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Iranian crude oil supplies continue unaffected. The Petroleum Minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, said that “we have a systematic plan to receive oil from Iran. Our companies need oil from Iran...but, we want to do so without violating any international laws.”
“We are expecting no cut in Iranian supplies next year (financial year),” Mr Reddy said. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 7th Asia Gas Partnership Summit 2012.
He assured the consumers that there would be no supply constraints in the Indian market. The recent Union Budget proposal to exempt rupee payment for crude oil from tax has made it more convenient for Indian refiners to source Iranian crude oil.
According to reports, the US has been working with India to see if it can help in reducing the country's dependence on Iranian crude oil and look at alternative sources of supply.
Asked if the US has been in touch on how to “significantly reduce” dependence on Iranian oil to avoid American sanctions, Mr Reddy said, “we continue to receive their representations... But, they also need to understand our requirements. We need to take care of our own consumers' interest.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, informed the Rajya Sabha that the Government was studying the impact of the problems that have arisen due to imposition of sanctions against Iran.
The UN sanctions against Iran call for restricting transfers relating to technology and items relating to the nuclear and missile fields to Iran, the Minister said. Apart from UN sanctions, other countries/group of countries like the US/EU have imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran. The sanctions imposed by the US and EU on Iran target its alleged nuclear weapons programme.
These sanctions have specifically targeted Iran's banking and oil sectors, which have an impact on bilateral trade, particularly in the energy sector, the Minister said. Indian companies have faced difficulties in making payments for crude oil and other imports from Iran through international banking channels.
“The Government implements its obligations under the UN Security Council Resolutions on Iran. We continue to maintain that we are bound by UN sanctions and unilateral sanctions imposed by countries or group of countries should not impact legitimate trade relations with Iran,” he said.
“…to strengthen the country's energy security and to reduce its dependence on any particular region of the world, India has been consciously trying to diversify the sources of crude oil imports,” Mr Krishna said.
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