MRPL Expects India to Get Waiver from US Sanctions on Iranian Crude Oil Imports

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), a major crude oil refinery located in southern India, expects India to get a waiver from US sanctions on Iranian crude oil exports this month, said a company official on the sidelines of the IHS CERA conference on Tuesday (16).

The US is on its way to impose sanctions against Iran’s crude oil sector on November 04 this year in a bid to stop the crude oil producer’s role in conflicts in Syria and Iraq and bring Iran to the negotiating table over its ballistic missile project.

According to a US official earlier this month, US is considering waiver on sanctions for the nations which are cutting their crude oil import from Iran.

India is the second biggest client of Iran after China, that has close relationship with Tehran. India is also constructing a strategic port, Chabahar which may become operational by 2019.

As one of the biggest crude oil importers, India expects of waivers as it moved ahead on qualifying for exceptions known as significant reduction exemptions (SRE) as it is difficult to replace Iranian barrels, the official from MRPL added.

MRPL has already made payments in Indian currency to import crude oil from Iran. However, the official noted the fact that, MRPL would look at buying crude oil from Iraq to replace imports from Iran.

MRPL already has an agreement to purchase 4.5 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran and has imported around 60 to 70 per cent of its contracted volumes till today. According to the agreement, India also has a choice to purchase an additional one million tonnes of crude oil.

India imported around 10 million barrels of crude oil from Iran in October, and its November vessels are likely to move down.