Indian refiners say they are keen to maintain oil imports from Iran despite the US withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Tehran and threats to pressure the country with, according to the National Iranian Oil Company's news portal.
Iran is India’s third biggest energy supplier, selling it around 18.4 million tons of crude oil during 10 months between April 2017 and January 2018, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry's provisional data show.
Indian crude oil importers say they will adhere to their term supply contract obligations with the Persian Gulf producer, undeterred by Washington's efforts to restrain Tehran's oil sales.
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is set to receive 130,000 tons of its regular monthly term crude oil cargo from NIOC in the coming days, Platts reported on Tuesday.
According to the oil pricing agency, BPCL currently holds a term contract with NIOC to buy 1 million tons for its Kochi refinery over April 2018-March 2019.
India's flagship state-run refiner Indian Oil Corporation also holds a term contract with Iran to receive 180,000 barrels per day in the current fiscal year ending March 2019.
“IOC is keen to maintain its trade relationship with NIOC, as Iran offers a longer credit period than the usual 30 days offered by other oil exporting nations," Platts quoted a company official as saying.
India was among a select group of countries, which maintained oil purchases from Iran when the country came under intensified western sanctions in 2011.
Turkey, Russia, China and the European Union are trying to defy the United States’ drive to demonize and isolate Iran.
The Indian ministry officials were quoted as saying that they were watching for any fallout, which they saw at least six months off, from the US decision on Iran and its implications on trade with the country.
“This kind of geopolitical [tension] affects both consuming and producing countries. We have to live with the reality of the present geopolitics,” India’s Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said.
Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal will lead to “no significant development with regard to Iran’s exports of oil and condensate”.
Iran’s oil exports hit 2.6 million bpd in April, a record since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016. Shipments to Asia rose to multi-year highs of 1.81 million bpd from 1.40 million bpd in March, accounting for 67% of total monthly exports, up from 60% in March.
The Asian gain was led by a rise in flows to India, up by almost 60% to 670,500 bpd. India's Petroleum Ministry has indicated that its imports of Iranian crude for the fiscal 2018-19 will rise by more than 30% from the previous year.
