Tehran, YJC. India has imported about 38 pct. more oil from Iran in the 11 months to November as an easing of Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear activities helped increased shipments, trade sources said.
Iran and six powers, the United States, China, France, Britain, Russia and Germany, resumed talks on Wednesday to resolve the 12-year dispute over Tehran's peaceful nuclear ambitions, after earlier failing to strike a long-term agreement by a self-imposed Nov. 24 deadline, Bloomberg reported.
An final deal would remove sanctions on Iran and likely lead to another jump in Iranian exports, further relying on global oil prices that are down near their lowest in more than five years amid a supply row.
India, Iran's top client next to China, imported 250,600 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in last month, tanker arrival data obtained from trade sources have revealed, a growth of 14 pct from the previous year and a decline of 19 percent from October.
Private refiner Essar Oil was the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil in November and was followed by state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd. The two constitute India's regular monthly importers of Iranian crude.
Arrivals from Iran in the first eleven months of the year stood at 270,100 bpd, up 37.7 pct. on year. The growth in Iranian oil imports this year was also an outcome of the low base in 2013, when shipments suffered over April to August due to insurance problems triggered by the sanctions.