By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian state refiners have awarded their first joint, long-term tenders to Chevron, Phillips 66 and TotalEnergies Trading SA to import U.S. liquefied petroleum gas in 2026, two trade sources with knowledge of the matter said.
India plans to raise energy imports from the U.S. to cut its trade surplus with Washington, a key irritant for President Donald Trump, who has imposed a 50% import levy on Indian goods.
The three state refiners were jointly seeking delivery of about 48 very-large gas carriers, or about 2 million metric tons, of LPG in 2026.
LPG is a mix of propane and butane used as cooking fuel and is mainly imported by state retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and sold at a subsidised price to households.
The tenders also allowed winners the option to supply LPG of any origin for one of every four cargoes awarded, the sources said.
The details on the number of cargoes awarded to the three entities and pricing were not immediately available.
The three Indian companies, Chevron, Phillips 66 and Totsa did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
India plans to source about 10% of its cooking gas imports from the U.S. beginning in 2026, Reuters reported in July.
This year, India has bought some cargoes of U.S. LPG, taking advantage of an arbitrage window as China, locked in a tariff war with Washington, slowed purchases.
In April, Reuters reported that India planned to scrap import tax on some U.S. products, including LPG, as part of a broader trade deal.
Higher imports of U.S. LPG will cut India’s reliance on its traditional Middle Eastern suppliers.
In 2024, the South Asian nation imported about 65% of its LPG consumption of 31 million tons, according to government data.
The refiners imported about 90% of their 20.4 million tons under term deals with countries including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
Key Middle East producer Saudi Aramco has already cut the official selling price for propane and butane to at least a two-year low after India announced plans to diversify its LPG imports.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma. Editing by Mark Potter)
