Amid US sanctions, India placed orders for Iran crude oil supply for November
Tehran (Basirat) :Indian public sector companies have already placed orders with Iran for crude oil supply during November, a senior government official said in Singapore on Friday.
"Our public sector companies have already placed orders for the month of November with Iran," said Sunjay Sudhir, joint secretary for international cooperation at the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, according to timesnownews.com.
"Iran, historically, has been a key supplier of crude for India," he stressed after presenting investment opportunities in the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve program Phase II (ISPR) to Singapore-based investors.
"In India, we are guided by our consideration for energy security," Sudhir said.
He added Indian officials were in talks with the US on waivers relating to Washington's sanctions on dealing with Iran.
Sixty-five percent of India's crude supply comes from three Middle Eastern countries: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The other two main suppliers are Venezuela and Nigeria. Crude oil supply from the US has been choked due to pipeline and terminal infrastructure at the supply points.
"The constraints are on the US infrastructure side," he said.
India's has imported about 30 million barrels of US crude over the last year, starting October 2017. India imports over 80 percent of its crude oil needs.
Touching on the ISPR II program, Sudhir said, "We are exploring the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model."
The final investment model will depend on investors' participation, he said.
Indian government's participation will depend on how the investors respond to ISPR II. Investors are being sought for the $1.6 billion cavern-type facilities at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka for storing 6.5 million metric tons of crude oil.
Source:iran-daily
