Iran Allows India Crude Supply; Gas Scarcity Pauses Industry in Panjab

March

2026

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared on 26 Mar that no talks were being held with the US. In an official announcement he said, 'Tehran has established its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz' adding that India and four other 'friendly nations' were allowed to move their ships through the Strait. He also thanked India and Sri Lanka for their 'significant help' after an Iranian vessel, IRIS Dena, was sunk in a US attack in the Indian Ocean. While the crude oil crisis grows in India and will continue as the war rages, this news brings some relief. Meanwhile, on 27 Mar, India sought a waiver from the US to buy Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) from Russia. The understanding to explore an LNG agreement was reached during a 19 Mar meeting in New Delhi between Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin and India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Seeking waivers from the US points towards how India is increasingly beholden to US’ permissions. Additionally, Argentina has come to India's aid as it grapples with Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) shortage. During Q1 2026, Argentina exported 50K MT of LPG to India—more than double the 22K MT shipped during the entirety of 2025. Alongside, amid a nationwide LPG crisis, the union government has accelerated Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network expansion across urban India to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential services. Over 290K PNG connections, including domestic and commercial users, have been provided across the country in March. The union government has also issued a special allocation order for Superior Kerosene Oil under the Public Distribution System. Since commercial gas is scarce and safety norms prevent large-scale storage of LPG at factories, many industries in Panjab have temporarily paused operations rather than running incomplete production cycles. Parallelly, a 20% cut in PNG supply has crippled the iron industry in Mandi Gobindgarh, Fatehgarh Sahib district. Concurrently, triggered by the fuel crisis, India's is pushing towards higher ethanol blending in petrol. The union government has initiated discussions on introducing E25 petrol. This comes even as E20 fuel-comprising 20% ethanol and 80% petrol-is set to become mandatory across India from April (earlier coverage).