Indian Jindal Stainless Limited's operations have suffered from a shortage of industrial gas

India's largest stainless steel manufacturer, Jindal Stainless Limited, has been forced to shut down its operations due to a shortage of industrial gases, a problem the company attributes to the ongoing conflict in Western Asia.

According to Managing Director Abhyudai Jindal, disruptions in the supply of key fuels such as propane, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas are affecting numerous production processes at the company's plants, forcing enterprises to operate at rational capacity levels.

Industrial gas shortage disrupts stainless steel production

Jindal Stainless said some processes at its plants were affected due to a shortage of industrial gases. Abhyudai Jindal stressed that the stainless steel sector is structurally dependent on external gas supplies. "Due to the heavy dependence of stainless steel production on industrial gases such as propane, LPG and natural gas, several processes in our plants have been negatively impacted," he said.Why is stainless steel production particularly vulnerable

Unlike the traditional steel sector, which typically uses blast furnace and coke oven gases as internal energy sources, stainless steel production depends on a scrap-based route that does not generate such gases internally. This makes stainless steel producers significantly more dependent on external fuel supply chains. Due to the current supply constraints, Jindal