Mubasher: Iran was the second largest oil provider to Indian state-run refiners between April and June, Indian Oil Minister Dharmenda Pradhan said on Monday.
India, a major top Iranian oil consumer after China, received 5.67 million tonnes or roughly 457,000 barrels per day (bpd) in crude imports, Pradhan said in a written reply to lawmakers, replacing Saudi Arabia as local companies benefited from the steep discounts offered by Tehran.
Compared to the comparable period last year, India imported from Iran nearly 3.46 million tonnes, or about 279,000 bpd, according to estimates by Thomson Reuters.
India’s state-owned refiners, which make up for 60% of the country’s 5 million bpd refining capacity, slashed imports from Iran, protesting Tehran’s move to grant developments rights for Farzad B gas field to other parties.
Moreover, the refiners, including Indian Oil Corp, Baharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, imported 9.8 million tonnes of Iranian crude in FY 2017/18 , which a quarter less than a year ago, Pradhan added.
For this fiscal year, the refiner decided to ramp up their imports from Tehran, which offered almost free shipping and extended credit period on crude sales.
Iraq remained the top oil exporter to India in the period between April and June, as New Delhi imported 7.27 million tonnes from Iraqi crude, while imports from Saudi Arabia were 5.22 million tonnes, ranking the third largest supplier, the minister’s statement showed.
Moreover, India reportedly asked refiners to brace themselves for drastic reductions or even the absence of Iranian crude.
"Indian refineries import crude oil from diverse sources including Iran, depending on technical and commercial considerations," Pradhan said, but he did not specify whether the refiners would cut imports from Tehran.
As India is under the pressure of cutting its Iranian crude imports, after the United States decided to re-impose sanctions on Tehran, India’s total oil shipments from Iran declined 16% in June from May, as refiners began to wean off their plants from Iranian oil.
