India has agreed to buy more US gas and oil as US President Donald Trump stepped up his threat of tariffs and embarked on a new ‘fair and reciprocal trade’ strategy.
President Trump and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed their commitment to increase energy trade, as part of efforts to ensure energy security, and establish the US ‘as a leading supplier of crude oil and petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India, in line with the growing needs and priorities of our dynamic economies’.
The US pledged its support for India to join the International Energy Agency as a full member.
Speaking at the close of India Energy Week 2025 in New Delhi, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and National Gas, said, “The fact of the matter is India needs more energy, and President Trump wants to see more energy come onto the global markets – and we are seeing more coming on stream from the western hemisphere.
“So I think that’s good for countries which are large consumers like India. In the next two decades, 25% of the demand growth will come from India. There is a fair amount of give and take between us and the industrialised west. What was signed yesterday is not just money, it also affects the global market.”
India aims to increase natural gas consumption from 6% to 15% in its energy mix.
Committing to hydrocarbons presents a dilemma for Indian policymakers however, as IEW 2025 delegates heard repeatedly of India’s desire to grow green hydrogen and clean technologies. While LNG is considered ‘clean’ with lower carbon dioxide emissions compared with coal and oil, it is a fossil fuel and poses challenges with methane leaks.
The country aims to become Net Zero by 2070.
“Green hydrogen has arrived,” the Minister added. “Tenders have been floated which are attracting world class bids, which means we will get to the 5 million production target by 2030 – which used to be as a futuristic talking point – and we are also moving very strongly on sustainable aviation fuels.”
Billed as the second largest energy event globally, IEW 2025 – running for the third year – united policymakers, energy leaders and innovators, and more than 700 exhibitors were in attendance.
Read more: India Energy Week 2025 to attract 70,000 delegates
A wide range of MOUs and agreements was struck and developments announced in the carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector. The stand-out deal saw IOCL and ADNOC sign a 14-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for up to 1.2 million tonnes per annum of LNG from 2026, in a deal worth over $7bn.
Read more: India signs LNG import deals and first export agreement
Read more: India takes first steps into CCUS
