An Iranian delegation is set to visit India to hold talks with Indian officials over settling New Delhi’s oil debts to Tehran.
“Over the coming weeks, an Iranian delegation will travel to India to hold talks with Indian officials over the payment of $6.5 billion oil debts to Iran,” Gholam Reza Ansari was quoted as saying by the Iranian media.
The Iranian ambassador also noted that Tehran and New Delhi will soon finalize a mechanism to clear oil debts.
Iran sits atop the 11 percent of oil and 18 percent of gas reserves in the world.
India, which imports a total of 4 million barrels per day of oil, is seen as the second biggest client of Iran's crude oil after China.
The energy-hungry Asian country’s crude imports from Iran were slashed by more than 50% in January-April 2015 to about 220,000 bpd amid rising pressures from the US.
Back in 2012, the United States and its Western allies imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran’s energy sector over the country’s nuclear energy program which closed banking channels for the transfer of oil payments to the country.
Earlier this year India announced that it owes Iran about $8.8 billion for oil imports.
Back in May, Iran’s Government Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said the money has been trapped in a bank account under the US-led sanctions regime.
Following the conclusion of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, Tehran is now seeking to release much of its oil money which has been blocked overseas.