Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.5
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
India's annual buying of Iranian oil has not been changed on average.
Mohsen Ghamsari, director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, said that India reduced buying Iranian oil in March because they had bought more volumes over the previous months, Iran's Shana news agency reported on April 5.
So, India's annual buying of Iranian oil has been unchanged on average, he added.
India is Iran's second-biggest buyer of oil annually after China. But last month, India did not import oil from Iran - first time in a decade - with Delhi deciding to keep its hydrocarbon shipments from Tehran within sanctioned limits. But all this could change rapidly once India studies the implications of the interim deal reached in Lausanne on April 2, the official sources said.
India's oil imports from Iran are expected to rise if sanctions on Iran are lifted and Tehran decides to export oil to Delhi on current terms, the sources said.
Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to India last January, there were reports that the Essar Oil, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and Indian Oil Corp were suggested to cut their imports from Iran in February and March to keep the shipments with the sanctioned limits.
Last year, these Indian refiners had increased their imports from Iran, raising a few eyebrows in Washington.
This was following some dilution in sanctions on Iran at the end of 2013 as discussions on a final nuclear deal were launched.
Iran has the world's fourth-largest proved oil gas reserves, but since US sanctions were imposed, Indian companies have been wary of importing oil from Iran. Till 2006, Iran was India's second-largest supplier of crude oil, but dropped to the number seven spot by 2013-14.
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