IEW 2026: India looks to tap Canada to meet growing appetite for crude, LPG, LNG

India's growing appetite for crude oil, LPG and LNG offers opportunities to expand energy purchases from Canada, while Indian refiners will explore the potential to ship more petroleum products to the North American country, the two countries said in a joint statement Jan 27.

The statement was issued on the sidelines of India Energy Week in the western city of Goa and after Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Timothy Hodgson's meeting with Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. It pledged to jointly explore investment partnerships in each other's energy sector.

"India, as a major consumer, and Canada as a safe, secure and reliable supplier, can act in partnership to deepen trade and ensure stable and secure energy supplies," the joint statement said.

Canada is increasing production and exports of crude oil to markets in Asia via the Trans Mountain Expansion Pipeline, advancing liquefied petroleum gas exports to Asia via the west coast of Canada, as well as has new LNG projects coming up, the statement said.

At the same time, India, as a leading consumer of crude oil and LPG and a leading importer of LNG, is projected to remain at the center of the global energy landscape, accounting for over one-third of the growth in global energy demand over the next two decades, the largest contribution by any country, the statement added.

"Even efforts are underway in India to substantially scale up domestic oil production, significantly expand refining capacity and increase the use of natural gas in the energy mix. Thus, India and Canada have significant potential to emerge as strong collaborators in the area of energy fuels. In this context, the ministers affirm to deepen bilateral energy trade, including supply of Canadian LNG, LPG, and crude oil to India, and supply of refined petroleum products from India to Canada," the statement said.

Growing crude flows

India imported 84,000 b/d of Canadian-origin crude oil, typically loaded from the US, in 2025, up 52% year over year, data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea showed. The key imported grade is Cold Lake, with relatively smaller volumes of Access Western Blend and Western Canadian Select. Hodgson's visit to India comes after Puri in November met Canada's Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, in New Delhi to discuss expanding bilateral hydrocarbon trade.

"Canada is acting quickly to build energy projects and supply products to international markets, with Asia as a priority region. India is also investing heavily in building its energy supplies, creating investment opportunity of up to $500 billion in overall value chain of energy sector," the statement said.

Recognizing this, the ministers agreed to deepen long-term partnerships aimed at facilitating increased reciprocal investment in Indian and Canadian energy sectors, it added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told IEW Jan. 27 that India's appetite for energy had opened up investment opportunities worth up to $500 billion as the country looks to raise refining capacity, boost domestic E&P activity, expand LNG infrastructure and embrace new forms of energy.

Climate-related goals

The ministers of both countries also recognized the importance of climate-related objectives. This includes efforts to reduce emissions in conventional energy value chains, including through carbon capture utilization and storage, and support for the development and deployment of cleaner technologies as energy demand grows, the statement said.

"Recognizing that there exists a huge potential for cooperation in clean energy value chains, the ministers noted the opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, including hydrogen, biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel; battery storage; critical minerals; clean technologies; electricity systems; energy supply chain resilience, and the application of artificial intelligence in the energy sector," the statement said.

Speaking at a separate panel during IEW, Hodgson said that a more fragmented and mercantilist global trading environment had reinforced the importance of trusted partnerships and diversified supply chains.

Highlighting Canada's position as a major producer of oil, gas and critical minerals, he expressed strong interest in deepening cooperation with India, particularly in the areas of LNG, critical minerals, oil supplies and long-term energy trade, adding that countries like India and China must work together to uphold free trade, reliability and non-coercive energy relationships.