Written by Sukalp SharmaUpdated: November 17, 2025 09:14 PM IST 4 min readIndia’s public sector refiners have sealed their first structured deal to import 2.2 MTPA of LPG from the US in 2026. (Representative photo)As India looks to increase its energy trade with the US amid trade pact negotiations, Indian public sector refiners have signed a one-year deal for American liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports, marking the first structured contract of US LPG for the domestic market.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOThe term deal, which Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri called a “historic first”, is for imports of around 2.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LPG, close to 10% of India’s annual imports.It comes at a time when India is looking to shrink its trade surplus with the US — one of the issues flagged by President Donald Trump when he slapped the 50 per cent tariff on incoming Indian goods. Government data released Monday showed that India’s trade surplus with the US had halved to $1.45 billion between April and October.Trump had also brought up India’s heavy imports of Russian crude oil while imposing the tariffs, which took effect in August. The past few months have seen Indian refiners increasing oil imports from the US. Sources in the Indian government have indicated that India could step up US energy imports to finalise the trade agreement to reduce the tariffs.On Monday, Puri posted on X: “One of the largest and the world’s fastest growing LPG market 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. In a significant development, Indian PSU oil companies have successfully concluded a 1 year deal for imports of around 2.2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) LPG, close to 10% of our annual imports—for the contract year 2026, to be sourced from the US Gulf Coast—the first structured contract of US LPG for the Indian market.”According to industry sources, the three public sector refiners — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd — have awarded their joint tender for US LPG imports in the coming year to Chevron, Phillips 66 and TotalEnergies Trading. The deal’s commercial details were not available.LPG is predominantly used as a cooking fuel, with much of India’s requirement being imported from countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait. This deal is expected to reduce India’s dependence for LPG on these traditional West Asian suppliers as the country looks to diversify import sources in search of better prices.Story continues below this adA significant chunk of LPG sales to households in India is subsidised by the government. Over the past few years, the government has made concerted efforts to increase LPG penetration by bringing poor and rural households under the LPG net in a bid to cut the use of traditional and polluting cooking fuels.In February, the US President Trump had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit that they had agreed to take steps towards making Washington “a leading supplier of oil and gas to India”, which could help bridge the trade deficit. Trump had added that the US will “hopefully” be India’s top oil and gas supplier.In September, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had said the US would play an important role in India’s energy security going forward.India is the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil with an import dependency of around 88 per cent. The country is also among the biggest importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with around half of its natural gas demand being met through imports.For the past few years, the US has been the fifth-largest supplier of crude oil to India. It has also been the second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India. As for LPG, over 60 per cent of the petroleum fuel’s requirement in India is met through imports.Story continues below this adTrump said last week that the US will bring down tariffs on India, and that they are close to signing a trade deal.Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:domestic LPG cylinderLNG