Indiaˈs Iran Oil Imports Rise 13.5 pct In May

Tehran, June 18 IRNA – India imported 13.5 percent more Iranian oil in May compared with April as the countryˈs biggest refiner Indian Oil Corp bought crude from Tehran after a three-month break, according to Reuters. India, Iranˈs top client after China, imported about 255,200 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil last month, according to tanker arrival schedules from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Analytics. Essar was Iranˈs top Indian oil client in May, followed by MRPL, the data showed. IOC took one very large crude carrier, or 2 million barrels of Iranian oil last month, after not making any purchase from Tehran since January, the data showed. Iranian oil accounted for about 6.5 percent of Indiaˈs overall crude purchases in May, the tanker arrival data showed. In comparison, Iran accounted for 16.4 percent of Indiaˈs oil imports in 2008/09 and 5.7 percent in 2013/14. Tehran was the sixth largest crude supplier to India in May, recovering from the eighth spot in April, the data showed. Asian buyers are expected to import about 1.25 million-1.3 million bpd of Iranian oil in the six months through June, as China is taking more than it did before toughened sanctions were put in place in 2012./end