India is seeking to secure its first long-term supplies of liquefied petroleum gas from the US, as Washington’s trade war disrupts flows of the cooking fuel and plastics precursor.
State-owned oil companies are looking to buy as many as three very-large gas carriers of the fuel a month over 2026 sourced from the US, according to a tender document seen by Bloomberg. The three national giants are responsible for procuring the LPG used in the stoves of more than 331 million domestic consumers, over 60 per cent of which is imported.
It is the first time that the South Asian nation, which has existing long-term contracts with countries including Saudi Arabia, is seeking a similar arrangement for US LPG, according to traders familiar with the matter. That comes after the government said it plans to buy more US energy as it seeks to convince Washington to lower 50 per cent tariffs imposed in August.
Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. — the joint issuers of the tender — didn’t reply to requests for comment. India’s oil ministry also didn’t respond.
India is slipping into the cracks left by a fracturing US-China trade relationship. LPG is among goods affected by increasing tariffs between the two biggest economies, with China turning to the Middle East and seeking to swap its cargoes from the US shale patch, usually at a discount.
Meanwhile, producers in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia — a longstanding LPG supplier to Indian markets — are fighting back by cutting prices. That could help bolster sales of the fuel and fend off competition, traders said.
Saudi Aramco has also told its customers that future contract prices of the LPG it sells would more strongly factor in Asian market rates, according to traders who were informed by the producer. Aramco didn’t respond to a request for comment.>
