Home delivery of cooking gas cylinders in Tamil Nadu has improved, with agencies now supplying cylinders within five days of a customer’s booking. Earlier, delivery timelines had stretched to nearly two weeks, causing inconvenience to households.
Public-sector oil companies—Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum—supply 14.2-kg domestic cylinders and 19-kg commercial cylinders through their dealer networks. Under normal conditions, deliveries used to be completed in 2–3 days, and often within two days in Chennai.
The disruption began after a war in West Asia in early March affected the movement of ships carrying crude oil and LPG to India, leading to shortages and delayed distribution. As a result, commercial cylinder supply to sectors such as hotels was stopped from March 9, and the rebooking interval for domestic customers was increased—urban areas from 21 to 25 days and rural areas to 45 days.
Following talks led by India’s External Affairs Ministry, Iran allowed Indian vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, improving inflows. With supplies rising, commercial distribution has been restored to about 70%, and officials said Tamil Nadu now has around 25 days of LPG stock, supported by 19 filling plants with a combined capacity of 5,880 tonnes per day. They added that panic booking has reduced, helping deliveries return to a five-day window.
