India is planning to soon send a delegation to Iran to discuss payment modes for crude oil imports in the wake of a deal between Tehran and major world powers that could head off further sanctions on the oil-rich nation.
India is planning to soon send a delegation to Iran to discuss payment
modes for crude oil imports in the wake of a deal between Tehran and major
world powers that could head off further sanctions on the oil-rich nation.
Iran
reached a landmark security agreement Saturday with the
U.S.
,
along with other permanent members of U.N Security Council and
Germany
, that
relates to curbs on its uranium-enrichment capacity and allowing increased
monitoring of its nuclear program for six months. While sanctions on
Iran
's
sales of crude oil are yet to be eased, analysts expect the weekend deal to
eventually lead to a loosening of existing restrictions on dollar-based
payments.
India
and
Iran
presently have a barter trade system in place to bypass payment problems due to
the western sanctions. Under an agreement last year,
India
pays
for about half of its crude oil imports from the Middle Eastern country in
Indian rupees instead of U.S. dollars.
India
's oil
secretary Vivek Rae told reporters Wednesday that the two sides will soon
discuss payment mechanisms for purchases of Iranian crude.
An analyst said
Tehran
may
look to repatriate more of its offshore foreign-denominated assets if blockades
on international channels are eased following a deal on the nuclear program.
The development is likely to mean that
India
may
be able to gradually increase its crude oil purchases from
Iran
, but
may have to limit the scope of rupee payments -- a facility that has been
helping
New Delhi
trim
its current account deficit.
Mr. Rae said
India
is
likely to import around 11 million metric tons of crude oil from
Iran
this
financial year, which is about 15% less than last year.
India
,
along with other countries such as
China
and
South
Korea
, has been reducing its
purchases of Iranian crude in line with U.S requirements.
It is too early to take a call on whether
India
can
increase crude oil purchases from
Iran
following the deal, said
India
's oil
secretary. "Let's wait for six months and see how things stand," he
said.
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