Indias major oil refinery, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), has announced plans to purchase five Iranian oil cargoes this month despite illegal US-engineered embargoes against the Islamic Republic's oil and financial sectors.MRPL's managing director, P. P. Upadhya, said on Tuesday that the treatment facility intends to buy five cargos of 85,000 metric tons each in September, Bloomberg reported.
Importing crude oil from Iran is crucial as it helps in curbing dollar outgo in a big way, he said, adding, We can make part payment in rupees. Thats the arrangement.
Indias oil shipments from Iran are estimated to rise to 4 million tons in the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31.
MRPL received about 85,000 metric tons of Iranian crude on August 17.
The purchase came after India prepared a 20-billion-rupee ($314 million) insurance fund to cover future oil imports from Iran.
India is among Asias major importers of energy and relies on the Islamic Republic of Iran to meet a portion of its energy demands.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on September 1 that there are appropriate grounds for further cooperation between Iran and India in the oil and gas sector.
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Irans oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
The illegal US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
By Press TV
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