UANI

"Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and Essar Oil have said they would halt imports from Iran because of insurance problems, Vivek Rae told reporters... MRPL plans to lift 40 percent less oil under its annual deal with Iran in the fiscal year ending March 31, while Essar Oil aims for a 15 percent reduction. The two companies have a deal to buy 100,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran in 2012/13." (Reuters, "India plans reinsurance fund to cover refiners using Iranian oil," 3/24/2013)

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"Royal Dutch Shell PLC, sold two high-sulfur oil cargoes to Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL), the biggest state-run Indian buyer of Iranian crude, as supplies from the Persian Gulf state may be disrupted because of global sanctions. Mangalore, a unit of Oil and Natural Gas Corp., bought 650,000 barrels each of Oman and Banaco Arab Medium crude from Shell for loading next month, according to four traders who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The grades are similar to Mangalore’s imports from Iran, the traders said. Indian refiners may halt Iranian crude purchases as local insurers refuse to cover the risks for using the oil, P.P. Upadhya, the managing director at Mangalore, said March 8. The company, known as MRPL, has an contract to buy 5 million metric tons a year from the Islamic Republic... MRPL bought the Oman crude for loading from April 16 to April 30 at a premium of about $1.70 a barrel to Dubai crude on a cost and freight basis, the traders said...  MRPL may import 3.8 million tons of Iranian crude during the year ending March 31, down from its term contract for 5 million, Managing Director Upadhya said on Jan. 31. Shipments of 'even 3.8 million tons in the next financial year may be difficult,' he said." (Bloomberg, "MRPL Said to Buy Oil From Shell on Possible Iran Disruptions," 3/18/2013)

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"India is set to halt all crude imports from Iran because insurance companies in the country have said refineries processing the oil will no longer be covered due to Western sanctions, the head of refiner MRPL said on Friday. India is Iran's second-largest buyer, taking around a quarter of its oil exports worth around $1 billion a month. 'If cover is not available then all Indian refiners will have to halt imports from Iran or else they will have to take a huge risk,' P.P. Upadhya, managing director of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, told Reuters in a telephone interview. MRPL is India's biggest buyer of Iran crude. 'Insurance companies said if I buy Iranian crude my refinery's insurance cover will be canceled ... If we don't get insurance for the refinery then we will stop buying Iranian crude.' It was not immediately clear why this has become an issue now, several months after Europe and the U.S. introduced tough sanctions aimed at Iran's oil trade to force Tehran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. But in a letter in January seen by Reuters, the General Insurance Corp of India, the national reinsurer, told the General Insurance Council, an industry group, that it had 'dawned' on insurers that cover and losses on processing the crude would not be payable by reinsurers due to existing sanctions." (Reuters,"Exclusive: India set to halt Iran oil imports over insurance - MRPL," 3/8/13)

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"NITC has chartered the vessel the Omvati Prem, owned by Mumbai-based Indian shipper Mercator Ltd , and used it to carry an oil cargo that sailed from Iran in December for Indian refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd , the sources said. The deal included cost, insurance and freight (CIF), they said... Mercator was the only company to use the scheme. Before NITC chartered the Omvati Prem, MRPL had used the vessel -- which can carry about 635,000 barrels -- to import Iranian crude. MRPL is India's biggest buyer of Iranian crude and did not charter the vessel for this voyage due to commercial and technical reasons, one source said... 'Iran offered Mercator a better rate than MRPL, that's why they have taken the risk of joining hands with NITC,' another shipping source said... MRPL, India's shipping ministry, United India Insurance and The New Indian Assurance Co Ltd all declined to comment for the story." (Reuters, "Iran charters oil ship with Indian insurance: sources," 1/15/2013)

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"India's oil imports from Iran fell nearly 5 percent in August from July, tanker discharge data made available to Reuters showed on Thursday, in a third straight monthly drop that supports the country's case for renewal of a waiver from U.S. sanctions. Imports rose by about a fifth from a year ago, however, when Iran cut supplies to its second-biggest market as Indian firms had still not found a stable way to pay for oil after New Delhi ended a clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure in December 2010... One of Tehran's biggest Indian clients, MRPL, has not been able to import all its contracted volumes since July, when European sanctions banning shipping and insurance cover for Iranian vessels took effect." (Reuters, "India's Aug Iran imports fall 5 pct on mth; up 19 pct on yr-trade," 9/27/12)

