Iran oil exports to India unaffected

India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry says Iran’s oil exports to the country will not be affected as alternative payment routes have been put in place.

“There has been no disruption in supply since [Reserve Bank of India] RBI issued new payment guidelines. A cargo for delivery on January 8 and 9 is currently being loaded in Iran and we have no problems sourcing crude from Iran,” India Today quoted India’s Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan as saying on Tuesday.

He also said that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is willing to accept payments from Indian oil firms through the Europaisch-Iranische Handelsbank (EIH Bank) in Hamburg, Germany.

Oil companies working with Iran like Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will make payments to NIOC’s EIH Bank account in Hamburg via the State Bank of India (SBI).

According to Sundareshan, the two central banks will meet in Tehran from January 14 to 16 to find a permanent solution to the matter.

Part of the meeting will involve choosing a payment currency, such as the Iranian Rial, Dirham and Yen, which are not susceptible to US pressure.

The problem arose when the Indian Central Bank said import payments to Iran would have to be settled outside the existing Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism.

Under the ACU mechanism, every two months imports by the nine member-nations are settled by every member paying for its import surplus.