Register

Peak Oil is You


Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)

Donate Bitcoin



Donate Paypal

Page added on July 3, 2018

Bookmark and Share

India Folds Under Pressure, Halts Iranian Oil Imports

Public Policy

In more dour news for Iran, India (the world’s fourth largest oil importer) is planning to cut oil imports from the embattled OPEC member. India’s oil ministry has asked refiners to prepare for a ‘drastic reduction or zero’ imports of Iranian oil from November, Reuters said on Thursday, citing two industry sources.

The news comes as Tehran remains defiant over impending U.S. sanctions renewal and just days after India indicated it would push back against pressure from Washington to halt Iranian oil imports, stating that it did not recognize sanctions the U.S. has threatened to impose on countries that continue to buy Iranian oil after November 4.

“India does not recognize unilateral sanctions, but only sanctions by the United Nations,” Sunjay Sudhir, joint secretary for international cooperation at India’s petroleum ministry, told CNN earlier when asked whether India would reduce oil imports from Iran. After China, India is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil.

President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. would level sanctions on countries that not did not cut Iranian oil imports.

Though India made an initial defiant stand, it simply can’t afford to alienate Washington since it has to safeguard its exposure to the U.S. financial system, a powerful tool that the U.S. can wield as it pleases since the dollar is the world’s reserve currency. This allows Washington to level crippling sanctions on a wide range of countries all the way from Russia to Venezuela to Iran and anybody else that any sitting U.S. president sees fit to punish.

This economic weapon is also why Beijing is working feverishly to supplement or replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. In September, John Hardy, the head of FX strategy at Saxo Bank said China was “eyeing the benefits of having its own currency play a larger role and to supplant the USD’s role in global trade. The initial focus is on the global oil trade, where it has announced the intention of buying oil in yuan and allowing trade partners to settle that yuan in gold.” He added that settling in gold is a clever move by Beijing as it provides oil-exporting countries with a greater degree of comfort.

Scouting for oil supply alternatives

One of the Reuters sources on Thursday added that India’s oil ministry had held a meeting with refiners that day, urging them to scout for alternatives to Iranian oil. “(India) has asked refiners to be prepared for any eventuality, since the situation is still evolving. There could be drastic reduction or there could be no import at all,” said another source.

All of this first perfectly into the revamped U.S.-Saudi playbook over both global oil markets and geopolitics in the Middle East. Though Trump took a hard line against the Saudis during the 2016 presidential campaign, even calling for a halt to all Saudi oil imports to the U.S., as president he has become more pragmatic, working with Riyadh on a wide range of issues as the Saudis jockey for geopolitical hegemony over Iran in the Middle East.

Trump tweets impacts global oil

Trump, for his part, delighted the Saudis when he announced that sanctions would be reactivated against Iran, while the Saudis have seemingly become docile as Trump uses Twitter as the presidential bully pulpit to pressure OPEC to keep prices from spiraling out of control and hurting the U.S. economy ahead of the November mid-term congressional elections. All 435 seats in the House and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. The outcome of the election could largely dictate how the second half of Trump’s four-year term unfolds.

Trump said in another tweet on Saturday that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had agreed to his request to increase oil production “maybe up to 2,000,000 barrels” to offset production from Iran and Venezuela.

“Just spoke to King Salman of Saudi Arabia and explained to him that, because of the turmoil & disfunction in Iran and Venezuela, I am asking that Saudi Arabia increase oil production, maybe up to 2,000,000 barrels, to make up the difference … Prices to high! He has agreed!” Trump tweeted.

Some U.S. sanctions against Iran take effect after a 90-day “wind-down” period ending on August 6, and the rest, notably in the petroleum sector, following a 180-day “wind-down period” ending on November 4.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com



73 Comments on "India Folds Under Pressure, Halts Iranian Oil Imports"

  1. JuanP on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 7:40 am 

    This, unfortunately, was to be expected. I am very curious to see how the US sanctions against Iran play out. I expect the USA to bully others brutally to comply. Buyers intending to resist the USA will have to be willing to resist the USA all the way, and there are very few countries that are strong and independent enough. Will the Chinese or the Russians pick up the slack?

  2. deadly on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:24 am 

    Prices to high! – Donald Trump

    Does that mean to infinity and beyond, Donald?

    Quit being such an idiot, you idiot.

    What difference does it make to Donald Trump, he has eight billion dollars.

    He flies around in Air Force One, not drive a ’95 Ford pickup truck.

    Trump is concerned about the average ordinary clueless deplorable on the street?

    Apparently not.

  3. fmr-paultard on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:25 am 

    Juantard, the view from the damp, unsanitary, and unhygentic boat is not good is it? how’s sex with your unwashed lady?

    i’m a former paultard and my supertards love me and give me safe electricity and indoor plumbing. you chose not to enjoy those conveniences and live in a boat. we need to pass a law to ban living in boats.

    that said while you fake peaceniks have always itchy to use force, our supertards have worked tiredlessly to have soft pressure in order to avoid hot wars. you leftists have lost the soft war and have no soft war powa. our supertards are the only one who can wield that.

    when are you leaving my country that supertards built for me to enjoy. i worship our supertards because i’m humble and thankful. supertard ((richard stallman)) was fighting for intardweb freedom before anyone knows why freedom matters. today we have supertards everywhere (rock, davy, alice, boat) (swt, pbuh/her).

    we’ll be fine.

