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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's state-run
Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) will import 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in
February after a gap of three months, with the nation's overall purchases from
Tehran remaining at 9 million barrels, reported Reuters with reference to three industry
sources.
The United States in early November granted India a six-month
waiver from sanctions on Iran's oil exports.
Under the agreement, New
Delhi must restrict its Iranian oil purchases to 1.25 million tonnes, or 9
million barrels.
BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp will lift 1 million
barrels each of Iranian crude oil in February, the sources said. HPCL this month
resumed purchases of Iranian oil after a gap of six months. The company halted
Iranian oil purchases in July after its insurance company refused to provide
cover for the crude because of US sanctions, although its chairman said HPCL may
resume buying Iranian oil under sanctions waivers.
Indian Oil Corp, the
country's top refiner, will lift 5 million barrels of Iranian oil in February,
the same as this month. Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd will buy 2 million barrels
compared with 3 million barrels this month, the sources said.
An IOC
official had previously said his firm would lift 180,000 bpd - the full volume
contracted under an annual deal with Iran for this fiscal year ending March 31,
2019.
India recently exempted rupee payments to the National Iranian Oil
Co (NIOC) for crude oil imports from a steep withholding tax, paving way for
pending dues to be cleared.
HPCL, IOC and BPCL did not immediately
respond to requests for comment, while MRPL declined comment.
As MRC informed before,
BPCL plans to build a USD3 billion petrochemical unit to serve the Mumbai
region, a company official said in March 2018, to profit from the country's
expected surge in demand for petrochemicals as its economy expands. |
