NEW DELHI: India will buy US liquefied natural gas if it is offered at a reasonable rate, the head of Petronet LNG, the country’s largest gas importer, said on Thursday as New Delhi aims to increase imports from Washington.
US President Donald Trump announced last week that he would lower tariffs on Indian imports from 50% to 18% to ease concerns in India, but in exchange he asked New Delhi to more than double its annual imports from the US.
Bilateral trade in 2024-2025 was $132 billion, with a surplus of about $41 billion in favor of India.
“India is trying to source energy at the most competitive and affordable price for consumers,” Akshay Kumar Singh said at a press conference, adding that consumers would use gas if the price was “reasonable” compared to other fuels.
India aims to increase gas usage in energy mix
India has about 27,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generation capacity, but power plants are operating at less than a quarter of that capacity due to a lack of “affordable” gas, Singh said.
India’s pledge to buy $500 billion worth of American goods over five years under a trade deal with Washington has been met with skepticism, with economists warning it could distort commercial procurement and sharply alter the trade balance.
Demand for liquefied natural gas in the world’s most populous country is expected to increase in the coming years, driven by demand across the fertilizer, city gas, refining and power sectors.
India is the world’s fourth-largest LNG buyer and aims to increase the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030, from around 6% currently.
Petronet, which buys gas from Qatar and Australia, is seeking deals to secure longer-term deals as it expands capacity at existing plants and builds new import terminals on the east coast.
LNG prices are expected to stabilize as production capacity is added globally, Singh said.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Joe Bavier)