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"India's oil imports from Iran fell by more than 40 percent in July from June and a year ago, as imports by Tehran's biggest local client MRPL were hit by a shortage of ships and insurance cover caused by European Union sanctions . . . In July Essar emerged as Iran's top Indian client replacing Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, which lifted only a fifth of planned Iran imports in July. MRPL is looking at alternatives to make up for the Iran shortfall . . . Essar's imports rose by a third in July to 154,400 bpd compared with June, the data showed, while MRPL's declined 86 percent to 22,200 bpd." (Reuters, "India cuts July Iran oil imports by over 40 pct y/y-trade data," 8/21/12)

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"State-run Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) has made its first payment for Iranian oil in rupees to partially settle its bill for a cargo imported in May, company officials said on Friday, a move that will help New Delhi fix its trade imbalance with Tehran. Another state refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, the biggest Indian buyer of Iranian oil, will make a rupee payment on Monday, a company official said . . . India has already won a waiver from tough new U.S. sanctions by cutting imports from Iran. But insurance and shipping difficulties caused by European Union sanctions that started in July are hurting imports from Iran, forcing MRPL to buy only a fifth of planned shipments from Tehran during the month . . . MRPL's first August cargo from Iran is already on its way to Mangalore Port in southern India in the Iranian vessel Gardenia while HPCL is seeking the shipping ministry's permission to lift a cargo from Tehran next week." (Reuters, "India HPCL begins rupee payment for Iran oil," 8/3/23)

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"India, the third-biggest buyer of Iranian oil, will offer state-backed insurance to tankers, helping the nation’s biggest sea carrier to resume cargoes from the Persian Gulf nation hit by international trade sanctions…The resumption of services will help Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL), India’s biggest buyer of Iranian crude, and other state processors secure supplies after European Union measures disrupted trade…Mangalore Refinery halted purchases from Iran after the sanctions made it impossible to get ships to carry the crude, Managing Director P.P. Upadhya said last week. That prompted the company to buy more of its requirements from the spot market where prices are typically higher." (Bloomberg, "Iran Oil Shipping To Resume As Insurers Step In," 8/2/12)

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"India has finally agreed to follow U.S. sanctions against Iran and recently banned at least four shipments of crude oil to the country.

India was allowing the local Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and some other state refineries to import Iranian crude oil on cost, insurance and freight  basis — wherein Tehran was to arrange for ships and insurance, and would receive no profit from the sale.  It was a loophole that New Delhi was apparently comfortable enough jumping through.

But within days, the government revoked the permission and MRPL, the nation’s largest importer of Iranian oil, could only land one out of four July shipments, The Economic Times of India reported on Friday…MRPL had in 2011-12 contracted 7.3 million tons of crude oil from Iran but imported only 6.2 million tons because India reduced its imports from Iran in order to get a waiver from U.S. sanctions. This year, it plans to import just 5 million tons.  Iran is the fourth largest oil supplier in India." (Forbes, "India Bans Iran Oil Tankers From Delivery," 7/27/12)

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"India's biggest buyer of Iranian oil, MRPL, has bought Azeri, Saudi and Emirati crude to replace imports from Iran in July and it may halt purchases from Tehran altogether as sanctions make shipments more difficult,industry sources said on Monday. Loss of exports to Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals(MRPL) would be a blow to Iran, which has seen overseas sales decline by more than half from a year ago due to U.S. and European Union sanctions. 'MRPL has initiated steps to halt its imports from Iran. It is facing problems on a daily basis ... government pressure, sanctions and the latest is Iran's threat to shut the Strait of Hormuz,' said one of the sources . . . The refiner has been forced to restrict its lifting from Iran to a fifth of the planned 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd)in July . . . MRPL has signed a two-month deal with Azerbaijan after shipments from Tehran were hit in July, besides buying an additional cargo each from its existing suppliers United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to offset Iranian supply cuts . . . MRPL's move highlights the gradual increase in share of non-Iranian supplies in the world's fourth-biggest oil importer's crude basket and the emergence of new trade routes as Tehran's exports decline. MRPL may import only one of its planned five Iran oil cargoes in July after its shippers Great Eastern Shipping Co.(GESCO) refused to carry Iranian crude and New Delhi scrapped an order permitting use of Iranian tankers and insurance." (Reuters, "India's top buyer of Iran oil turns to Azeri, Saudi," 7/16/12)

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"India's biggest buyer of Iranian oil may only import one-fifth of the 3.3 million barrels of crude it had scheduled for July due to insurance and shipping difficulties caused by European Union sanctions on Tehran, industry sources said.

