KOKLATA (miningweekly.com) – India has ended crude oil imports from Iran, following the US administration’s assurance of adequate supplies to meet the country’s import-dependent energy needs.
While there has not been any official confirmation that crude oil imports from Iran have ceased, sources said that government-owned oil refining-marketing companies have jointly taken a decision not to enter into any future shipment contracts from the Persian Gulf nation.
Iran, the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Iraq and Saudi Arabia, had been making supplies even after sanction waivers granted by the US to six countries, including India expired last month. The decision to halt all imports coincided with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to New Delhi this week.
India imported about 23.5-million tons of crude oil from Iran during 2018/19.
The Secretary of State, who used his India visit to reiterate the US government’s resolve to continue with sanctions against Iran, stated the importance of countering “Iranian terror” and “common purpose to keep energy at the right price to deter the threat”.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure you have adequate crude imports. We appreciate your help in pushing these regimes to behave like normal countries and the Venezuleans to take care of their people,” Pompeo said.
Indian diplomats engaged in talks with the US Secretary of State said that both India and the US were finding “common ground on energy to ensure predictable and assured supplies”.
As part of finding alternative energy sources, India’s largest oil refiner and marketer, Indian Oil Corporation has entered into an agreement for 4.6-million tons of US crude and a similar agreement with the Algerian State energy company for an undisclosed volume, sources said.