Indian state-owned energy company Gail has purchased a shipment of liquefied natural gas at a record-high price as the ongoing war in the Middle East severely disrupts global energy supplies, Bloomberg reported.
Gail recently paid more than $23 per million British thermal units for the spot cargo, with delivery expected to arrive in September.
State-backed energy companies across India are turning to the spot market for liquefied natural gas (LNG), driving global spot prices higher. The purchasing surge comes as the Indian government moves to support domestic fertilizer manufacturers that rely on natural gas as a fundamental feedstock for production.
Gail (India) Limited is the nation's largest state-run natural gas processing and distribution enterprise. India typically secures the vast majority of its natural gas imports through long-term supply contracts with Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG exporter. However, shipments from Qatar were disrupted after a major Qatari export terminal sustained damage in Iranian attacks in March.
Supply chokepoints in the Middle East
Market conditions have been further complicated by a blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime chokepoint situated between Iran and Oman that handles a major share of global LNG traffic. The resulting supply squeeze has forced Indian importers into direct price competition with buyers in Europe, where wholesale natural gas prices have surged to a five-month high.
Faced with escalating spot LNG costs on international markets, European nations have increasingly shifted away from spot cargoes and turned back to purchasing Russian pipeline gas.
Surge in Russian pipeline imports
Deliveries of Russian gas through the Strandzha 2 - Malkoclar metering point on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey rose between August 1 and August 12. Shipments through the crossing increased by 7 percent month-on-month and 5 percent year-on-year to reach 609.2 million cubic meters over the 12-day period.
The rise in transit volumes pushed total imports via the undersea TurkStream pipeline to their highest level since March 2026, when monthly deliveries reached 661.8 million cubic meters. TurkStream connects Russian gas fields under the Black Sea to Turkey and European distribution networks.
