Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
India’s Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum refineries have resumed crude oil purchase from Iran after three years of halt, Mehr news agency reported Aug. 13.
Besides the two firms, India’s Mangalore Refineries (MRPL), Essar and Reliance are already buying crude oil from Tehran.
Iran’s oil export to India has surpassed 359,000 barrels per day averagely during the first seven months of 2016, indicating a sharp rise by 67 percent compared to the same period of preceding year, according to Iran’s oil ministry.
Earlier Tehran announced that has canceled certain privileges to its customers in India which were presented during the sanction-period.
Iran’s Central Bank has announced that it will receive oil payments from India only in euro not rupees.
Because of the nuclear related sanctions against Iran which were removed last January, Indian refiners had been depositing 45 percent of their oil payments to Iran in rupees with India's UCO Bank.
Iran has also ended free shipping of crude oil to India. During the sanction-period, the NIOC sold crude oil to Indian refiners on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis.
CIF is a trade term requiring the seller to arrange the carriage of goods by sea to a port of destination.
Iran has recently changed the oil delivery form to Free on Board (FOB), based on which the freight has to be arranged by the buyer.