New Delhi, August 2 - Neftegaz.RU. Indian refiners imported around 50 more Iranian oil in June than a year ago, the country’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said ahead of the 1st set of US sanctions against Tehran taking effect in a week.
Pradhan told the lower house of parliament that India’s refiners bought around 664,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil in June this year, 48% more than the volume they purchased in the same month in 2017.
«Indian refineries imported 1.9 million tonnes (447,000 bpd) of crude oil from Iran in June 2017 and placed orders for 2.82 million tonnes in June 2018,» he said in a statement.
Iran became the 2nd biggest oil supplier to Indian state refiners after Iraq in the April to June period. The Indian government ordered state refiners to raise Iran oil imports in the current fiscal year starting in April after Tehran offered free shipping and an extended credit period of 60 days.
India’s state refiners raised Iranian oil imports in June - just after President Donald Trump announced plans to reimpose sanctions on Iran’s petroleum sector - though private companies slashed their loadings. According to Pradhan, India loaded about 715,600 bpd oil from Iran in April-June 2018, a rise of about 45 % from the previous quarter.
