India Reduces Dependence On Iran Oil To Less Than 6 Percent

NEW DELHI: India has cut its reliance on Iran for meeting its oil needs to less than 6 per cent as it raised imports from countries like Columbia and Mexico.

India imported 11 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, down from 13.14 million tonnes in the previous fiscal, official sources said.

The imports from Iran made up for 5.81 per cent of the nation's oil import needs in 2013-14 fiscal, down from 7.11 per cent in the previous year.

India has steadily cut imports from Iran as US and western sanctions blocked payment channels and crippled shipping routes. It imported 21.20 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2009-10, which got reduced to 18.50 million tonnes in 2010-11 and 18.11 million tonnes in 2011-12.

Imports from Iran were reduced to 13.14 million tonnes in 2012-13, the year when the US had tightened screws on Iran.

Sources said Iran was India's second biggest supplier behind Saudi Arabia up to 2010-11 but has now been relegated to 6th place in 2013-14.

Saudi continues to be the biggest supplier, selling 38.18 million tonnes of oil or 20.18 per cent of India's total oil imports in 2013-14.

India had imported 189.24 million tonnes of crude oil from a total of 35 countries around the globe.

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