India cuts Iranian Oil imports, and US exempts India (This ones for you jericho)

[Firewire]

This is a response to the thread that India stabs Israel in the back
http://www.israelforum.com/board/sho...a+stabs+Israel

This is a reuters article proving the cuts


(Reuters) - Indian refiners cut imports from Iran by 38 percent in May from a year ago, tanker discharge data showed, in a second month of steep reductions as they switch suppliers to cushion the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

The cutbacks raise New Delhi's chances of winning a waiver similar to that granted by the United States to Japan and some European countries after "substantial" reductions in their imports.

India is discussing with Washington an exemption from the sanctions, which focus on banking and are being imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, a source said last month.

China and India are Iran's biggest crude clients and reductions in their purchases are crucial to Western attempts to crank up the pressure on Tehran. Neither has officially sought a waiver, although both have cut volumes.

India imported about 243,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in May, down about 10 percent from April and about 38 percent from 394,000 bpd a year ago, the data made available to Reuters showed. In April - the first month of new contracts - imports from Iran slid nearly 40 percent from a year ago.

Falling imports from the OPEC member have pushed Iran to fifth position in the list of India's crude suppliers in April-May, compared with the third position it enjoyed a year ago and second in the first quarter of 2012.

Refiners are expected to cut volumes they ink under term deals that started April 1 by more than 20 percent, according to Reuters calculations, while the government says it aims for imports to be down 11 percent from 2011/12 liftings to about 310,000 bpd.

Indian refiners may lift significantly lower volumes out of Iran from July, when European sanctions will severely reduce the availability of insurance cover for cargoes and vessels.

Among Iran's other Asian buyers, South Korea plans to halt all imports by the time the European measures hit, industry sources have said, and Japan could follow suit unless Tokyo provides a sovereign insurance guarantee for oil tankers.

Indian refiners have been asked privately by the government to cut Iranian oil imports by at least 15 percent, even though publicly New Delhi does not support unilateral sanctions, according to government officials.

The refiners are making up for the shortfall in Iranian cargoes by raising imports from the world's biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia, as well as fellow OPEC member Iraq.

The 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 31.80 million bpd in May, up from 31.75 million bpd in April, a Reuters survey of sources at oil companies, OPEC officials and analysts found.

India's overall oil imports in January-May rose about 11 percent from a year ago to 3.6 million bpd as the country expanded its refining capacity.

With some of that capacity in maintenance in May, however, total oil imports in the month declined 3.6 percent from April. They were up 14.5 percent from a year ago, the data showed.


http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/0...85604U20120607

[Firewire]

This is an article printed yesterday stating India was given a waiver and was exempted from Iranian oil sanctions


WASHINGTON: India will enter the 3rd round of its strategic dialogue with the United States this week with the shadow of Iran-related sanctions off its back. The Obama administration on Monday announced exempting India, South Korea, and five other countries from Iran oil sanctions.

Word of the sanctions relief came even as human resources development minister Kapil Sibal and his team is scheduled to begin a high education dialogue with secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her team on Tuesday, followed by the formal strategic dialogue on Wednesday. The possibility of sanctions, although remote, hung over the engagements.
Clinton herself announced the exemptions even as Indian cabinet ministers and high officials trooped into Washington. "Today I have made the determination that seven economies — India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan--have all significantly reduced their volume of crude oil purchases from Iran. They join the 11 countries for which I made this determination in March. As a result, I will report to the Congress that sanctions pursuant to Section 1245(d)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 will not apply to their financial institutions for a potentially renewable period of 180 days," she said in a statement.

The Obama administration has apparently been persuaded by New Delhi's efforts to scale down oil imports from Iran. Indian officials say Iran has been relegated as the third largest supplier of crude oil, down to only about 10 percent of the total imports from over 12 percent previously. It is expected come further down to 7-8 per cent in 2012-13.

The seven new exemptions, including for India, follows a similar action in March when the US announced that 11 countries, including 10 European states and Japan, would be excepted from financial sanctions due to their crude imports cut from Iran. More pertinently, it removes the bogey of sanctions over US-India engagement and gives one less stick to the anti-India constituency in Washington -- including a strong pro-Israel lobby unable or unwilling to comprehend India's ties with Iran and always on the lookout for alleged Indian infractions vis-a-vis Teheran -- to beat New Delhi with.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiati...orts-sanctions