Qatar Outage Forces Indian Energy Majors to Ration Industrial Gas Supply

India’s state-run gas majors began slashing supplies to factories on Tuesday afternoon. The move follows a disruption at QatarEnergy, which suspended all production at its Ras Laffan complex after drone strikes crippled infrastructure. For India, which relies on Qatar for over half of its LNG, the fallout was immediate.

Major distributors, including GAIL India and Petronet LNG, have reportedly enforced a 10% to 30% cut in gas allocations for non-essential industrial consumers. This aims to preserve dwindling stocks for high-priority sectors like power generation and fertilizer production. In the ceramic and chemical belts of Gujarat and Rajasthan, manufacturers are already reporting significant drops in pipeline pressure. 

Macroeconomic Vulnerability

The crisis is compounded by a "currency-commodity" trap. As global LNG spot prices (West India Marker) surged 18% this morning to reach $12.50/MMBtu, the Indian Rupee plummeted to a low of 91.99 against the US Dollar. This dual pressure makes the procurement of emergency "non-Gulf" cargoes from the U.S. or Australia nearly triple the cost of long-term Qatari contracts. Currently, at least three Indian-flagged LNG tankers remain trapped or idling outside the Persian Gulf, unable to navigate the active combat zone.

With India’s primary import terminal at Dahej estimated to have less than a week of operational inventory, the Ministry of Petroleum is reportedly exploring emergency swaps with Asian neighbors. However, until the maritime blockade eases, the Indian industrial sector remains in a state of high-alert rationing.

-With inputs from Reuters