Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday announced that Indian PSU oil companies have successfully concluded a one-year structured contract to import around 2.2 MTPA of LPG from the US Gulf Coast for the contract year 2026.
This represents close to ten per cent of India’s annual LPG imports and marks the first such structured US LPG contract for the Indian market.
The minister described the decision as a historic development, noting that one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing LPG markets has now opened up to the US.
”A historic first! One of the largest and the world’s fastest-growing LPG markets opens up to the United States. In our endeavour to provide secure, affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing,” Mr Puri wrote on ‘X’.
This significant step by India is expected to expedite a trade deal that India and the US have been negotiating. It could also ease the pressure on the US to reduce its oil exports from Russia.
Mr Puri stated that India has been consistently working to secure affordable and reliable LPG supplies by diversifying its sourcing options. As part of this effort, a team of officials from IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL,) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) had visited the US from 21-24 July and engaged in discussions with major US producers. These discussions, based on Mount Belvieu as the benchmark for LPG purchases, have successfully concluded with the finalisation of the contract.
He highlighted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PSU oil companies have ensured the provision of LPG at the lowest global prices to households across the country. Even as global LPG prices surged by more than 60 per cent last year, Ujjwala beneficiaries continued to receive cylinders at a subsidised price of about Rs 500–550, despite the actual cost exceeding Rs 1100.
The Government of India absorbed the burden, incurring an expenditure of over Rs 40,000 crore in the previous year to shield families—especially mothers and sisters—from the impact of rising international LPG prices.
He emphasised that this new sourcing arrangement for 2026 is another step in strengthening India’s energy security while ensuring affordable access to clean cooking fuel for millions of households.