Decision to Purchase Iranian oil India made clear
“Two of our oil companies have made nominations to purchase Iranian oil in November,” said the Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while speaking at The Energy Forum “We do not know if we will get waiver (from US sanctions) or not. “He added.
With that it has been declared that India is ready to purchase Iranian oil despite the decision of US to impose sanctions on countries doing the same.
Two State Refiners have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran in November. It is on November 4th that US sanctions on Iran come into force. When the Oil Minister spoke for the first time on this issue at the Forum, India’s stand on buying Iranian oil became crystal clear for the world to see.
“We will be guided our National interests,” Mister Pradhan later said while speaking to reporters. He also insisted that India has its own energy requirements that need to be fulfilled and that the decision to purchase Iranian oil is a step towards fulfilling that energy need.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) are the two companies that have together placed the order to purchase Iranian oil. The order is said to amount to 1.25 million tonne of crude oil. The options for paying for this order are under discussion.
The sanctions imposed US will start from November 4th after which payment routes will be blocked. Paying in Rupees is certainly an option as Iran has been accepting payment in Rupees even before the sanctions were declared. Also, Iran could use the rupee to settle the imports of pharmaceuticals and other goods from India.
If sources are to be believed then Iran is open to accepting rupee payment for oil and may further use the money to pay for equipment and food items it buys from India.
As of now, India makes the payment when it wants to purchase Iranian oil in euros using European banking channels. These channels would get blocked from November.
It is interesting to observe as the international political relations of the world unfold and major countries of the world make a bid towards establishing their foreign policy.
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