India to import a tenth of its LPG needs from the US under a term deal

In a fillip to American exports to India, public sector oil companies Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) have signed a one-year term deal to import 2.2 million tonnes of liquified petroleum gas from the US Gulf Coast in 2026.

- Rituraj Baruah & Riya R. Alex

Imports of LPG have so far been predominantly from Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia through long-term contracts.

(BLOOMBERG)

This is the first term contract for LPG supplies from US. Earlier, imports of LPG, primarily used for cooking in Indian homes, from US were via deals done on the spot market. Details of the deal were not immediately available but petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on social media it would account for about 10% of India’s LPG imports. Imports of the cooking gas have so far been dominated by supplies from Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia through long-term contracts.

India’s LPG imports in FY25 stood at $12.47 billion, 10% of which would be about $1.25 billion. Based on this calculation, this deal will increase the US's annual exports to India by about 3%.