IRANIAN OIL FOR INDIA

PLATTS - Indian refiners have been asked to prepare an alternative crude oilsourcing plan ahead of the snapback of US sanctions on Iran in Novemberwhile a clear response from the Indian government on the US' stance onzero imports from Tehran is expected to emerge in July, government andindustry officials said Friday.

India's oil ministry has instructed state-run refiners such as Indian OilCorp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. toscout for alternative sources to Iranian oil.

"Our alternative ready-made preference will be Iraq, Saudi Arabia and theUAE due to proximity. But a reasonable price would be the driving forcewhile striking any new crude import deals," said an official working withone of the refiners.

Official sources said the oil ministry would spell out a crude importroad map based on feedback from domestic refiners to the oil ministryduring the first week of July to take a "pragmatic view" on the importissue with the traditional supplier.

Earlier this week, Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, metIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the US administration'sstance on zero imports from Iran.

"We will continue to keep the pressure up and we hope that othercountries will join us," Haley said at a public event during herthree-day visit to the South Asian country from Wednesday.

"Because in our eyes, Iran is the next North Korea," she said.

Until the visit of Haley, New Delhi adopted a policy of abiding by UNsanctions on Iran as articulated by foreign minister Sushma Swaraj at amedia conference last month after the announcement of US sanctionsagainst Tehran.

Swaraj had said India only recognized UN sanctions and not any unilateralsanctions against a third country.

Analysts said India would have to adopt a different strategy for thelatest round of US sanctions unlike the previous sanctions on Iran duringthe tenure of Barack Obama when New Delhi continued importing crude fromIran on preferential terms.

Iran had accepted a payment mechanism through the Indian currency viaEuropean banking channel.

"This might not be the case this time," a New Delhi-based analyst said.

India is looking at all options before taking a concrete stand on theIranian crude imports.

"There is not a single oil producing country from where we don't buycrude today," Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Thursday,highlighting that the country has even placed a crude import order withBrunei recently.

"There is no threat of supply disruptions because of the latest threat ofUS sanctions," Pradhan said, adding India would go by its own nationalinterest on the issue of Iranian imports.

Currently, Iran is India's third-largest crude supplier after Iraq andSaudi Arabia.

India's crude imports from Iran in May rose by a tenth from April to705,000 b/d, with last month's imports up 45% year on year, according totrade sources.

CHABAHAR PORT

India is also committed to making Iran's Chabahar port operational by2019 in order to ease trade flow with Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Interestingly, the US administration is keeping the Iranian zero importissue and the Chabahar port development separate as it holds thestrategic Iranian port will help war-ravaged Afghanistan with free flowof trade.

"We know the port has to happen and the US is going to work with India todo that," Haley said after meeting Modi on Wednesday.

In February during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to New Delhi,Modi committed to supporting the development of Chabahar port forpromoting free trade in Central Asia.

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Earlier:

2018, June, 27, 10:45:00 ARABIAN INVESTMENT FOR INDIA: $44 BLN AOG - Sheikh Abdullah said: “This agreement strengthens the already close ties between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and between the UAE and India. The UAE is unwavering in its commitment to its strategic multi-lateral relationships with both Saudi Arabia and India, as well as being a reliable partner in India’s energy security. We look forward to exploring further opportunities to expand our energy partnerships and to collaborating on new, broader, opportunities that will further strengthen and deepen the long-standing economic links between our three countries.”

2018, June, 18, 14:05:00 INDIA NEED RESPONSIBLE PRICE PLATTS - Saying that current oil prices were not supported by market fundamentals, Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday called for "responsible pricing, one that balances the interests of both the producer and consumer."

2018, June, 15, 11:05:00 INDIA - IRAN OIL IMPORTS REUTERS - India’s oil imports from Iran surged to about 705,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, their highest level since October 2016, according to data from shipping and industry sources, despite the threats of fresh U.S. sanctions.

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2018, May, 30, 13:45:00 INDIA IGNORES SANCTIONS BLOOMBERG - India, a long-time buyer of oil from both Iran and Venezuela, only complies with United Nations-mandated sanctions and not those imposed by one country on another, said foreign minister Sushma Swaraj at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

2018, May, 23, 10:05:00 ARABIAN OIL FOR INDIA AOG - The agreement between ADNOC and ISPRL, which was initiated in January 2017 during a visit to India by a high-ranking UAE delegation, led by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, covers the storage of 5.86 million barrels of ADNOC crude oil in underground facilities, at the Karnataka facility. The first shipment, of approximately two million barrels of crude oil, will be followed by further shipments after India’s annual monsoon season.

2018, May, 18, 09:00:00 INDIA'S OIL IMPORTS UP 2.5% REUTERS - India’s oil imports from Iran surged to 640,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, its highest level since October 2016, according to data from shipping and industry sources, as refiners raised purchases ahead of looming U.S. sanctions against Tehran.