Essar Cuts Iran Oil Imports

Indian private refiner Essar Oil's imports from Iran fell by about 26.4% in September from a year ago, as it boosted purchases from Iraq, according to tanker arrival data obtained from trade sources and ship-tracking services on the Thomson Reuters terminal. Russian oil major Rosneft and its partners, including global trader Trafigura and Russian fund UCP, closed the $12.9 billion deal to acquire a 98.3% stake in Essar Oil last month. Essar shipped in 97,200 barrels per day of oil from Iran in September, an increase of about 60% from August, the data showed. In contrast, its imports from Iraq more than doubled to 72,500 bpd from about 34,100 bpd in August, the data showed. In the first nine months of the year, the refiner received 18.7% less oil from Iran at about 135,000 bpd, the data showed.