After cutting crude oil imports from Iran, India said on Monday that it plans to keep shipments from the West-Asian nation, which is facing the US sanctions, at around current levels.
“We are neither trying to reduce nor increase imports from Iran,” petroleum and natural gas minister S Jaipal Reddy said at Petrotech 2012 Conference.
Iran, which till 2010-11 was India’s second biggest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, has now been relegated to the fourth place. Saudi Arabia supplied 32.6 million tonnes in 2011-12, Iraq 24.5 million tonnes, Kuwait 17.7 million tonnes and Iran sold 17.1 million tonnes.
Listing out concerns regarding energy security for India, the petroleum minister said: “For India, energy security is a truly central issue. India is likely to emerge as one of the top 3rd or 4th importers in the world, of all energy forms — oil, coal, gas and uranium.”