Source: India to Settle Overdue Oil Payments in Different Currencies

TEHRAN (FNA)- India plans to settle its overdue oil payments to Iran in different currencies, specially euro, an informed source in Iran's oil ministry announced on Sunday.
"Different currencies will be used by India to pay its debts to Iran, but the main part of the payment will be in euro," Reuters quoted the source as saying on the condition of anonymity.

Meantime, informed sources in India announced that Indian companies have already started to clear dues to Iran through a Turkish bank.

The several-month-long payment row over Iran's crude exports to India was eventually resolved after Indian refiners began paying for the oil they buy through a Turkish bank.

Since December, India and Iran have been struggling to find ways for New Delhi to pay for imports of 400,000 barrels per day, 12 percent of its oil demand, after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under US pressure.

Indian refiners such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) have opened rupee accounts in the New Delhi branch of Union Bank of India, which will route euro payments to state-owned Turkiye Halk Bankasi (Halkbank) in Istanbul.

Halkbank will then transfer that money to the account of NIOC, sources involved in the process said.

MRPL and private sector refiner Essar Oil last week transferred a small payment to Halkbank to test the conduit, which will be used to clear over $7 billion in outstanding dues to Iran that have accumulated.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) will make payments next once the test payments are successful.