India’s oil imports from Iran at record highs

The latest official figures show India’s imports of crude oil from Iran in July rose to the highest levels in more than five years what to analysts is a fresh sign of robust rise in Iran’s crude export abilities.

Reuters said in a report that India had imported 523,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in July, a figure that it said showed an increase of 37 percent compared to June. 

The report added that India’s imports of Iranian oil in July were more than double the figure for the same period last year. 

India's oil imports from Iran have been consistently rising since the lifting of sanctions earlier this year.  In the first four months of this fiscal year, India's imports from Iran have climbed 48 percent more than a year ago to about 420,000 bpd, Reuters added.

India is one of the biggest clients of Iranian crude.  The country’s imports of Iranian oil specifically surged after the removal of sanctions against Tehran in January. 

Trading data, as reported by Reuters earlier, showed that India imported about 359,000 bpd of Iranian oil from January to July.  The figure, the news agency added, was up 67 percent from the same period a year ago.

SS