INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Overall supply of Iranian oil to India saw a dip of 16 per cent due to US pressure (Representational)New Delhi: Iran was the second-biggest
oil supplier to Indian state refiners between April and June, India's oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today, replacing Saudi Arabia as
companies took advantage of steeper discounts offered by Tehran.India, Iran's top oil client after China, shipped in 5.67 million tonnes or
about 457,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the country in the first three months of this fiscal year, Mr Pradhan told lawmakers in a
written reply.He did not provide comparable numbers from the year-ago period
Data compiled by Reuters shows that India imported about 3.46 million tonnes, or about 279,000 bpd, from Iran between April and June last
year.State refiners, accounting for about 60 per cent of India's 5 million bpd refining capacity, had curbed imports from Iran last year in
protest against Tehran's move to grant development rights for the giant Farzad B gas field to other parties.The refiners - Indian Oil Corp,
Chennai Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum and its unit Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and
Petrochemicals - shipped in 9.8 million tonnes of Iranian oil in 2017/18, about a quarter less than a year ago, Mr Pradhan's reply
stated.For this fiscal year, the refiners had decided to almost double imports from Iran, which offered almost free shipping and extended
credit period on oil sales.Iraq continued to be the top oil supplier to India in the April-June period
New Delhi shipped in 7.27 million tonnes of oil from Iraq, while shipments from Saudi Arabia totalled 5.22 million tonnes, making it the
third largest supplier, Mr Pradhan's statement showed.India and other major buyers of Iranian oil are under pressure to cut imports from the
country after Washington in May withdrew from a 2005 nuclear deal with Tehran and decided to reimpose sanctions on the OPEC member.Reuters
reported last month that India had asked refiners to prepare for drastic reductions or even zero Iranian oil imports.The first set of
sanctions will take effect on Aug
6 and the rest, notably in the petroleum sector, following a 180-day "wind-down period" ending on November 4."Indian refineries import crude
oil from diverse sources including Iran, depending on technical and commercial considerations," Mr Pradhan said, without elaborating if the
refiners would cut imports from Tehran.India's overall oil imports from Iran in June declined by about 16 per cent from May as refiners
started weaning their plants off crude from Iran to avoid US sanctions.© Thomson Reuters 2018
