India to continue to import Iranian oil despite US sanctions

“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," Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, said on Friday afternoon during weekly media briefing.

A day after Washington threatened to impose further economic sanctions against Iran, India once again reiterated that it will continue to import Iranian crude oil to fulfill the country's energy needs.

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.

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.

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