Argentine LPG supplies jump over 2-fold just 3 months

New Delhi: Argentina has stepped up LPG supplies to India amid
shortages triggered by the West Asia conflict, according to people
familiar with the matter.
The country shipped 50,000 tonne of LPG to India in the first three
months of 2026, more than double the 22,000 tonne supplied in 2025.
Nearly 39,000 tonnes were dispatched from the Port of Bahia Blanca
before the outbreak of the war, with another 11,000-tonne cargo shipped
on March 5.
Argentina’s natural gas-driven LPG production stood at 259,000 tonne in
January 2026, government data showed. Annual output rose to 2.63
million tonne in 2025 from 2.6 million tonne in 2024.
There were no LPG shipments from Argentina to India before 2024. The
South American nation is now poised to increase its share in India’s LPG
market, people familiar with the matter said.
Argentina plans to commission a new natural gas liquids fractionation
unit at its Bahia Blanca processing plant in 2026, which will raise
processed output, with additional volumes aimed at export markets.
Argentina is emerging as a key economic partner for India in South
America. Bilateral trade rose 36.77% to $6.34 billion from January to
November 2025. India is Argentina’s fifth-largest trading partner and
export destination.
Argentina is a major supplier of edible oils, particularly soybean oil, to
India. Other key imports include sunflower oil, finished leather, cereals,
residual chemicals and pulses.
Hydrocarbons and critical minerals are also emerging areas of
cooperation. Agreements to promote oil and gas collaboration were
signed between ONGC Videsh Ltd and Argentine public sector company
YPF in February 2023. In the first overseas acquisition of lithium
resources, state-run Khanij Bidesh India Ltd signed an agreement with
Catamarca Minera y Energetica Sociedad del Estado on January 15, 2024,
to lease five lithium blocks for exploration and eventual development.