India has purchased its first cargo of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in years after the U.S. temporarily lifted sanctions on Tehran’s oil and refined fuels, according to trade data and industry sources.
India had avoided buying energy from Iran since 2019 due to Western sanctions. The tanker carrying the LPG, initially bound for China, is expected to reach the west coast port of Mangalore shortly.
The Iranian LPG cargo will be distributed among three Indian fuel retailers: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). The purchase was made through a trader, with payment to be made in rupees, and India is reportedly exploring additional Iranian LPG cargoes.
However, an official from the federal shipping ministry, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, said he was not aware of any Iranian cargo purchases, stating, “No loaded cargoes from Iran, we have not heard of that.” The three companies and India’s oil ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
India, the world’s second-largest LPG importer, is facing its worst gas crisis in decades, prompting the government to cut industrial supplies to prioritize households. Last year, India consumed 33.15 million metric tons of LPG, with imports meeting around 60% of the demand, most of which came from the Middle East.
To address supply disruptions via the Strait of Hormuz caused by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, India has moved four LPG tankers—Shivalik, Nanda Devi, Pine Gas, and Jag Vasant—out of stranded positions and is loading LPG onto empty vessels in the Persian Gulf.
