US Energy Secretary Chris Wright will visit New Delhi later this year as part of the efforts to boost energy commerce with India, sources privy to the development said.
Wright, who recently reaffirmed Washington's interest in seeing India cut its energy imports from Russia, will more than likely go there in November or December.
During the trip, he is expected to meet with leading Indian energy companies, many of which are negotiating long-term contracts with US energy firms, particularly for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.
The planned visit coincides with India’s growing imports of US energy, including crude oil and LNG, in recent months. As per previous reports by HT, India's imports of US crude oil increased 51% in the first half of 2025 from a year ago, and LNG imports almost doubled from FY2023-24 at $1.41 billion to FY2024-25 at $2.46 billion. The rise is part of initiatives to stem America's around $45 billion trade deficit with India, an aim by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, India committed to increasing energy buys from the US from $15 billion in 2024 to $25 billion. The visit of Wright is designed to further strengthen these energy relationships, the sources added.
"India is a shining star in a number of energy sectors such as natural gas, coal, nuclear power, clean cooking fuel, and liquid petroleum gas.". We are looking forward to increasing energy trade and increasing interactions back and forth with India," Wright stated last week in New York, setting the US-India energy partnership agenda. He further stated that talks at the bilateral level commenced in January when he met India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during the inauguration ceremony of Trump. Increasing energy trade was also a focus area during the February meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, when they charted plans to increase trade in hydrocarbons—such as LNG and petroleum products—and investments in oil and gas infrastructure.
GAIL, the Indian oil major, is in talks for a long-term LNG supply deal with America's Glenfarne, which is working on a major Alaska natural gas project, according to several media reports. Concomitantly, Washington has made it clear that it expects New Delhi to address its concerns over energy relations with Moscow.
"We don't punish India. We want to stop the war in Ukraine, and we want to expand our relationship with India. America has oil to sell, so does everyone else. We hope India will cooperate with us and buy oil from somewhere else. You can purchase oil from every country on the planet, just not Russian oil. That's our policy," Wright stated in a press conference last week.
A State Department official said that the US is urging India to cut oil imports from Russia through formal negotiations, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio participating in the negotiations. The official further said that negotiations have moved forward in a positive way and would be sorted out shortly.
India has, however, come to the defense of its energy relations with Russia, pointing out that its acquisitions are based on commercial considerations and are necessary for national energy security.
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