October 13, 2026: India has protected city gas supplies by curbing deliveries to fertiliser plants, refineries and industrial users as the Middle East conflict disrupts liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, while South Asia's overall LNG demand is now expected to fall by about 6 million tonnes in 2026, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said.

The region's LNG demand had earlier been projected to grow by 2.7 million tonnes, or 7 per cent, this year. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption to Qatari and United Arab Emirates supplies have reversed that outlook, forcing governments to ration gas, seek expensive replacement cargoes and absorb mounting fiscal costs, Wood Mackenzie said.

"India fared relatively better by deploying a tiered demand-management strategy that kept city gas distribution unaffected while cutting supply to the fertiliser, refinery, and industrial sectors in March and April," it said in a report.

(Source: Economic Times)