India to buy Iranian oil despite US sanctions: Pradhan

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said two state refiners have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran in November, the month when United States sanctions on Iranian oil purchases take effect. “Two of our oil companies have made nominations to purchase Iranian oil in November,” he said speaking at The Energy Forum in New Delhi. “We do not know if we will get waiver (from US sanctions) or not.”

This is the first time Pradhan has spoken about India’s stand on buying Iranian oil once the US sanctions on Iran come into force from November 4. Later, talking to reporters, he said India has its own energy requirements which it has to fulfill. “We will be guided by our national interest,” he said. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Chairman Sanjiv Singh said his company is among the two which have placed order for November.

“We have ordered for our usual quantity of oil,” he said. IOC and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) together have placed order for 1.25 million tonne (MT) of crude oil from Iran. Singh said options for paying for Iranian oil are under discussions. US sanctions against Iran will kick in from November 4, which will block payment routes. Paying in rupee is an option. Iran can use the rupee to settle its imports of pharmaceuticals and other goods from India.