India and Canada on Tuesday moved to reboot and expand bilateral trade in oil and gas, as policymakers at India Energy Week 2026 flagged the rising dominance of emerging economies in global energy demand and the continued need for diversified, reliable supply chains.
Following a meeting between Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, the two sides agreed that Canada would ship more crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to India, while India would send more refined petroleum products to Canada, according to a joint statement.
“We see an opportunity to work with India,” Hodgson said at the conference. “We are now building pipelines to the West Coast. We are looking to build more. We will never use our energy for coercion.”
The meeting marked the relaunch of a ministerial energy dialogue that had remained dormant following diplomatic tensions, and forms part of Canada’s push to diversify its energy exports. “Canada used to provide 98 per cent of its energy exports to a single country,” Hodgson said. “We are committed to diversifying.”
Demand growth shifts to Asia
Speaking at the inaugural address of India Energy Week, Puri said nearly 80 per cent of incremental global energy demand is now coming from emerging and developing economies, with close to 60 per cent originating in developing Asia.
“Nearly 730 million people still live without access to electricity, and nearly two billion, almost one quarter of the global population, continue to rely on cooking methods that are harmful to human health and well-being,” Puri said, underlining the scale of the global energy access challenge.
Energy transition and supply security
Puri said renewables have grown rapidly over the past decade, with their share in global electricity generation rising from around one-fifth to nearly one-third, but added that conventional energy continues to play a critical role.
“If investment in existing oil and gas production were to stop today, global oil output would decline by around 8 per cent annually over the next decade,” he said. “The history of energy has never been about replacement alone. It has been about addition.”
As the world’s third-largest energy consumer, India’s energy demand will continue to expand, with all sources set to grow, Puri said. By 2050, India’s share of global energy demand is projected to rise by nearly 30–35 per cent to around 10 per cent.
He said India has launched the OALP-X bidding round, the Special Coal Bed Methane Bid Round 2025 and the DSF-IV round, and that seismic acquisition in some deep and ultra-deep-water blocks awarded under OALP IX is already underway.
Trade, fuels and future capacity
Puri said India achieved nearly 20 per cent ethanol blending in ESY 2025, resulting in foreign exchange savings of around $19.3 billion and direct payments exceeding $15 billion to farmers. He added that India has raised its nuclear capacity ambition to 100 GW by 2047 following approval of the SHANTI Act.
On bilateral cooperation, the India–Canada joint statement said the two sides will also explore collaboration in hydrogen, biofuels, battery storage, critical minerals, electricity systems and the use of artificial intelligence in the energy sector.
Two-way goods trade between India and Canada stood at C$13.3 billion in 2024, with Canada beginning LNG exports to Asia in June 2025 and expanding crude export routes following the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.