India to halt Iran oil imports next month

Tehran’s oil exports may drop below 1m bpd in November as US sanctions hit

India isn’t planning to buy any Iranian oil in November, raising the prospect that Tehran will lose another major customer as US sanctions hit and spurring speculation over whether China will follow suit.

India is joining other Asian buyers such as South Korea and Japan that have already halted imports from Iran before American restrictions take effect in early November. It’s unclear if China, the world’s biggest oil importer as well as Iran’s top customer, will persist with purchases.

November blues

Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, the country’s two largest state-owned refiners, haven’t asked for any Iranian cargoes for loading in November, according to officials at the companies. Nayara Energy also doesn’t plan any purchases, said an industry executive.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd hasn’t made any nominations for that month, but may do so later, a company official said.

The companies are the four largest buyers of Iranian oil in India, accounting for almost all of the country’s imports from the Islamic republic. Final decisions on purchases aren’t due until early October, so the refiners could still change their minds. The officials and industry executive asked not to be identified because of internal policies.

India is the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil, having imported an average of 577,000 barrels a day this year, or about 27 per cent of the Middle Eastern country’s exports, according to Bloomberg tanker tracking data. “Iranian exports may drop below 1 million barrels a day in November, with Indian refiners potentially loading nothing and China cutting back as well,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd in London, said in a note to clients.

The rapid drop in Iranian exports has helped to push Brent crude, the global benchmark, to a four-year high above $80 (Dh294) a barrel. Further output losses could drive prices even higher.

of Iran oil exports (577,000 bpd) this year was to India