US sanctions against Iran: Government says Indian OMCs will continue to buy Iranian oil in November

New Delhi: Despite sanction being imposed on import of crude oil from Iran by US President Donald Trump, India’s oil and natural gas minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Tuesday confirmed that two Indian oil companies would be buying Iranian crude in November. The two leading Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran for next month. Reiterating India's stand, Pradhan told reporters at the 3rd India Energy Forum that the current surge in global crude oil prices was more a result of the market sentiments being hit by geo-political factors which includes Iran and said there were no issues of availability. Indian Oil Corp and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. have placed combined orders for 1.25 million tonnes (MT) of crude oil from Iran, the Minister said. Following US President Donald Trump withdrawal from the US-Iran nuclear deal, sanctions were reimposed on the Persian Gulf nation which will take effect from November 4. Speaking to news agency IANS, OMC officials informed that rupee option in paying for Iranian oil is under discussion and the Iranians have been accepting Indian currency as payment. According to an official data, Iran became India's second biggest oil supplier during the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal, with OMCs opting for the heftier discounts offered by the Iranians, who thus replaced Saudi Arabia in this position, according to official data. Trump administration, in May, withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and re-imposed economic sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation. While some sanctions were already imposed on August 6, those affecting the oil and banking sectors come into effect from November 4. Earlier while speaking to reporters after the first India-US 2+2 dialogue in September, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that the sanctions were not intended to adversely impact countries like India but were intended to hurt the sanctioned country. Pompeo also said he had informed the Indians officials consistently that on November 4 the sanctions will be enforced and that we will consider waivers where appropriate. However, Pradhan reportedly had said that India does not know if it would get a waiver from the US. (With agency inputs)