Indian Oil buys first shipment of Iranian crude since 2019 sanctions

State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp. has purchased a cargo of Iranian oil which would be the country’s first such delivery since 2019, according to people familiar with the matter, as weeks of war in the Persian Gulf upend the energy trade. 

India’s largest refiner is expected to to take delivery of the Middle Eastern volumes this week, the people said, without providing details of the vessel or the payment mechanism. The people asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

 

IOC didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

 

India hasn’t purchased Iranian crude since May 2019 due to US sanctions, and refiners have typically been cautious. On Saturday, however, the world’s third-largest importer said it would buy cargoes from Iran among other other countries in order to navigate the current energy crisis, and denied any vessel had been diverted because of payment troubles. 

 

 

Curacao-flagged crude tanker Jaya, laden with Iranian oil, most recently indicated it is heading for India, according to ship-tracking data. The carrier last signaled its position heading from the Malacca Strait into the Andaman Sea over the weekend, after routing away from Malaysian waters and a popular holding area for vessels with Iranian cargoes. 

 

Ship destinations are indicative and can change. Last week, the US-sanctioned Ping Shun, also laden with Iranian crude, initially indicated it was heading to India before turning away.

 

The IOC’s latest purchase follows a US Treasury general license issued last month that waived restrictions on previously sanctioned Iranian oil already on the water. The US also issued a similar waiver for the purchase of Russian crude, and India has made significant purchases.

 

Facing an acute cooking-gas shortage, India has already taken liquefied petroleum gas cargoes from Iran.

 

The war in the Middle East and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz over the past six weeks have upended energy markets and sent oil prices surging. The US and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire in exchange for Tehran reopening the Hormuz, though details remain sparse.