The possible drop in imports by state-owned refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) underscores the problems the EU sanctions, which ban most of the world's major insurance firms from covering shipments of Iranian oil, have created for Iran's major Asian customers China, India and Japan since coming into effect on July 1.

Along with U.S. sanctions, the EU measures, which include an oil embargo, has so far halved Iran's year-on-year oil sales…India had initially allowed state-owned refiners to use Iranian tankers to ship oil purchases from Iran but swiftly backtracked to benefit its own shipping industry, stipulating that state-run oil firms must use Indian ships and allowing limited coverage by state-run insurers for Iranian cargoes. 

MPRL had planned to import five cargoes of 660,000 barrels each from Iran in July. The shipping ministry gave it approval to ship a single cargo on an Iranian tanker after the blanket approval was withdrawn, two industry sources said.

The company may not be able to transport any more cargoes as its shipping firm, the privately-owned Great Eastern Shipping Company (GESCO), is unwilling to carry Iranian crude due to the limited insurance cover.

'Iran had allocated two aframaxes to MRPL to ensure supply of at least four cargoes in July, but now the shipping ministry is not giving permission to buy on a CIF (delivered) basis and Great Eastern is still keeping MRPL in the dark,' said one of the sources.

'MRPL is talking to Great Eastern, but it looks unlikely that it will use its vessels for Iranian oil imports.'

MRPL has an annual shipping contract with GESCO. Indian insurers will only give shipping firms carrying Iranian oil $50 million per tanker in protection and indemnity cover, a fraction of the typical $1 billion in insurance that Western firms provide for a very large crude carrier…MRPL's first July cargo from Iran is in the NITC (National Iranian Tanker Company) aframax Magnolia, which is scheduled to reach New Mangalore Port next week, one of the sources said." (Reuters, "India's main Iran oil buyer may cut July imports," 6/12/12)

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"India has given state-run insurers approval to provide limited cover to its ships transporting Iran's oil, allowing refiners to avoid any interruption in supplies because of the constraints of an Iranian fleet struggling with tough Western sanctions . . . India has already cut its Iranian oil purchases by more than a fifth, enough to win a waiver from separate U.S. sanctions, and is expected to load around 300,000 barrels per day this month. But NITC has few of the vessels of the size needed to meet the requirements of at least one Indian refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd." (Reuters, "India insures Iran oil imports to safeguard flow -sources," 7/10/12)

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"The Shipping Ministry has said it has 'no objection' to refiners buying oil from Iran on a delivered basis 'for 6 months with effect from July 1, 2012 or until GIC provides P&I/H&M (Hull and Machinery) cover or U.S., EU sanctions are lifted; whichever occurs earlier,' said a source privy to the letter . . . Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) had already switched to insuring the oil with Iran Insurance Company, as its policy lapsed and local insurance companies refused to extend the cover, wary of the sanctions." (Reuters, "Exclusive: India allows use of Iran ships for oil imports," 6/25/12)

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"Indian refiners cut imports from Iran by 38 percent in May from a year ago, tanker discharge data showed, in a second month of steep reductions as they switch suppliers to cushion the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Tehran . . . MRPL nearly halved annual imports from Iran in January-May to about 80,800 bpd. It bought about 52 percent less oil in May from Iran compared with April at 43,000 bpd, the data showed, due to a full shutdown of its refinery during the month . . . MRPL has reduced the size of its [annual deal with Iran] to 100,000 bpd compared with 142,000 bpd in 2011/12." (Reuters, "India cuts May Iran oil imports 38 pct-trade" 6/7/12)

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"Indian refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd plans to cut its crude purchases from sanctions-hit Iran to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the current fiscal year, its managing director said on Wednesday." (Financial Times, "MRPL to cut Iran oil imports to 100,000 bpd: Executive," 5/24/2012)

