India said Tuesday it would cut purchases of Iranian oil by 11 percent following pressure from the United States to join a drive to isolate the Islamic republic over its disputed nuclear programme.
Indian refiners expect to import 15.5 million metric tons of crude from Iran in the fiscal year that began April 1, the country’s junior oil minister told parliament in a written reply, down from 17.44 million tons last ear.
The move comes after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week urged India to reduce its imports of Iranian oil as Washington readies a law to go into effect next month to slap sanctions on nations that buy oil from Tehran. “To reduce its dependence on any particular region of the world, India has been consciously trying to diversify its sources of crude oil imports to strengthen the country’s energy security,” junior oil minister R.P.N. Singh said.
The size of imports from various sources depends on technical, commercial and other considerations, Singh added.