India signs ‘historic’ LPG deal with US for 10% annual imports, announces Hardeep Singh Puri

In a major step towards strengthening India’s energy security, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday announced that Indian public sector oil companies have signed a one-year agreement to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the US for the first time.

The minister shared the development through a social media post on Monday, saying it was a “historic first” for the country’s LPG market.

“A historic first! One of the world’s largest and fastest growing LPG markets is opening to the USA. As part of our effort to provide safe, affordable LPG supply to the people of India, we are diversifying our LPG sources. In a significant development, Indian PSU oil companies have successfully signed a 1-year agreement to import approximately 2.2 MTPA of LPG,” he said.

Emphasizing that India is one of the largest and fastest growing LPG markets in the world, Puri said that the new agreement is an important milestone in the country’s efforts to diversify its LPG supply.
According to the minister, Indian PSU companies have signed a contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LPG for the contract year 2026.

This volume represents approximately 10 percent of India’s annual LPG imports and will be sourced from the US Gulf Coast. He noted that this will be the first structured long-term contract involving US LPG for the Indian market.

Puri explained that the acquisition compares with Mount Belvieu, a key pricing point in the global LPG trade.

He added that teams from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) have visited the US in recent months to hold talks with major American producers and these talks have been completed successfully.
The Minister also underlined the government’s commitment to provide affordable LPG to Indian households, especially for women beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

He noted that despite global LPG prices rising by more than 60 per cent last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured that Ujjwala consumers continue to pay only Rs 500-550 per cylinder, while the actual cost is Rs 1,100.

To protect consumers from international price shocks, the Government of India shouldered a burden of over Rs 40,000 billion during the year.

He also shared that the new US import agreement strengthens the government’s ongoing efforts to provide reliable and affordable energy supplies to the country’s people.

(This story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)