MRPL ready to clear oil dues to Iran

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) today said it is ready to clear its dues for oil import fromIran as soon as the banking channels are available.
"Now that the sanctions on Iran have been fully lifted, we hope there will be clarity on payment channel, and it would be sorted out very shortly, and as soon as banking channels are available, we will be making the payment," MRPL Managing Director H Kumar told reporters here.
Kumar was responding to a query on the issue ofclearing USD 6.5 billion of oil dues to Iran by Indianrefiners including MRPL.
Earlier, the payment were getting deferred due tounavailability of banking channels because of western sanctions on Iran, Kumar said.

"During the sanction period, the arrangement was the refiners were paying 45 per cent of the cost in Indian rupees and now the pending 55 per cent of the cost is to be paid in Euros. Because there were no banking channels available earlier, the payment was getting deferred," he said.
And depending upon RBI clearances, the refiners were making payments to Iran for exporting crude oil to India, he added.

Refiners like Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MPRL) owe nearly USD 6.5 billion in dues toIran.
On Iran's decision to end free shipping of crude oil to India, Kumar said the modalities are being worked out for the refiners like MRPL and Essar Oil to arrange for the freight.

Iran had resorted to free shipping of crude oil to India in November 2013 after shipping lines of other countriesrefused to transport Iranian crude for fear of being sanctioned.
Some western countries had imposed sanctions on Iran, which crippled the country's exports.
Kumar said the National Iranian Oil Company is saying that they would share 80 per cent of the freight costs, instead of 100 per cent.