Azerbaijan resumes crude oil exports to India
After a 10-month hiatus, Azerbaijan has resumed crude oil exports to India, Report informs, citing Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee. In August 2025, Azerbaijan exported 1,747.07 tons of crude oil to India, valued at $781,520, marking a sharp decline of 589 times in volume and 827 times in value compared to the same period last year. Crude oil exports to India accounted for just 0.01% of Azerbaijan’s total oil exports. According to the customs declarations, Azerbaijan exported more than 15.924 million tons of crude oil and related products obtained from bituminous rocks, valued at just over $8.396 billion in the initial eight months of 2025. Overall, Azerbaijan conducted foreign trade operations worth $32.118 billion in the first eight months of 2025. Of this, $17.065 billion came from exports and $15.053 billion from imports. India had suspended oil imports from Azerbaijan in October 2024. Overall, Azerbaijan supplied India with 1.168 million tons of oil worth $729.797 million last year.
India’s LNG demand drops in 2025 as buyers await supply wave, price drop
India’s annual liquefied natural gas demand is set to contract in 2025 for the first time in years, as buyers hold out for a surge in production that is expected to push down prices. The world’s fourth-biggest LNG importer bought about 16 million tonnes of the super-chilled gas in the eight months through August, down 10 per cent from a year earlier, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Purchases slowed as elevated spot prices made LNG less competitive against alternative fuels, while monsoon rains brought cooler weather and reduced power demand. The pullback offers some relief to a global gas market that’s remained tight since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine forced Europe to pivot to LNG, boosting competition with Asia. India’s imports are expected to rebound as soon as next year, helped by a looming supply glut that should drag prices lower. Projects coming online from the US to Qatar starting in 2026 are set to add volumes that will outstrip demand growth through the rest of the decade. “We expect the dip in 2025 is a temporary price-driven phenomenon,” said Kaushal Ramesh, vice president for gas & LNG research at Rystad Energy. “The years ahead will see more contracts ramp up and also lower spot prices.” Demand for gas from industries, refineries and the fertilizer sector in the South Asian nation has plunged this year, according to oil ministry data, mainly due to high prices. Asian spot LNG has traded at more than $11 per million British thermal units this year — above the level at which price-sensitive Indian companies typically step in to buy.
Indian oil marketing companies are thriving amid global volatility: HSBC
The Indian oil marketing companies have thrived in a volatile global market, with support from the Indian government, HSBC Research said in a research note. According to HSBC, oil marketing companies have witnessed volatility in refining margins over the last six months, a potential risk in the U.S., which has prompted India to reduce its purchases of Russian crude oil and the depreciation of the Rupee against the U.S. dollar. However, the Indian government has been backing oil marketing companies by supporting decisions which are in the best interests of the companies. Even in August, India imported 1.3 mbpd of Russian crude oil and promised to pay LPG under-recovery, which was incurred in FY24. All these factors, according to HSBC, have culminated in stocks of oil marketing companies rising by 14–23% in the last six months, whereas the Nifty50 has gained 12% in the same period. The HSBC note also adds that the refining margin of oil marketing companies had expanded in the interim period, and the depreciation of the Indian rupee ate away some of the marketing margins. Despite these headwinds, the combined margins have remained steady at $22–25/bbl, higher than HSBC’s full-year estimates