Tehran, Jan 12 (UNI) The spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that the country will continue to import oil from Iran and engage with all the stakeholders for the sake of India's energy security.
Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs said "We have had several rounds of meeting with Iran and several other stakeholders. I can tell you that India continues to import oil from Iran. We have got a waiver in this regard and we will continue to be engaged with all the stakeholders as far as matters related to India's energy security are concerned, according to media reports.
Following the re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran, Washington granted exemptions to eight key oil buyers — China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, Italy and Greece, Sputnik news agency reported.
On January 2, Iran decided to invest in a refinery expansion project at one of its subsidiaries after New Delhi decided to facilitate the repayment of about $1.5 billion in outstanding debt to Tehran.
On January 8, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for expansion of trade and economic ties.
Earlier this week, India's top bank executive said that New Delhi had begun paying Iran in Indian rupees for its oil — an unprecedented move. Indian imports from Iran totaled about $11 billion between April and November, with oil accounting for about 90 per cent.
Earlier, India gave Iran permission to open a bank branch in three months to ease payment complications.
Indian crude imports from Iran are expected to average about 300,000-350,000 barrel per day (bpd) during the waiver period, which ends in March. Sputnik reported on 26 December that India is looking to extend the waiver period to ensure its energy security beyond March 2019.
India is Iran’s second biggest oil customer after China. Oil accounted for about 90 percent of Indian imports from Iran, which totaled about $11 billion between April and November.
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