  4. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:44 am 

    Iran has always been the ultimate target for Middle Eastern destabilization. The Dome on the Rock in Israel’s new capitol Jerusalem, must be destroyed before the Temple can be rebuilt.

    For it is written.

  5. fmr-paultard on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:57 am 

    greg, thanks you’re very illuminating. no doubt your enlightenment is through sex session with PhD gf. did she reveal any desire to go live in Tehran and don the bag?

  6. fmr-paultard on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:58 am 

    hey guys just thinking out loud about the curious case of janet jackson. very lively lovely woman who donned the bag then got rid of it.

  7. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:59 am 

    “i’m a former paultard and my supertards love me and give me safe electricity and indoor plumbing.”

    The last thing that ‘The Supertards’ care about, is your standard of living. They are not in love with their cattle.

  8. print baby print on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 9:11 am 

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/libya-stops-pumping-oil-143000211.html
    Oil down 5% hahahhahah
    India must get oil from somwhere we will se from where it will get it

  9. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 9:13 am 

    Christians and Jews now Compare Trump to Persian King Cyrus – Will He Build The Third Temple?

    Like Cyrus 2500 years ago, Trump is seen as an instrument of God. And the plan: to build the third temple on the Temple Mount – where the Al-Aqsa Mosque currently stands.

    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/trump-s-compared-to-persian-king-cyrus-will-he-build-the-third-temple-1.5628538

  10. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 10:34 am 

    Greg

    Paultard is a bot..Geez you are a moron..

  11. JuanP on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 10:37 am 

    Tard “when are you leaving my country”
    Assuming that was a question, I will leave your country the day you learn how to write properly in your own language or when I feel like it. I really love that my being here pisses off the exceptionalist personalities; it definitely makes my stay more enjoyable and fun. I couldn’t buy this kind of entertainment; truly, the best things in life are free!

  12. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 11:03 am 

    “Paultard is a bot..Geez you are a moron..”

    Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

    Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/your-online-secrets/201409/internet-trolls-are-narcissists-psychopaths-and-sadists

  13. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 11:17 am 

    Indianapolis church locks up Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus to condemn immigration policy

    https://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/indianapolis/indianapolis-church-locks-up-mary-joseph-baby-jesus-to-condemn-immigration-policy

  14. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 11:18 am 

    Greg

    You are the PC police of peakoildotcom..Anything that isn’t PC and you will be slandered a troll..

    LOL

  15. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 11:35 am 

    Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.

  16. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 11:39 am 

    The collapse will be like the movie “The Purge”..No laws, anything goes, murder, rape, robbery, everything..

  17. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 11:47 am 

    The collapse will mean many different things, for different people. For some it will even mean greater opportunity, as it always has.

  18. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 12:23 pm 

    Many will simply off themselves, just as they always do.

    Only the strong survive.

  19. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 12:28 pm 

    Greg

    Go get em Tiger!

  20. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 12:38 pm 

    “Go get em Tiger!”

    Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.

  21. print baby print on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 3:36 pm 

    WHAT DID i SAY HAHAHa
    Business
    Oil down, retreats from three-and-a-half-year high ahead of U.S. holiday
    Reuters Reuters 3 hours ago

  22. twocats on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 3:39 pm 

    I don’t know as MM qualifies as a troll since he’s pretty much in agreement with PO dynamics and general collapse of civilization that and other factors entail (climate change, water shortages). He’s not always completely on topic – and might throw the semi-frequent barb to ruffle people’s feathers – but there’s a lot of people in and around PO blogs that are basically saying shit like “well, when PO finally sets in around 2023 it will take maybe 30 or 40 years to transition to EVs. We might have some rough patches in there.” I mean stuff that is absolutely incredulous. Given the circumstances MM could appear quite calm.

  23. twocats on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 3:44 pm 

    Oil prices are UP on a monthly, 3 month, and 6 month, and annual basis. what’s all this “oil price down” BS. WTI Oil topped $75 for the first time since 2014.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/03/oil-libya-declares-force-majeure-on-supplies-demand-slowdown-looms.html

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-end-higher-with-a-weekly-data-expected-to-show-a-fall-in-us-crude-supplies-2018-07-03

    https://jalopnik.com/u-s-oil-prices-are-at-their-highest-since-2014-1827316600

    in addition, the algorithms like momentum. anything that is going up tends to go up, and vice-versa.

  24. twocats on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 3:48 pm 

    the link you refer to:

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-down-retreats-from-three-and-a-half-year-high-ahead-of-u-s-holiday-idUSKBN1JT035

    has a pretty ironic headline:

    “Oil settles higher in volatile pre-holiday session”

    so it went down, after hitting a new high, and recovered most of that downward movement.

    down on the upside – soundgarden had it right all this time!! cracking up over here.

