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India seeks stake in Iranian oilfield, to raise oil imports

New Delhi: India on Saturday sought from Iran a stake in a producing oil field and said it will raise crude oil import from Iran in the financial year beginning April, reversing the 25 per cent reduction it had done in the current fiscal.
Visiting Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, after talks with his Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan, said he was "optimistic" about signing of an agreement awarding rights of Iran's giant Farzad-B gas field to its discoverer, ONGC Videsh Ltd.
He said Indian public and private sector oil companies will in 2018-19 fiscal buy 0.5 million barrels of crude oil per day (25 million tonnes).
This will be 25 per cent more than current fiscal imports estimated at 370,000 barrels per day (18.5 MT).
India had for the current fiscal cut oil imports from Iran by nearly 25 per cent over delays in award of Farzad-B development rights to OVL. In 2016-17, India had imported 510,000 barrels per day (25.5 million tonnes) of oil from Iran.
"I am very optimistic about the future of the relationship between the two countries and our companies especially for oil and gas fields development," the Iranian Oil Minister said after the meeting.
He said he was optimistic of signing the agreement with Indian companies for developing Farzad-B" within 2018.
On the timelines, he said, "We agreed that next week the Indian team will come to Tehran for finalising some of the points."
Pradhan said Iran has given "good incentives" on crude oil exports to India. "It will be beneficial for India to buy more crude from Iran rather than from other countries.
We have agreed that India will buy more crude oil from Iran in coming days."
Like the recent acquisition of 10 per cent stake in 20 million tonnes a year producing oil field in UAE, India made a case for a stake in a producing Iranian oil field, he said adding on Indian horizon was a field like South Azadegan.
M Post Bureau

M Post Bureau

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