India may resume oil imports from Iran

Sources in the Oil Ministry said that as a big importer of oil, India wanted to have a diversified market for crude oil and if traditional markets like Iran and Venezuela are revived, it would only be for the good, IANS reported.

Limited talks could be initiated to see if the oil market can be expanded for big buyers so that competitive pricing is achieved.

Iran was India’s second-largest oil supplier till sanctions by the US, but New Delhi stopped crude oil imports from Iran altogether as of May 2019, following the reimposition of US sanctions.

Venezuela, on the other hand, was the fourth-largest crude supplier to India before US sanctions in January 2019, when the state-run companies there reduced their oil exports.

India imports 85 percent of its oil needs; its dependence on oil is expected to remain firm for at least the next couple of decades.

Energy consumption of the country is expected to grow by three percent annually until 2040.