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New Delhi, August 26 (IANS). India's liquefied natural gas (LNG) import bill has increased significantly in the April-July period of the current financial year amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions in West Asia. According to data from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India's LNG import bill increased by 24 percent to $ 5.6 billion during this period, compared to $ 4.5 billion in the same period of the last financial year.

Due to the West Asia crisis and increasing pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, energy supplies from Gulf countries have been affected, due to which India has significantly increased the purchase of LNG and LPG from the US. India has turned to alternative sources to ensure energy security, but this has led to increased import costs.

India's LNG imports stood at $1.2 billion in July 2026, which is 9.1 percent higher than $1.1 billion in July 2025. Import volumes also increased during the same period and reached 2,915 million standard cubic meters, compared to 2,872 million standard cubic meters a year ago.

To secure energy supply, India has diversified its LNG import sources. While earlier the country used to import LNG from only six countries, now this number has increased to 15 countries. Similarly, the import sources of crude oil have also increased from 27 countries to 41 countries.

A senior official said that this strategy has reduced dependence on any one country, region or transport route. Also, India has got a better ability to deal with supply disruptions and fluctuations in the global market.

The official said that due to the West Asia crisis, not only energy prices have increased, but sea transportation costs have also increased sharply. Now energy cargo has to be brought to India over long distances, due to which the total import expenditure has further increased.

America has also emerged as a major supplier to India on the LPG import front. According to Kpler data, India imported about 6.2 lakh tonnes of LPG from the US in August, compared to 8.9 lakh tonnes in July. The US share in India's total LPG imports during July and August was more than 73 percent.

Interestingly, the quantity of LPG imported from the US in July was almost equal to the record level recorded during imports from the UAE in October 2025. Imports from the United Arab Emirates, long a major LPG supplier to India, declined to about 1.4 lakh tonnes in August.

Qatar supplied around 60,000 tonnes of LPG to India in the same period, while Saudi Arabia did not supply any LPG to India in both the months of July and August.

–IANS

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