NEW DELHI: Indian refiners will cut their monthly crude loadings from Iran for September and October by nearly half from earlier this year as New Delhi works to win waivers on the oil export sanctions Washington plans to reimpose on Tehran in November.
India’s loadings from Iran for this month and next will drop to less than 12 million barrels each, after purchases over April-August had been boosted in anticipation of the reductions.
The US is renewing sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from a 2015 nuclear deal. Washington reimposed some of the financial sanctions from Aug. 6, while those affecting Iran’s petroleum sector will come into force from Nov. 4.
India, Iran’s No.2 oil client behind top buyer China, does not recognize the reimposed US sanctions, but winning a waiver from the restrictions is a must for New Delhi to protect its wider exposure to the US financial system.
India’s Oil Ministry in June told refiners to prepare for a “drastic reduction or zero” imports from Iran from November.
“Some refiners have either already exhausted or front-loaded their term contract to a large extent, which allows them the flexibility to go to zero if required, or until clarity on the waivers emerge,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspect, told Reuters.
Washington will consider waivers for Iranian oil buyers such as India but they must eventually halt crude imports from Tehran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week in New Delhi after a meeting of high level officials.
The Indian government, already facing a backlash over a falling rupee and record high fuel prices, does not want to halt the oil imports from Iran as the Islamic republic offers a discount on oil sales to India.
NEW DELHI: Government sources said India made this point clear in last week’s meetings with US officials and remains engaged with Washington to work out waivers on its oil purchases from Iran.
“We have a special relationship with both the US and Iran, and we are seeing how to balance this all, and also to balance out the interest of the refiners and end-consumers,” said one government official.
But if Washington adopts a tough line, India would have no choice but to end imports from Iran, they said.
India lifted about 658,000 barrel of oil per day (bpd) from Iran in April-August, according to data obtained from trade sources by Reuters, and the cuts projected for September and October would drop the daily average over those two months by about 45 percent to 360,000-370,000 bpd.
Indian oil refiners have already given the October loading plans to the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), sources familiar with the loading schedule said.
Top refiner Indian Oil Corp. wants to lift 6 million barrels each in September and October, while Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals would load 3 million barrels each for those two months, the sources said.
IOC would also lift 1 million barrels for its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp. in October, they said.
Bharat Petroleum Corp. would lift 1 million barrels in September and skip purchases in October, a company source said on Tuesday.
Bharat Petroleum has already drawn more than its fixed volumes — the amount it is obligated to purchase — that were contracted for 2018/19, its chairman said on Tuesday.
Nayara Energy, part owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft, plans to lift 1 million barrels each in September and October, the sources said. But the refiner began reducing its oil imports from Iran in June and aims to completely halt purchases from November.
Hindustan Petroleum, Reliance Industries and HPCL Mittal Energy (HMEL) have no plans to buy from Iran in September and October, they said.
Indian refiners — excluding Reliance and HMEL, which do not have term contracts with Iran — will together lift about 73 percent of their fixed contract volumes from Iran by end-October, the loading data showed.
IOC, Nayara and MRPL did not respond to requests for comment.
India’s Iran oil purchases to fade ahead of US sanctions
India’s Iran oil purchases to fade ahead of US sanctions
- India’s loadings from Iran for this month and next will drop to less than 12 million barrels each
- India’s Oil Ministry in June told refiners to prepare for a drastic reduction or zero imports from Iran from November
Kuwait to boost Islamic finance with sukuk regulation
- The move supports sustainable financing and is part of Kuwait’s efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy
RIYADH: Kuwait is planning to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, both domestically and internationally, as part of efforts to support more sustainable financing for the oil-rich Gulf nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Al-Sabah highlighted that Kuwait is exploring a variety of debt instruments to diversify its economy. The country has been implementing fiscal reforms aimed at stimulating growth and controlling its budget deficit amid persistently low oil prices. Hydrocarbons continue to dominate Kuwait’s revenue stream, accounting for nearly 90 percent of government income in 2024.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s debt capital market is projected to exceed $1.25 trillion by 2026, driven by project funding and government initiatives, representing a 13.6 percent expansion, according to Fitch Ratings.
The region is expected to remain one of the largest sources of US dollar-denominated debt and sukuk issuance among emerging markets. Fitch also noted that cross-sector economic diversification, refinancing needs, and deficit funding are key factors behind this growth.
“We are about to approve the first legislation regulating issuance of government sukuk locally and internationally, in accordance with Islamic laws,” Al-Sabah said.
“This enables us to deal with financial challenges flexibly and responsibly, and to plan for medium and long-term finances.”
Kuwait returned to global debt markets last year with strong results, raising $11.25 billion through a three-part bond sale — the country’s first US dollar issuance since 2017 — drawing substantial investor demand. In March, a new public debt law raised the borrowing ceiling to 30 billion dinars ($98 billion) from 10 billion dinars, enabling longer-term borrowing.
The Gulf’s debt capital markets, which totaled $1.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, have evolved from primarily sovereign funding tools into increasingly sophisticated instruments serving governments, banks, and corporates alike. As diversification efforts accelerate and refinancing cycles intensify, regional issuers have become regular participants in global debt markets, reinforcing the GCC’s role in emerging-market capital flows.
In 2025, GCC countries accounted for 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issuance, excluding China, with growth in US dollar sukuk issuance notably outpacing conventional bonds. The region’s total outstanding debt capital markets grew more than 14 percent year on year, reaching $1.1 trillion.
