'Consumption going up': US sees India as growth engines for energy exports

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said that India and other Asian economies are emerging as key growth markets for American energy exports, as the U.S. expands gas production under US President Donald Trump's renewed energy push.

"The U.S. has the remarkable ability to continue to increase gas production," Burgum said while speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue 2025 in Bahrain. He added that shale fields across the country continue to evolve. "In my own state, during the time that I was governor, the gas-to-oil ratio doubled. Our oil production is relatively flat, but our gas production has doubled."

Burgum cited the example of Alaska's North Slope, saying it represents untapped potential for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. "Alaska has so much gas...with the Alaska pipeline created 50 years ago — a technological marvel — it goes 800 miles, crosses three mountain ranges. It's been 50 years without a spill, and this pipeline was built in 28 months. This was back when America could build great things quickly," he said.

He said that for every barrel of oil produced from Alaska's North Slope, gas was reinjected underground due to export limitations. "There are known trillions of BCF that have gone back into the North Slope," he noted, adding that the time is ripe to link that capacity to Pacific markets.

"When we look at the demand for LNG from our Pacific allies — Japan, Korea, the Philippines, others that have virtually no oil and gas resources — it's eight days from Anchorage, Alaska, to Tokyo. It's a secure supply route that we can provide," Burgum said. "Again, there's an opportunity as we look at markets around the world — Africa, India, China continue to have consumption going up. There's markets everywhere."

Burgum's remarks came as India's own crude sourcing from the United States hit a four-year high. According to Kpler data, India imported 568,000 barrels per day (bpd) of U.S. crude in October — the highest since March 2021 — pushing America's share of India's total crude imports to 12%.

"India’s October crude mix clearly reflects growing diversification and opportunistic buying patterns," said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at Kpler. He attributed the U.S. uptick to favorable price spreads and weaker Chinese demand.

India's overall crude imports rose 3% in October to 4.81 million bpd, led by steady supplies from Russia (1.62 million bpd, 34% share), followed by Iraq (826,000 bpd) and Saudi Arabia (669,000 bpd). Imports from Brazil more than doubled, while Nigerian and UAE volumes fell.