In a significant move to boost India’s energy security, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Monday that Indian public sector oil companies have, for the first time, signed a year-long agreement to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States.
Describing the development as a “historic first” for India’s LPG market, Puri shared the news on social media. “One of the largest and the world’s fastest-growing LPG markets opens up to the United States,” he wrote. “In our endeavour to provide secure, affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing. In a significant development, Indian PSU oil companies have successfully concluded a 1-year deal for imports of around 2.2 MTPA LPG.”
The minister noted that India is among the world’s biggest and fastest-expanding LPG markets, and the new agreement marks a major milestone in the country’s strategy to diversify supply sources. The contract, finalised by Indian PSU companies for the 2026 contract year, involves importing about 2.2 million tonnes per annum of LPG—nearly 10 per cent of India’s yearly LPG imports—from the U.S. Gulf Coast. This will be the first structured long-term arrangement for U.S. LPG supplies to India.
Puri said the deal is benchmarked to Mount Belvieu, an important global pricing hub for LPG. He added that teams from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) had visited the U.S. in recent months for discussions with major American suppliers, which have now concluded successfully.
Emphasising the government’s commitment to providing affordable LPG to Indian households—especially beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana—the minister pointed out that despite global LPG prices rising by more than 60 per cent last year, Ujjwala consumers continued to pay only ₹500–550 per cylinder, compared with an actual cost of over ₹1,100. To cushion households from volatile global prices, the government absorbed more than ₹40,000 crore in costs during the year.
Puri added that the new import deal with the U.S. strengthens the government’s broader effort to secure dependable and affordable energy supplies for the country.
