As Indian oil marketing companies secured a one-year deal to import around 2.2 MTPA of LPG from the US, industry analysts believe that India must have secured a good deal that is economically viable for Indian OMCs. They said that given the high natural gas liquids (NGL) production in the US, there's scope for competitive pricing.
“The freight cost will be obviously higher compared to West Asia because the US is several times farther. But US prices could be lower simply because it is one of the largest producers of NGLs — produced along with shale gas. The US has become a major supplier of ethane because of the sheer volume of shale gas production,” said Prashant Vasisht, senior vice president and co-group head, corporate ratings, ICRA Ltd.
Vashist further said that LPG from the US might be priced lower because it’s more abundantly available and not all of it is consumed domestically. Moreover, for crude, freight from West Asia is around 30-70 cents per barrel because it’s only a 3–4 day journey. From the US, freight is about $3 per barrel.
On October 17, Indian oil marketing companies concluded a one-year deal to import around 2.2 MTPA of LPG from the US. The petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in a social media post, said that nearly 10% of India’s annual LPG imports for the contract year 2026 will be sourced from the US Gulf Coast — marking the first structured contract for US LPG in the Indian market.
According to Gaurav Moda, Partner and Energy Lead at EY-Parthenon India, the new supply sources at right landed prices are welcome as they contribute to the India growth story.
India is one of the world's largest consumers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), primarily used for household cooking. With domestic production covering only about 35% of demand, the country relies heavily on imports for the remaining 65%. Like crude oil, India is heavily dependent on West Asia for its LPG supply chain, with Qatar as the largest source, followed by the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Following the 50% tariff announcement by the US on India, India diversified its crude purchases to West Asia and the US. In fact, the country has substantially increased its energy imports from the US, including crude, LNG, and now LPG.
In October 2025, US crude imports rose to their highest level since March 2021, reaching 568 kbd, and are expected to average 450–500 kbd in November, compared with a year-to-date average of around 300 kbd.