An oil official has announced that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) would only receive euro payments from Indian refineries.
Executive Director for International Affairs at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seyed Mohsen Ghamsari referred to some Indian officials’ comments on Iran banning crude oil sales to Indian refineries saying “CBI holds the primary responsibility for collection of receivables from the sale of Iranian crude oil to various refineries including Indian ones.”
“On the basis of its policies, CBI has decided to stop the sale of Iran's oil to India in rupee and from now on the payments will take place in euro currency,” highlighted the official asserting “NIOC is not in charge of defining the currency for oil payments.”
Ghamsari went on to note that “during sanction years, NIOC would undertake the cost of the insurance and transport of oil to India under CIF contracts while recently sealed deals have been in the form of Free On Board (FOB) which indicates that the buyers are required to pay the shipping costs.”
“The volume of Iran’s oil sales and exports to certain countries, including South Korea and India, has experienced a significant growth in the post-sanction era,” he added.
Ghamsari emphasized that amount of oil sales to Indian refineries has approximately increased by 20 per cent in the post-JCPOA period as compared with the sanction years.
Following the removal of certain restrictions against Iran’s oil exports leading to a total sales volume of about 2.5 million barrels per day, Iran has cancelled some of the selling points which were available to Indian refineries during sanction years.
Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, in a recent interview with Indian media, has pointed to Iran’s refusal to undertake shipping costs inviting Indian refiners to take proper measures for importing Iranian crude.