India to clear oil debt to Iran by end-August

India will clear its oil imports debt with Iran by the end of August, state-run Mehr news agency reported, citing Mohsen Qamsari, National Iranian Oil Co.'s director for international affairs.

According to reports, four Indian oil buyers had paid up all or part of their debts and so far more than $2 billion had been settled, Qamsari told Mehr yesterday without providing details.

Indian refiners' debt to Iran was $4.8 billion in early August, National Iranian Oil Co. managing director Ahmad Qalebani had said on 8 Aug.

Earlier, a week ago, Iranian central bank governor, Mahmoud Bahmani, had said India had paid two-third of its debt to Iran for crude oil imports. ''The rest of the debt is being received and there is no problem regarding this matter,'' Bahmani had said.

The Persian Gulf state is currently labouring under a United Nations imposed sanctions regime and Indian refiners have found it increasingly difficult to route payments for their oil imports.

After much searching India appears to have developed a conduit through a Turkish state-owned bank which is now handling the transactions. Accordingly, payments from India refiners have begun to flow.

Iran is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia.