India can make additional energy purchases of $12-13 billion annually from the US: Commerce Secretary

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Wednesday that India roughly imports energy products worth $12-13 billion from the US annually and has a headroom to increase the cargoes by a similar amount.

Agrawal, who is scheduled to join the Indian trade negotiating team in the US on Thursday, emphasised that India is diversifying its crude oil and gas procurement sources and can further top up its purchases of energy products such as crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), propane and coal from the North American country.

Ramping up imports

Asked about scaling up US energy imports, he said, “I think if you look at data from the last 7-8 years, our purchases from the US in the past have also touched $23-24 billion. Right now, we are around $12-13 billion on an average. So there is a headroom of around $12-13 billion, which we can purchase without worrying about the configuration of the refinery, etc.”

There are bilateral commitment discussions with the US where India has indicated “very positively” that as a country it would like to diversify energy imports, he added. “That’s the best strategy for a big buyer like India. So, as a country we would be very happy to buy more energy from the US subject to it being available at the right price,” the Commerce Secretary emphasised. On the continuation of the stalled trade negotiations, Agrawal said that at present, there is a lot of “noise”. “I think one good thing is that there is engagement. The US Ambassador-designate is in town (Delhi). Our negotiating team is in the US and trying to see if we can have a win-win solution between the two sides, which can address some of these tariff issues,” he added.

Discussions on

So, there is already a discussion going on. Around 45 per cent of India’s exports to the US are outside tariffs. However, there are 55 per cent exports that have high tariffs, he pointed out. Asked about the resumption of full fledged discussions on the bilateral trade agreement, he said that the US is in shutdown and their manpower strength is down.

“So, this is not the right time to have full fledged talks. Having said that because there is a movement on both sides where we are trying to see if there is a pathway,” he, however, added.

Energy security

Last month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during his US visit said that India’s energy security goals will have high involvement from the US with the world’s third largest energy importer expected to top up energy supplies from the North American country.

“Our energy security goals will have a very high US involvement, which will ensure price stability. Which will ensure diversified sources of energy for India and help us unlock limitless possibilities with the US on various fronts, energy and beyond,” he had said.

Kpler data shows US crude supplies to India averaged 282,000 barrels per day (b/d) between January and August 2025, up from 213,000 b/d last year — the third-highest on record after the Covid-hit 2021 (412,000 b/d) and 2022 (300,000 b/d). America’s market share in India’s crude imports slipped from 6.92 per cent in April to 5.49 per cent in May, before rebounding to 6.41 per cent in June and a record 7.72 per cent in July (excluding 2021). In August, it eased again to just over 5 per cent.

Published on October 15, 2025