Representative image | Photo credit: Reuters
India has rejected a Russian offer to sell liquefied natural gas, subject to US sanctions, despite shortages caused by Middle East tensions, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, leaving a tanker bound for India in limbo as negotiations continue over permitted cargoes.
The stance highlights the delicate balance the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer is trying to strike between securing energy supplies and avoiding U.S.-sanctioned LNG cargoes that are less camouflaged and carry greater compliance risks. It also underscores the limits to Moscow’s ability to direct its LNG exports to new markets.
India’s reluctance meant that a cargo of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Portovaya plant in the Baltic Sea, which is subject to US sanctions, could not be released despite it listing India as a destination in mid-April, one of the sources said. The vessel was tracked despite documentation indicating the cargo was not Russian, the source added.
Citing LSEG shipping data, Reuters reported in mid-April that the 1,38,200 cubic meter Kunpeng tanker was bound for the Dahej LNG import terminal in western India. According to LSEG, the vessel is now near Singaporean waters with no destination broadcast.
India, the biggest buyer of Russian offshore oil, announced its decision not to buy the sanctioned LNG to Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin during his visit on April 30, where he met Indian officials including Oil and Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, one of the sources said. It was their second meeting in as many months and Sorokin could return in June for more talks, the source said.
India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Russian Embassy in Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Russia wants to sell, Indian companies are cautious
Meanwhile, India’s purchases of Russian oil continued unabated, helped by the temporary waiver of US sanctions imposed to help countries deal with an energy crisis stemming from the US-Israeli war against Iran that began on 28 February.
Arctic LNG 2 is another Russian export plant subject to US sanctions. Washington tightened sanctions on LNG plants in early 2025 due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
While oil costs can be hidden through ship-to-ship shipping at sea, LNG shipments are much harder to hide from satellite tracking, one of the sources said.
India is open to buying authorized Russian LNG, but most of these volumes are destined for Europe, the source said. The source said China remains a major buyer of both sanctioned and unsanctioned Russian LNG.
Moscow is also seeking long-term deals to supply India with LNG and fertilizers such as potash, phosphorus and urea, the source added.
Before the Iran conflict disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, India met half of its gas consumption through imports, about 60% of which came via waterways. More than half of its oil reserves came through the same route.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (May 10, 2026) urged people to save fuel and foreign exchange by working from home, curbing foreign travel and reducing imports of gold and cooking oil.
Published – 12 May 2026 12:10 PM IST
