Australia: The Missing Piece in India’s Energy Security Puzzle

Over the last few decades, India's demand for natural gas has risen. Although the country's domestic production has increased, it can only meet a portion of the country's overall increasing demand. Approximately half of the country's gas supply comes from domestic production, with the remainder coming from imports from other countries. India's import ratio is rising to bridge the demand-supply gap. The country's reliance on foreign sources exposes its energy security to regional and global events. Thus, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of LNG, India needs to continuously analyse the geopolitical dynamics of the source countries, as well as come up with diversification strategies to meet its needs. This paper attempts to evaluate how India can benefit by increasing the LNG trade with Australia and how New Delhi can strengthen its stakes in the Indo-Pacific region.