Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: Using the one-month window provided by a temporary US sanctions waiver, Indian refiners purchased Iranian oil and settled payments in Chinese yuan, people aware of the development said on Friday. Iran insists on payment in Chinese yuan for oil to bypass US-led financial sanctions that restrict its access to the dollar-dominated global banking system, prompting Indian Oil and Reliance Industries to opt for this route. While the US dollar has been the preferred currency for import payments, India has previously paid for Russian oil in rupees and UAE dirhams. Reports suggest that India also made payments for some volumes of Russian crude in Chinese yuan last year in the wake of Western sanctions. For the Iranian crude, the payment was made by ICICI Bank through its branch in Shanghai, with other banks not being present in China. The refiners and the ICICI Bank could not be reached for comment. When asked, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said the oil marketing companies were making all efforts to line up the cargo so that the domestic demand could be met. She said they were operating within govt rules. The Trump administration had allowed a waiver on US sanctions for purchase of Russian and Iranian crude already at sea, to cool prices driven up by the West Asia conflict. Using this window, both state-owned and private refiners purchased Russian and Iranian oil to plug supply shortages. Officials said more crude cargoes from Tehran are expected before the waiver expires on Sunday.
