India Leads World LNG Buying Amid Qatar Supply Risks

India secured 8.4 million tons per annum (MTPA) in long-term liquefied natural gas contracts last year, making it the world’s most active buyer market for the fuel in 2025. The purchasing spree was led by IndianOil, which accounted for 4.7 MTPA, followed by GAIL and GSPC at 1 MTPA each. Smaller volumes were locked in by Torrent Power, BPCL, and HPCL.

The concentrated nature of the Indian purchases highlights a strategic pivot by domestic energy firms to lock in baseline supply before global competition intensifies. This aggressive procurement supports New Delhi’s plan to nearly double natural gas’s share of its energy mix to 15% within a decade. The country recently commissioned its eighth LNG import terminal to accommodate the incoming volumes. GIIGNL characterized the Indian buying as “a coordinated expansion of long-term import capacity driven by rising domestic gas demand.”

The Indian deals formed a significant part of a record-breaking year for the global LNG industry. A total of 83 long-term sales and purchase agreements were signed globally in 2025, nearly double the 47 recorded in 2024. Newly contracted volumes reached 71.6 MTPA across 76 agreements, marking a 30% increase year-on-year.

While long-term deals dominated, short-term sales and purchase agreements also rose from seven to 13. Conversely, preliminary heads of agreement dropped from 21 to 12, suggesting buyers and sellers are bypassing early-stage negotiations to finalize binding contracts. GIIGNL attributed the overall surge in long-term contracting to “the convergence of two structural forces: sustained demand growth across key importing markets, and an ongoing wave of liquefaction projects seeking offtake commitments to reach FID.”

However, the race to secure supply is being driven by more than just long-term energy transitions. Geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East are actively tightening the physical market. GIIGNL warned that the loss of Qatari cargoes—stemming from an Iranian missile strike in March and Qatar’s reliance on the open Strait of Hormuz—has created a severe supply deficit.

For energy investors and traders, the combination of surging long-term demand and immediate supply risks points to a highly constrained market. “Short-term replacement options remain limited: alternative Atlantic and Pacific basin supply can only partly offset missing Qatar cargoes, and many Asian markets are already highly contracted and operationally exposed,” the importers' group warned. GIIGNL concluded bluntly that “The supply consequences are material in all disruption scenarios.”