Indian refiners that have bought Iranian crude under the one-month U.S. waiver on Iran’s oil on tankers are settling the purchases in Chinese yuan via the Shanghai office of India’s ICICI Bank, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting multiple sources familiar with the deals.
After initial hesitancy following the temporary U.S. waiver on purchases of Iranian crude loaded on tankers, some Indian refiners have opted to buy Iranian oil during the window of ‘unsanctioned’ crude from Iran that closes on Sunday, April 19.
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, said that the United States would not renew the one-month general licenses allowing sale of Russian and Iranian crude that was already loaded on tankers as of early March.
“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil,” Bessent said on Wednesday at a briefing in the White House.
Refiners in Asia have used the sanctions waiver to stock up on Russian and Iranian crude, with India actively scooping up large volumes of Russia’s oil, after it was discouraged by the U.S. early this year to continue importing high volumes of Russian oil.
Indian refiners have to a lesser extent turned to Iranian crude on tankers to fill the large gap that opened with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s top refiner, bought 2 million barrels of Iranian crude in the first such purchase in seven years.
Reliance Industries, the biggest private refiner, has also reportedly imported Iranian crude after the U.S. allowed such sales for a month until April 19.
Both IndianOil and Reliance are settling the purchases in yuan via ICICI Bank’s Shanghai office to seller accounts in yuan, according to Reuters’ sources who requested anonymity.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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