Sputnik News- India�s oil imports from Iran rocketed to a record high in 2016, after the lifting of sanctions against Tehran opened the country�s economy to international trade.

India's demand for�oil is enormous, and Iran had long remained among�its top suppliers, but�economic relations between�the two states were shuttered by�sanctions over�Iran's nuclear program.

Some of�India's oil refiners resumed purchasing crude from�Iran after�the latter returned to�the oil market last year, contributing to�the collapse of�wholesale crude oil prices across�the globe.

According to�data from�ship-tracking services, in�2016 India imported some 473,000 barrels per day (bpd) from�Iran to�feed the former's expanding refining capacity, a significant rise from�the 208,300 bpd in�2015.

In December 2016, imports from�Iran were shown to�have grown sharply, from�about 181,200 bpd a year earlier, to�a current 546,600 bpd.

"In most of�2016 there was a fight among�Gulf producers to�increase their market share and lifting of�sanctions against�Iran has intensified that fight," said Ehsan ul Haq, senior analyst at�London-based consultancy KBC Energy Economics, cited by�Reuters.

Iran has returned to�the list of�India's top oil suppliers, grabbing the fourth-biggest provider slot in�April-June 2016.

India remains the world's third-largest oil consumer. Overall, the country imported 4.3 million bpd of�crude oil in�2016, up�7.4 percent from�the previous year.

India's growing demand for�oil is expected to�continue, with�energy information provider S&P Global Platts forecasting that New Delhi's consumption of�oil will increase by�7 to�8 percent in�2017, outpacing Beijing.