India, which imports 12 per cent of its oil from Iran, will not scale down its petroleum imports from Tehran despite US and European sanctions against the Islamic republic, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said.
India imports 110 million tonnes of crude per year. Iran is an important country for India despite U.S. and European sanctions on Iran.
India, the world’s fourth-largest oil consumer, is Iran’s second-biggest oil client after China.
Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao last week said that India’s purchase of oil from Iran has dropped slightly in last two years and is expected to drop further given the difficulties New Delhi might have in making payments through banks due to tough sanctions imposed against Iranian banks.
Ms. Rao had said India was in touch with the U.S. Government and closely monitoring the developing situation concerning Iran, when asked about the pressure from the U.S. that India needs to reduce its dependency on Iranian oil.
