Yahoo Finance
India’s LNG imports are rising amid one of the most expensive Asian gas markets in years, defying the regional pattern of demand destruction that has pushed other buyers toward coal, nuclear and energy conservation.
After Qatar shut down natural gas production on March 2 and the Strait of Hormuz closed almost simultaneously, Asialostroughly 5.5 million-6 million tonnes of LNG supply a month, equivalent to almost a quarter of regional pre-crisis export flows.
Asian LNG imports fell to 18.8 million tonnes in April, the lowest since 2020, while JKM prices surged from a pre-crisis $10.4/MMBtu to $25.3/MMBtu by late March.
South Korea cut LNG imports by 1 million tonnes per month between February and April, while Japan reduced purchases by 1.5 million tonnes per month.
India, however, moved in the opposite direction: after dipping from 1.9 million tonnes in February to 1.67 million tonnes in March, its LNG imports climbed to 2.1 million tonnes in May.
The rebound is particularly striking because India has lost its key traditional supplier.
Qataraccounted for11.2 million tonnes of India’s 25 million tonnes of LNG imports in 2025 (~45%), making it by far the country’s most important source of supply.
Once Qatari LNG practically disappeared from Indian import flows, New Delhi replaced the missing volumes with cargoes from Oman, Nigeria and the US.
The US increased exports to India more than sixfold, from 137,000 tonnes in January to 907,000 tonnes in May, becoming the country’s largest LNG supplier.
Nigeria doubled its monthly shipments to 480,000 tonnes in May, while Oman averaged around 500,000 tonnes a month in March and April before slipping to 300,000 tonnes in May.
The driver of India’s renewed LNG push is not structural gas demand, it’s the weather.
India’s power consumption jumped more than 11% year-on-year to 164.98 billion kWh in May 2026 as temperatures exceeded 45C (113 F) across large parts of the country, turning air conditioners and desert coolers into basic survival infrastructure.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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