Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has inked long-term deals with UAE’s Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Co Ltd (ADNOC LNG) and France’s TotalEnergies to import liquefied natural gas (LNG). The deals were signed last week during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to France and UAE.

ADNOC LNG is the Abu Dhabi government’s national oil and gas company and is the oldest source of natural gas from the Middle East. Totalenergies is the third largest LNG supplier in the world.

In a first-time long-term LNG import deal between ADNOC and an Indian company, ADNOC LNG will supply up to 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per year from 2026 to IOC for 14 years, without a 2.5% import tax due to India’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE.

As per the Ministry of External Affairs’ list of agreements, a Head of Agreement (HoA) was signed between India’s top oil refiner and TotalEnergies to establish a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement for the import of 0.8 million tonnes a year of LNG for 10 years starting in 2026. This is the first long-term deal TotalEnergies has signed with an Indian company.

The government plans to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix from 6.2% to 15% by 2030. In line with this goal, IOC and other Indian companies are spending billions of dollars to boost their gas infrastructure and scout long-term LNG import deals.