, consumer-first response that included the issuance of control orders within days, a sharp increase in domestic production, an excise duty cushion on petrol and diesel, aggressive supply diversification, energy diplomacy, and a whole-of-government demand management effort, the statement highlighted.
It noted that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. India imports nearly 90 percent of its crude oil and about 60 percent of its LPG, and the Gulf routes that carry the bulk of these supplies were disrupted for almost four months.
Following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, India undertook a swift, coordinated and multi-layered diplomatic effort—spanning institutional mechanisms, ministerial-level engagement, on-ground diplomatic channels, and decades of goodwill—to secure the safe passage of India-bound energy vessels.
As a result, India was among the few countries able to secure the release of its stranded vessels through direct and deft diplomacy without paying any tolls or transit levies.
The statement said that, beyond institutional mechanisms, India maintained constant engagement with Iran and its Gulf partners at multiple levels of government, reinforcing the message that India’s interests in the region were both legitimate and time-sensitive.
Indian ambassadors and embassies across the Gulf region played a pivotal and complementary role by establishing direct channels of communication with relevant government counterparts, ensuring that India’s requests for vessel clearance and safe passage were pursued continuously on the ground, in real time, rather than solely through capital-to-capital exchanges.
Furthermore, India initiated a landmark LPG procurement agreement with the United States, securing 10 percent of its import volumes from North American sources. Simultaneously, the Ministry coordinated long-term LPG procurement arrangements with Russia, Canada and Japan, specifically targeting their strategic petroleum reserves.
On petrol and diesel, the shock was buffered rather than passed on to consumers. The Centre cut the central excise duty by Rs 10 per litre on petrol and diesel on March 27, 2026, reducing the special additional excise duty on petrol from Rs 13 to Rs 3 per litre and on diesel from Rs 10 per litre to nil. The measure involved a revenue sacrifice of about Rs 1.7 lakh crore.
