Global Trade : Indian refinery companies have paid for the crude oil purchased from Iran in Chinese currency Yuan. The transaction comes at a time when limited and temporary relaxations have been granted under US sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil. According to reports, the payment was made through Mumbai-based ICICI Bank, which transferred the amount through its Shanghai branch.
Purchase of 20 lakh barrels of Iranian crude oil
According to the information, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has recently purchased about 20 lakh barrels of Iranian crude oil, the value of which is said to be around 200 million dollars (about Rs 1857 crore). This is believed to be India’s first major purchase of Iranian oil in the last seven years. The oil was supplied through the big tanker ‘Jaya’.
payment made in yuan
Apart from this, some tankers for private sector Reliance Industries have also arrived at Indian ports, one of which has already unloaded oil. According to sources, the payment to both the companies was made in yuan through ICICI Bank, although the official identity of the sellers involved in this transaction has not been revealed.
America had given temporary exemption of 30 days
It is almost impossible to trade in dollars with Iran due to US sanctions. Recently, due to the tense international circumstances, America had given a temporary relaxation of 30 days, taking advantage of which Indian companies opted for payment in Yuan.
The terms and conditions included in the deal were
Normally Indian refineries make payment after receiving the oil, but this time the deal included special terms. According to the report, IOC paid about 95 percent of the total price as soon as the tanker entered Indian waters.
Import was stopped due to pressure
Experts believe that such a payment system is unusual with restricted countries. At present, IOC has not made any plans to buy more oil from Iran. India had stopped importing oil from Iran after 2019 due to American pressure.
Discount may end soon
Meanwhile, there are indications that the US administration may soon end the exemption given on Iranian oil. In such a situation, this transaction points towards new payment systems in global energy trade, where alternatives to the dollar could rapidly emerge.
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