MRPL says Iran crude supply continuing

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has said that the supply of crude from Iran is continuing, and it is not aware of anything else.

This was stated by a senior official of the company on a news that appeared in a section of the media on Friday that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will cut supplies for Indian clients in August if a mechanism to pay for imports is not found quickly.

MRPL is one of the major buyers of Iranian crude at 1.42 lakh barrels a day.

A senior official of the company, who spoke to

Business Line on the condition of anonymity, said: “We are getting the crude supply as of today. We don't know what is happening on the other side. We are not aware of anything. Supply is continuing.”

Payment issue

When his attention was drawn towards an agency report, in which a company executive confirmed receiving letter from NIOC on halting crude oil supply, the official said: “We are aware of the problem for the past six months. The Government will have to take a call in this matter.”

It may be mentioned here that in December 2010, Reserve Bank of India had said payments to Iran could no longer be settled using a longstanding clearinghouse system run by the Asian Clearing Union.