India’s refining sector is making payments for rare shipments of Iranian oil bought under a temporary exemption from US sanctions using Chinese yuan through ICICI Bank in Bombay, four sources familiar with the matter said.
Last month, Washington introduced 30-day exemptions from US sanctions on offshore purchases of Russian and Iranian oil in an attempt to ease price rises caused by the war between the United States and Iran, reports said. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the US would not extend those exemptions, and that the exemption for Iranian oil would end on Sunday.
Difficulties in arranging payments for such shipments, due to long-standing sanctions against Tehran, previously deterred potential buyers of Iranian crude oil during the exemption period, traders said.
Earlier this month, India’s state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation bought 2 million barrels of Iranian oil on tankers in its first such deal in seven years. Also, the private company Reliance Industries received shipments of Iranian oil for refining.
Both companies use ICICI Bank to transfer funds, with money being routed in Chinese yuan through its Shanghai branch to sellers, whose identities are not known.
According to sources, the IOC paid about 95 percent of the value of the shipment before the tanker entered Indian waters, an unusual practice.
India’s refining sector previously largely avoided buying Iranian oil from 2019 due to US sanctions, but is now partially returning to such trade in specific circumstances.
(Vijesti.ba)
