Latest market data show that Iran has replaced Kuwait as the fifth largest oil supplier to India.
"Iran has toppled Kuwait to become India's fifth largest crude oil supplier in the first half of 2015-16 fiscal year, selling over 6.5 million tons of oil to the country," said India's Economic Times.
"Iran, which was India's second biggest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia till 2010-11, sold 6.53 million tons of oil to India in April-September as compared to 5.31 million tons crude coming from Kuwait," the newspaper quoted official sources as saying.
"India is 80 percent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs," the paper said noting, "With prospects of sanctions being eased after a deal with the Western powers on its nuclear program, Iran is now behind only Saudi Arabia (19.56 million tons), Iraq (17.01 million tons), Nigeria (11.59 million tons) and Venezuela (10.89 million tons) in oil supplies to India."
Iran supplied 10.9 million tons of oil to India in 2014-15 fiscal year — almost the same as 11 million tons it sold in 2013-14, the report said.
Iran had in 2009-10 supplied 21.2 million tons to India which came down to 18.5 million tons in 2010-11 and to 18.1 million tons in the year after, it added.
After the West imposed sanctions, India brought down the purchases to 13.14 million tons in 2012-13 and had limited them in the years thereafter, the report said.
India imported 99.36 million tons of crude oil in April-September this fiscal year, of which 57 percent came from the Middle East.