New Delhi: In the aftermath of the United States' (US) refusal to extend the waiver granted to India, oil imports from Iran dropped by 57 percent year-on-year in April, tanker arrival data showed. April was the last month when New Delhi was allowed to load Iranian oil ahead of the expiry of the waiver granted to India.
Currently, India is scheduled to get two very large crude oil consignments carrying tanker arrival data — one at Paradip in Odisha and Kochi in Kerala, a report by Reuters said. The orders for the two consignments were placed in April.
India's overall oil import from Iran between January and April fell by almost 45 percent to settle at 3,04,500 barrels per day (bpd) compared with 5,52,000 bpd a year ago, Reuters said. Iran shipped about 2,77,600 bpd of oil in April to India, which is its second-biggest buyer of crude oil after China. The figure for April marked a 31.5 percent dip from the previous month, preliminary tanker arrival data showed.
Since sanctions took effect in November last year, only state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals were buying Iranian oil.
After the sanctions took effect, the US had granted a six-month waiver eight nations, including India, during which they were allowed to import some Iranian crude. India was allowed to buy 3,00,000 bpd of oil between November and April. However, the actual volume varied from month to month as foreign shipping services backed out of Iranian deals under pressure from the US.
In April, the US asked these eight nations to stop the purchase of Iranian oil or face sanctions.