India’s natural gas import bill declined by 11% to $5.8 billion during April to August of financial year 2025-26, compared with $6.5 billion in the same period of FY25, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
The country imported 14,170 million standard cubic meters (mmscm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the period, reflecting a 12.6% decline over Apr-Aug of FY25.
In August, the import bill remained unchanged from last year at $1.2 billion, while the volume imported declined by 5.5% to 2,887 mmscm.
Domestic production remains weak
During the five month period, the country’s natural gas consumption decreased by 7.8% to 28,705 mmscm. The country’s reliance on imported gas also decreased during the period to 49.4% from 52.1% in the same period last fiscal.
Domestic natural gas production too declined marginally by 3% to 14,725 mmscm during Apr-Aug of FY26. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) produced 7,698 mmscm of natural gas during this period, down from 7,843 mmscm in the corresponding period of FY25. Production remained below targets, highlighting the widening gap between demand and domestic supply. Oil India produced 1,339 mmscm of gas during Apr-Aug, up from 1,322 mmscm last year.
In the current financial year, ONGC is targeting to produce 44.51 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (mmtoe) while Oil India is aiming 4 million tonnes of oil production and 5 billion cubic meter of gas output.
Import dependence stays high
One of the key agendas of the government has been to boost domestic production of crude oil and natural gas, and thereby reduce the country’s dependency for energy. However, the domestic production of crude oil and natural gas has remained stagnant and the country’s import dependency has only increased.
The demand for natural gas is expected to grow by 4-6% in the current financial year FY26 while domestic gas production is expected to grow to about 100 mmscmd only, Prashant Vasisht, senior vice president and co-group head, corporate ratings, Icra had said. Thus, the dependence on LNG imports is expected to remain high at 52% of consumption.
The country imports as much as 50% of its natural gas requirements. Qatar accounted for 41% of India’s imports in FY25 followed by the US at 19% and UAE at 13%.
In 2024, India became the world’s fourth-largest LNG importer, accounting for 7% of global LNG imports. The growth in demand was primarily driven by the industrial and oil refining sectors, followed by residential, commercial, and transport sectors.