Reliance Industries , India's largest oil refiner, is expected to report a 3.7% decline in quarterly profits for the March quarter, a hit that underscores the impact of soaring crude premiums and higher operating costs. The decline follows a surge in oil prices triggered by the war in the Middle East, which has pushed crude premiums higher and strained refining margins across the sector. The poll of brokerages indicates a 3.7% decline in quarterly profits, while revenues are projected to rise 8.1% YoY. JP Morgan analysts noted that refiner earnings (including Reliance) should in theory benefit from higher cracks, but high crude premiums and operating costs could be a material, uncertain drag. Jefferies added that the oil-to-chemicals division would be adversely affected by not only higher crude oil prices but also higher freight costs and a boost in the production of loss-making liquefied petroleum gas. India is a major consumer of LPG, which is widely used for cooking fuel. Around 60% of Indian households rely on LPG for their primary cooking fuel, and the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz, from where 90% of all Indian LPG imports pass, has been immediately felt by consumers. Amid the supply crisis, which has had the Indian government cut LPG supplies to commercial establishments and industries to have more cooking gas available for household use, authorities are pushing for an expansion of the city pipeline gas networks to replace LPG cylinders and use where possible. Reliance has seen its shares dip by 8% since its last quarterly report, which came out in January, as it struggled with the effects of the Middle Eastern war, like the rest of the global refining industry. Even before the war, however, Reliance faced problems because it was a major buyer of Russian crude and suffered a crunch after the U.S. imposed sanctions on its biggest supplier and business partner in the Jamnagar refinery, Rosneft.