Around 4 million barrels of Iranian oil have arrived in India, marking the first such imports in seven years as the South Asian nation races to secure volumes before a grace period granted by Washington expires at the weekend.
The Jaya, a very-large crude carrier fully laden with Iranian crude, is discharging its cargo at Paradip on India’s east coast this week, according to people familiar with the matter and ship-tracking data from intelligence firms Kpler and Vortexa. The people asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The Felicity is doing the same at Sikka, on the west coast. The two US-sanctioned tankers are expected to depart India by Friday, according to port reports reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Indian Oil Corp. runs operations that use Paradip for crude deliveries. Reliance Industries Ltd. uses Sikka, as does Bharat Petroleum Corp., which runs a single-point mooring facility in the area. IOC, BPCL and Reliance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Import-dependent, price-sensitive India has been acutely impacted by the upheaval in global energy flows since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began at the end of February. To cope, it has sought to take advantage of US waivers that allowed purchases of previously restricted Russian and Iranian crude, as Washington sought to cool oil prices. The first has expired, and the second will do so within days, absent a last-minute renewal.
As a major buyer of seaborne Russian oil until last year, India rapidly cranked up those purchases, but refiners have found it tougher to secure and pay for Iranian cargoes, given other financial sanctions that remain in place. India said earlier this month that it would take crude from Iran, among other suppliers, as it navigates the current crunch.
Deliveries from the Jaya and the Felicity — both US blacklisted for their involvement in the Iran trade — indicate a workaround was found.
Another Iran-owned tanker, Derya, is currently sitting off India’s west coast, fully laden with crude. The vessel had loaded from Iran’s main oil-export terminal Kharg Island in late March, but may have missed the US waiver cutoff. It is currently broadcasting that it is awaiting for orders, a signal that indicates it has no clear port of call.
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