New Delhi to Facilitate Indian Refineries' Oil Imports from Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – India’s Finance Ministry and the local insurance companies decided to offer a state guarantee to the Indian refineries that import crude oil from Iran in the absence of global insurers.
According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, Indian government decided to consider providing a $327mln state guarantee to prop up the Indian refineries that have encountered problems in importing crude oil from Iran as a result of western sanctions against Tehran.
Two state-run oil refiners in India have been obligated to cut imports from Iran since April, after international insurance agencies refrained from covering trade deals between Tehran and New Delhi in fear of being exposed to the sanctions.
But the new plan will provide a "facility/sovereign guarantee" for Indian refineries, enabling them to continue importing crude from oil-rich Iran.
The decision came a few days after the US House of Representatives approved a bill to impose tougher sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and other economic sectors.
The bill, which must be approved by the Senate and signed by Obama to become law, seeks to cut Iran's oil exports by one million barrels per day over a year.
It also blacklists any business in Iran's automotive, mining and construction sectors and commits the United States to the goal of ending all Iranian oil sales worldwide by 2015.
