India bows to US pressure, cuts Iran oil import by 11%
Indian state-run refiners will import 11% less oil from Iran, the government told Parliament on Tuesday, a day when a US emissary arrived in a bid to wean New Delhi away from Teheran's fuel. "The target fixed for import of crude oil from Iran for 2012-13 is approximately 15.5 million tonne," minister of state for petroleum R P N Singh told the Upper House in a written reply. He said Indian refiners imported 18.5 million tonne crude from Iran in 2010-11 and 17.44 million tonne in 2011-12. India imports 80% of its oil requirement and about 12% of this comes from Iran. But refiners have been tying up alternative supplies ever since the RBI scrapped a regional arrangement in December, 2010, that made it difficult to route payments for Iranian oil.