Indian state refiners have extended the closing deadline for their first joint long-term tender for importing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States in 2026 by a week to October 17, trade sources said on Thursday.
India plans to raise energy imports from the U.S. to narrow its trade surplus with Washington, a key irritant for President Donald Trump.
India’s higher energy purchases from the U.S. would aid prospects for a mutually beneficial trade deal between the two countries and help New Delhi avoid hefty tariffs imposed by Trump on its goods.
LPG is a mix of propane and butane used as cooking fuel and is mainly imported by state retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp and sold at a subsidised price to households.
Refiners seek 2 million tonnes of LPG for 2026
The three state refiners in their joint tender are seeking delivery of about 48 very-large gas carriers or about 2 million metric tons of LPG in 2026, the sources said.
The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
Shift from Middle East suppliers underway
Award of the tender could cut India’s imports of LPG from traditional suppliers in the Middle East and aid India’s fuel diversification drive, they said.
Key Middle East producer Saudi Aramco has already cut the official selling price for propane by $25 to $495 per ton <PRO-OFFCL-SA> and by $15 per ton to $475 per ton <BUT-OFFCL-SA> for butane.
India plans to source about 10% of its cooking gas imports from the U.S. beginning in 2026, Reuters reported in July.
The world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer relies heavily on Middle Eastern producers of LPG, with more than 90% of its roughly 20.5 million metric tons of imports in 2024 coming from the region.