India’s three state-owned oil refiners (Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum) will invest in their gasoline stations to start selling compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles, as well as investing in city gas distribution grids and replacing oil for gas in their refineries, Bloomberg reports.

That comes as India’s oil imports have accelerated, as outlined in Panjiva research of September 21. Directing purchasing decisions towards U.S. natural gas – the refiners are partly state-owned – could also provide part of the “comprehensive review” of ways to boost trade between the two countries called for by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump.

Panjiva data shows India’s imports – including pipeline, compressed and liquefied products across the natural gas value chain – have risen by 73.5% in the year-to-date at July 31 compared to a year earlier. That’s been led by increased imports from Qatar and Australia, while the U.S. has made only a 10% gain with a 0.2% market share. Rising gas prices have been part of the reason for the growth.

Boosting exports from the U.S. to India near-term will be far from easy. Most export capacity has yet to come online, and part of that has already been “promised” in existing deals. There are also already three major deals (for gas from the Cove Point, Cameron LNG and Sabine Pass facilities in the U.S.) that have already been signed.

Chart segments Indian natural gas imports by country of origin. Source: Panjiva