EW DELHI - India imported about 36 percent less oil from Iran in February than in January, because of efforts to meet US requests to restrict purchases from Tehran to 195,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months to July 20, data from trade sources showed.
Washington last month asked New Delhi to limit Iranian oil imports to about 195,000 bpd after India and China sharply raised imports in January.
India shipped in about 266,000 bpd oil from Iran last month, a decline of about 8.7 percent from a year ago, tanker arrival data compiled by Reuters showed.
Tehran and Western world powers have agreed a deal, running from Jan. 20 to July 20, that requires Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for a calibrated release of $4.2 billion it is owed in back payments for its oil.
The Nov. 24 agreement was also aimed at holding Tehran's oil exports at "current volumes" of about 1 million bpd but in January Iran's four top clients, including Japan and South Korea, together took 1.25 million bpd.
Very welcomed news. If India can meet its energy needs from elsewhere, this will put a dent in the Iranian regime's finances which are haemorrhaging due to their terrorist activities and wars in the region.