The United States is stepping up efforts to sell oil and gas to India as the world’s third-largest energy market grapples with supply disruptions from the Middle East and finds its alternatives shrinking after Washington ended waivers for Iranian and Russian crude.
But replacing oil and gas from the Gulf countries and Russia with American energy is a hard choice for India, experts said.
High freight costs, refinery infrastructure that is not fully compatible with U.S. crude, and longer delivery times are among the key obstacles to deepening energy trade with Washington.
On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor met India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri to discuss “energy security and unlocking new opportunities for accelerating growth.”
While Puri did not disclose details of the discussions, Gor said in a post on X that the talks were focused on “expanding access to reliable American energy” to India and “supporting long-term energy security and diversity for both nations.”
