Why India will look at Australia, Russia over US for LNG

India imports over 40% of its LNG supplies from Qatar, which has been hit in the West Asia conflict, forcing it to scout for alternative sources of cargoes from Australia, Africa, and Russia to meet the immediate demand for natural gas, keeping in mind the cost and quick availability.    

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The US has been one of the largest suppliers of LNG to India after Qatar. India's imports of LNG from the US stood at $2.46 billion in 2024-25, a 74% increase from $1.41 billion in 2023-24. It was even higher than the UAE, which stood at $2 billion in 2024-25.

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However, the US may not be the most preferred supplier in the present crisis due to the long period for the delivery of cargo and the high costs involved. According to experts, it may be comparatively economical and require less time to acquire LNG from countries like Australia, Russia, Nigeria, and Mozambique.

The S&P Global Energy data shows that the cargo from the US will take 31 days to deliver supplies to India, compared to 7 days from Mozambique, 9 days from Australia, 17 days from Nigeria, and 15 days from Russia.

Cargoes from the UAE and Qatar take 4 days to reach India, while delivery time from Oman is the shortest at 3 days. LNG imports to India from the Middle East are hit due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as the country’s 70% natural gas supplies pass through here.    

"India meets nearly 50% of its natural gas requirements based on LNG imports, out of which nearly 60% is through the Strait of Hormuz. Just for context, S&P Global Data shows that in 2025 April, 21 cargoes from Qatar and the UAE were delivered to India. This implies a large shortfall in LNG that India needs to fill to meet all its natural gas requirements,” said Suyash Pande, Senior Analyst LNG Pricing, S&P Global Energy.

He further says that the shock to the global LNG market has been reflected by a near doubling in the global LNG spot prices as end users in Asia rush to purchase cargoes to meet their own requirements. This has forced companies to look for alternative sources of cargoes, such as Oman in the Middle East, Africa, and the US.

“However, India is competing with other buyers globally for these cargoes and sellers of these cargoes analyse the arbitrage economics closely to ensure the best margins of delivering these cargoes from an operational and price point of view,” he says.

The arbitrage for West African cargoes has been positive for India, but to attract US cargoes East of Suez, prices to deliver cargoes to India are rising in sync with the prices in Northeast Asia, especially in the prompt periods.

Also, the number of days it takes a cargo to load from alternative origins and deliver those volumes to India, and how prompt procurement impacts the logistical cycle, and at times, high premiums for procurement.