September 5, 2026: The US–Iran conflict, now in its sixth month, has redrawn India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import map. In August, the country received no shipments from Qatar, once its dominant supplier, while the US emerged as the largest source, accounting for 35 percent of natural gas supply.

India imported 858,500 tonnes of LNG from the US in August, up 18.6 percent from 723,800 tonnes in July, data from commodity analytics firm Kpler shows of 84 percent from July. Nigeria accounted for 22 percent of India’s August LNG imports.

Natural gas is a cleaner fuel for fertiliser production, industrial heating, power generation, and urban transportation. Qatar used to account for 45 percent of India’s gas imports prior before the West Asia war that disrupted oil and gas supplies.

ICRA senior vice president and co-group head Prashant Vasisht said Qatar accounts for 19 percent of the global LNG supply and it could take months to bring the full capacity back online after Iran's struck its Ras Laffan Industrial City in March.

LNG imports from Oman stood at 524,700 tonnes in August against 459,000 tonnes in the previous month. The United Arab Emirates supplied 244,400 tonnes against 246,000 tonnes in July, Kpler data shows.

(Source: Money control)