India’s cumulative LNG imports for the first 90 days (March- May 2026) stood at 5.8 mt, a decline of 6.5 per cent on an annual basis. | Photo Credit: Chris Ratcliffe

The first 90-days of the West Asia conflict has significantly altered India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports trade, albeit in the short term, with the US emerging as the largest supplier for the first time, piping Qatar.

Data from Kpler show that during the March-May 2026 quarter, Washington supplied 1.5 million tonnes (mt) of LNG to India, compared to a mere 0.1 mt by Qatar. This is against Qatar supplying 3 mt during March-May 2025 against 0.5 mt by the United States.

The global real time data and analytics provider pointed out that LNG imports weakened in March 2026 before recovering in April-May. Qatar’s share dropped sharply in recent months, while the US, Oman, Nigeria and Angola became more important sources of supply.

Cumulative LNG imports

India’s cumulative LNG imports for the first 90 days (March- May 2026) stood at 5.8 mt, a decline of 6.5 per cent on an annual basis.

In terms of import share, Washington surged to the top accounting for more than one-fourth (25.86 per cent) of India’s cumulative LNG imports during March to May this year, compared to a little over 8 per cent in the year-ago period.

On the other hand, Qatar’s share slipped from more than 48 per cent during March-May 2025 to just 1.72 per cent during March-May 2026.

The conflict also significantly impacted the share of top suppliers in West Asia (Qatar, The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), which fell to 29.31 per cent in March-May 2026 from a whopping 74.2 per cent a year-ago.

Asian buyers were forced to secure higher-priced volumes to offset disrupted long-term LNG deliveries from Qatar and the UAE. In March–April 2026, nearly 100 spot cargo tenders were issued in Asia, up from 89 in the same period in 2025, with India issuing tenders for 44 cargoes, double a year earlier, Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) said.

Key supplier

Analysts and trade sources said that Washington emerged as the key balancing actor in the global LNG market after the West Asia conflict led to closure of the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) effectively choking half of India’s natural gas requirement.

As per Gastech, the world’s fourth-largest importer of LNG purchased 27 mt of LNG in FY25, of which 11.2 mt were sourced almost entirely from Ras Laffan.

The attack on QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan facility has choked almost half of India’s LNG consumption as the world’s largest LNG liquefaction facility at Ras Laffan operated by QatarEnergy was attacked by Iran in April leading to wide scale damages.

For comparison, about 93 per cent of Qatar’s and 96 per cent of the UAE’s LNG exports transited through the SoH, representing almost one-fifth of global LNG trade in 2025. There are no alternative routes to bring these volumes to market, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In 2025, Ras Laffan produced 112 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG, as well as 300,000 barrels per day of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 180,000 barrels per day of condensate, making it the largest LNG facility in the world by some distance, IEA said.

The GECF said that US LNG exports increased by 2.4 mt and 1.6 mt y-o-y in March and April 2026, respectively, supported by the ramp-up of production at recently commissioned LNG facilities.

While Europe remained the largest destination for US LNG exports, incremental volumes were increasingly redirected to Asia, including 1.6 mt in March and 1.3 mt in April 2026, reflecting tighter regional balances and stronger price signals in Asian spot markets. Destination flexibility of US LNG enables offtakers to redirect cargoes to markets offering the highest netback prices, thereby enhancing short-term supply responsiveness, it added.

Published on June 16, 2026