Russia ready to offer India expanded LNG supplies

PM Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Russia is ready to expand supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India from both existing and upcoming projects, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov said in an interview with state news agency TASS.

“Given India’s plans to increase the share of gas in its energy mix to 15%, we are ready to offer LNG from current and future Russian projects,” Tsivilyov told TASS.

The offer comes as Moscow seeks to deepen its energy partnership with New Delhi, even as Indian refiners prepare to scale back crude imports from Russia to comply with US tariffs.

Earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov had said that Russia continues to supply India with oil, coal and petroleum products and sees “significant potential” in expanding LNG exports.

In July 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also said the two countries were exploring broader cooperation in the gas sector, noting that Russia currently supplies India with around 3 million tons of LNG per year — a volume that “could be further increased.”

This comes at a time when Indian refiners are set to sharply cut imports of Russian crude to avoid secondary US sanctions on two major Russian oil producers.

India is currently negotiating a deal that could reduce the steep 50% tariffs imposed by Washington on its exports, half of which are reportedly in retaliation for India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has emerged as the largest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude, importing around 1.7 million barrels per day in the first nine months of this year.