Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Monday said two state refiners have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran in November, the month when US sanctions on Iranian oil purchases take effect. "Two of our oil companies have made nominations to purchase Iranian oil in November," he said speaking at The Energy Forum here. "This is the first time Pradhan has spoken about India's stand on buying Iranian oil once the US sanctions on Iran come into force from November 4.Later, talking to reporters, he said India has its own energy requirements which it has to fulfill. Iran can use the rupee to settle its imports of pharmaceuticals and other goods from India. In 2013-14 and 2014-15, India bought 11 MT and 10.95 MT respectively from it.Sourcing from Iran increased to 12.7 MT in 2015-16, giving it the sixth spot.

Source: Economic Times October 08, 2018 11:48 UTC