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Economics trumps politics: India’s US oil, LNG imports slump sharply
Shipments of crude oil from the US to India dropped by an average of 40 per cent in August and September—coinciding with US President Donald Trump ratcheting up pressure on India—from July levels. Senior industry officials told Business Standard that when it comes to oil and gas, “economics trumps politics”.
Imports of LNG from the US declined by 41 per cent last month from a year earlier and by 23 per cent month-on-month.
Deliveries of US crude oil in August and September averaged 220,000 barrels per day compared to 364,000 bpd in July, according to data from maritime intelligence agency Kpler. Imports in September were 30,000 bpd lower year-on-year and 23,000 bpd lower month-on-month. US supplies are contracted 45–60 days in advance, which means July is typically contracted in May/June and August/September arrivals are ordered in July/August. Trump announced plans for secondary tariffs on India in July.
LNG shipments from the US to India shrank to 0.27 million tonnes last month from 0.46 million tonnes a year earlier and 0.35 million tonnes in August, the data showed. Nine months into 2025, US purchases at 2 million tonnes this year are well below the 5 million tonnes imported in 2024. State-run distributor GAIL, the biggest purchaser of US LNG, which had signed term contracts for a little less than 6 million tonnes a year a decade ago, has found it more profitable to swap its US cargoes than bring them to India, an industry official said.
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