Iran Sells More Oil to Private Exporters to Bypass US Curbs : Iran sold 700,000 barrels of crude oil to private companies for export on Sunday in a second round of sales aimed at countering US sanctions on the country’s exports.

Iran Sells More Oil to Private Exporters to Bypass US CurbsThree unnamed companies paid $64.97 per barrel for two crude shipments of 245,000 barrels each and one shipment of 210,000 barrels, which were traded on Iran’s energy bourse.

Iran began selling crude oil to private companies for export in late October, just ahead of US sanctions on sectors including oil which came into effect on November 5.

Crude oil trade is state-controlled in Iran. Earlier, private refining companies could only buy crude oil for exports of oil products.

Iran said in July it would start oil sales to private firms as part of its efforts to keep exporting oil and would take other measures to counter sanctions after the United States told allies to cut all imports of Iranian oil from November. Source: Economic Times

Indian refiners have recently expressed willingness to maintain oil imports from Iran. The importers say they will adhere to their term supply contract obligations with the Persian Gulf producer, undeterred by Washington’s efforts to restrain Tehran’s oil sales.

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is set to receive 130,000 tons of its regular monthly term crude oil cargo from the National Iranian Oil Company in the coming days, Platts reported on Tuesday. According to the oil pricing agency, BPCL currently holds a term contract with NIOC to buy 1 million tons for its Kochi refinery over April 2018-March 2019. India’s flagship state-run refiner Indian Oil Corporation also holds a term contract with Iran to receive 180,000 barrels per day in the current fiscal year ending March 2019.

India’s Swaraj said the country would ignore the US trade sanctions against Iran. “India will comply with UN sanctions and not any country-specific sanctions,” Swaraj said. Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier. India bought a record 27.2 million tons of oil from Tehran during the last financial year, which ended in March 2018. It represents a 114% increase on the previous year.

India was among a select group of countries, which maintained oil purchases from Iran when the country came under intensified western sanctions in 2011.