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"Indian refiner MRPL secured coverage from an Iranian insurer for a crude cargo that arrived last week, becoming the first Indian firm known to have taken such action as Western sanctions tighten, sources with knowledge of the matter said... Indian insurers denied coverage to Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals for fear the action could fall foul of a pending European oil embargo against Iran... But an Iranian insurer provided cover for MRPL's crude cargo of about 7 07,500 barrels that arrived at India's Mangalore Port last week, the sources said... '(MRPL) recently got a cargo insured by an Iranian firm and other cargoes can also be insured from Iran. The company will do that on a case-by-case basis,' said one of the sources... Another source said MRPL might continue to get Iranian insurance cover for oil imports from Tehran. 'As long as we can avail of Iranian cover we will continue to import cargoes on that basis,' the source said. MRPL is a major Indian buyer of Iranian oil and its insurance policy with New India Assurance Co Ltd for cargoes lapsed this month. State-run insurers were willing to extend cover for crude cargoes except those from Iran under MRPL's new policy, another source said, forcing the refiner to approach Iran. MRPL and other oil firms buy insurance to protect their crude cargo, while ship owners usually arrange cover for the ship and any liability from an oil spill or personal injury... MRPL is buying oil on a free-on-board (FOB) basis with insurance covered by the Iranian firm. MRPL has cut to 100,000 bpd its annual crude import deal with Iran for this fiscal year, about 30 percent lower than last year, the first source said, adding the actual off-take could be less. Some units at MRPL's 300,000 bpd refinery in southern India are shut for maintenance, leading to reduced purchases of Iranian oil in May and June, this source said, adding it bought 124,000 bpd from Iran in 2011/12 versus a deal of 142,000 bpd." (Reuters, "Indian refiner MRPL turns to Iran for oil insurance -sources," 5/21/2012)

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"Iran is poised to lose at least 192,000 barrels a day of crude-supply contracts, or about 9.5 percent of its global exports, as Asian buyers curb purchases amid western sanctions targeting the nation's oil trade. Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) and Essar Oil Ltd., India's biggest buyers of Iranian crude, and China International United Petroleum & Chemical Co. have reduced or plan to cut purchases from the Islamic Republic by as much as 15 percent. China and India are Iran's largest customers. In Japan, the only Asian country to get an exemption from U.S. sanctions after it demonstrated reductions in purchases, Cosmo Oil Co. plans to cut imports by 25 percent, while JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. suspended talks with the Persian Gulf nation over a 10,000 barrel-a-day contract." (Bloomberg, "Iran May Lose 9.5% of Oil Contracts as Asian Buyers Cut Imports," 5/3/12)

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"India's top two importers of crude oil from Iran will reduce shipments from the Persian Gulf nation by at least 15% this financial year, the latest sign that New Delhi is playing ball with Washington's efforts to shut-down Iran oil trade despite public pronouncement from Indian officials that they will continue to buy from Tehran. The government has asked state-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. and Essar Oil Ltd., a private company, to cut their imports in the year through March 2013 due to demands from the U.S., said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. 'Definitely, there is a lot of pressure from the U.S.,' one of the people said. A spokesman for India's oil ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment." (WSJ, "Under U.S Pressure, India to Cut Iran Imports," 5/2/12)

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"State-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd has raised further the size of its annual crude import deal with Saudi Arabia by nearly 17 percent, sources said, to make up for planned lower imports from Iran. The Indian refiner, which had almost doubled its Saudi deal from January to 42,000 barrels per day (bpd) will now get an average 49,000 bpd this year, said the sources. MRPL, Iran's biggest Indian oil client, plans to cut its imports from Iran to 80,000-100,000 bpd in 2012/13 (March-April) from 142,000 bpd the previous year, sources had earlier told Reuters." (Reuters, "India MRPL raises Saudi import deal to 49,000 bdp-sources," 4/17/12)

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"Historically, Iran's biggest Indian oil client was Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), which bought 110,000 in the first quarter, down from 162,0000 bpd in 2011, the data showed." (Reuters, "India replaces China as Iran's top oil client," 4/13/2012)

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"Another refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), has begun making contingencies, however, and has floated four tenders for supplies in the short-term from other sources.

MRPL is India's biggest buyer of Iranian crude, with more than half its supply coming from the Islamic republic." (AFP, "Indian oil giant optimistic over Iran supply," 1/6/11)

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"State-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd will reduce term crude imports from Iran by about 8.5 percent to 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the 2010/11 fiscal year that began on April 1, a senior company official said on Monday.  MRPL is India's top importer of Iranian crude and buys Iran Mix and Iran Heavy varieties." (Reuters, MRPL trims '10/11 crude import deal with Iran, 4/5/2010)