New delhi: India announced on Monday that it has signed a deal to import Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from the United States, marking a significant development in the energy sector.

According to Anadolu Agency, India's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, described it as India's first structured contract to import US LPG specifically for the Indian market. Puri emphasized the importance of this agreement, stating on US social media platform X, "One of the largest and the world's fastest-growing LPG markets opens up to the United States." He highlighted India's efforts to diversify LPG sourcing in order to provide secure and affordable supplies to its population.

Puri further elaborated that India's Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) oil companies have successfully concluded a year-long negotiation to finalize the deal. As part of the agreement, India will import 2.2 million tons of LPG annually, accounting for nearly 10% of its yearly imports.

Discussions between Indian oil companies and major US producers have been ongoing for several months, leading to this historic deal. The agreement comes in the backdrop of existing tensions between India and the US, stemming from the 50% tariffs imposed on Indian goods by the Trump administration. These tariffs were partly imposed due to India's purchase of Russian oil amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.