Indian oil import from Iran jumps by 38 percent

News code : ۲۶۹۱۹۸

ILNA: India imported about 38 percent more oil from Iran in the eleven months to November as an easing of Western sanctions earlier in the year over Tehran’s nuclear activities helped boost shipments, trade sources said.

Iran and six powers, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany resumed talks on Wednesday to resolve Tehran’s nuclear issue.

An eventual deal would remove sanctions on Tehran and likely lead to another jump in Iranian exports, further dragging on global oil prices that are mired near their lowest in more than five years amid a supply glut.

India, Iran’s top client after China, imported ۲۵۰,۶۰۰ barrels per day(bpd) crude last month, tanker arrival data obtained from trade sources show, a growth of ۱۴ percent from a year ago and a decline of ۱۹ percent from October.

Private refiner Essar Oil was the biggest buyer of Iranian oil in November followed by state - run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd. The two are India’s only regular monthly importers of Iranian crude.

Arrivals from Iran over the first ۱۱ months of the year stood at ۲۷۰,۱۰۰ bpd, up ۳۷.۷ percent on year. The growth in Iranian oil imports this year was also due to the low base in ۲۰۱۳, when shipments were hit over April to August due to insurance problems triggered by the sanctions.

In the first eight months of the current contract year beginning April, India shipped in ۳۵ percent more oil from Iran from a year ago at about ۱۷۴,۰۰۰ bpd, the data showed.

India’s overall imports for November totaled ۳.۸۶ million bpd, a growth of about ۶.۸ percent from a year ago, the data showed. India’s total crude imports for the January - November period fell ۲.۳ percent.

Iran’s share of Indian oil imports was about ۷.۱ percent in the first eleven months of the year, compared with ۵ percent last year, Reuters reported.

Comments