India’s gas crisis: How Iran war poses an outsized threat—explained in charts
LNG. The ongoing war has brought maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to a halt, a busy channel used to transport oil and gas to many countries, including India. The impasse has highlighted India’s dependence on gas imports, particularly from Qatar, and how that impact isspread across a range of sectors.Over the years, natural gas has progressively come to play a greater role in India’s energy mix, supplementing crude oil (in the transport sector) and coal (in the power sector).
According to government figures, natural gas accounted for about 7% of India’s total energy consumption in 2023-24, after coal (60%) and crude oil (29%). Natural gas is seen as a link fuel due to its lower carbon emissions, and India has set a target to increase its share to 15% by 2030. That was unlikely before, it’s even more unlikely now.The disruption in West Asia means that about one-third of India’s energy basket is currently facing supply and pricing challenges.
The share of imports in India’s gas basket has increased from about 28% in 2011-12 to 50% in 2024-25. Part of this increase is the result of India’s gas production shrinking by about 23% between 2011-12 and 2024-25. Meanwhile, imports doubled in the same period to meet growing gas demand in India.For India, the chief mode of import of natural gas is LNG.
This is natural gas that is liquefied to reduce its volume exponentially, making it economical and efficient to transport over long distances by ship (instead of pipelines). India’s LNG demand grew 50% in the last decade, but the trend is not smooth. This shows that structurally demand is growing, but it remains price-sensitive.In India, two sectors accounted for about half the total consumption in 2024-25: fertilizers and city
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