  25. twocats on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 3:56 pm 

    the drop probably came from this:

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/saudi-agrees-demand-pump-oil-180703133150335.html

    but this is just jawboning in the other direction than what OPEC and SA were doing in 2014. In 2014 they talked CUTS CUTS CUTS for months, maybe years, before actually implementing cuts. This kept prices slightly more elevated at times.

    Now its PUMP PUMP PUMP to try and lower prices artificially.

    but once the computers read the article more carefully and saw “readiness to pump” and “OPEC… already agreed to ramp up production” In other words – no news.

  26. JuanP on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 4:18 pm 

    So, apparently, India has folded. I expect Korean, Japanese, and European companies to be forced into involuntary compliance by the USA, too. The Chinese and Russians will not yield. My biggest uncertainty is what will Turkey do. Iran will smuggle the rest of its oil out like it did before. I expect the unilateral US sanctions to eventually reduce Iran’s exports by no more than 1 mbpd and to increase prices significantly. There are very serious current and prospective supply problems in Venezuela, Lybia, and Iran. I expect exports from these countries to continue declining in the short term future. Can KSA, UAE, and Kuwait replace all that? I think that would take everything they’ve got, and could only be temporary.

  27. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 4:32 pm 

    Society will collapse by 2040 due to catastrophic food shortages, says study

    https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/society-will-collapse-by-2040-due-to-catastrophic-food-shortages-says-study-10336406.html

  28. Cloggie on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 4:37 pm 

    “Society will collapse by 2040 due to catastrophic food shortages, says study”

    2040? Really? Make that 2025 or whenever the manage to take out Trump.

    https://caffeinephilosophy.wordpress.com/2018/07/02/on-the-coming-civil-war/

  29. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 4:47 pm 

    Clogg

    Your region is in the same boat..You can run but you can’t hide from the upcoming collapse.

  30. Duncan Idaho on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 5:15 pm 

    People like to tiptoe around the abysmal ignorance of americans, rural or otherwise.

  31. Boat on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 5:38 pm 

    JaunP

    I get a kick out of your choice for prez. Yes you were a Trump boy. Look at ya now. Lol. Good luck Iran. Tell me again how bad Hillary would have been.

  32. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 5:44 pm 

    Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate..

    -C.G Jung

  33. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:02 pm 

    “People like to tiptoe around the abysmal ignorance of americans, rural or otherwise.”

    Some of us like to point it out, with flashing neon lights and sirens, if possible. LOL

  34. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:04 pm 

    Boat

    I agree..Trump is showing his true colors now that he is a deep state lap dog..He has turned into a raging globalist neocon wanting regime change in Iran..If he starts war with Iran that would five wars started by the last three republican presidents. (4 middle east and one trade war)..They are growing exceptionally.

  35. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:05 pm 

    Madkat

    Blowing someone’s candle out doesn’t make your shine any brighter..

  36. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:09 pm 

    Boat, had Billary won, the Us would e a nuclear wasteland by now, or at least in WW3.

  37. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:13 pm 

    MM, telling someone the truth doesn’t hurt them, it only opens their eyes and, hopefully, their mind. The future belongs to the strong. Being stupid is no excuse.

  38. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:21 pm 

    Juan, India is straddling the fence between the Us and Russia. I expect Russia to win. The world has gotten its fill of Us bullying.

    Trump is breaking every agreement and international law that he can and fast. Something has got to give and I suspect it will be the Us that crumbles.

  39. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 6:27 pm 

    Madkat

    How would an elderly man who wears a diaper know what the world is sick of?

  40. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 7:06 pm 

    MM, I don’t know. When I find “an elderly man who wears a diaper” I’ll ask him. I don’t know anyone that wears diapers and is over two years old. LOL

  41. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:11 pm 

    “Society will collapse by 2040 due to catastrophic food shortages, says study”

    Poor MM. No reason to commit suicide until he’s in his early 50s.

    What’s a poor suicidal psychopath to do, for 22 more years?

  42. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:16 pm 

    MM’s mom will be collecting SS and his girlfriend will be in menopause. I doubt that his “savings” will last 22 years. lol

  43. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:30 pm 

    Greg we both know its not likely we make it that long..And if you want to die by starvation of conflict via robbed, murdered, eaten.. Knock yourself out..

    live free or die!

  44. GregT on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:34 pm 

    Yah Makati,

    What kind of a “man”, a mere decade beyond his prime, spends all of his waking hours trolling the internet, while sponging off of women.

    A real winner this guy is, for sure.

    LOL

  45. Makati1 on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:41 pm 

    I wonder what the American pioneers would have thought about someone like MM? Wuss? Wimp? Coward? Millions put their lives on the line to improve their lives and settle the West. Men, women and children.

    Those are the kind that will survive and thrive after the collapse. I plan to be one of them. Obviously MM doesbn’t. Jello has more backbone than MM. LOL

  46. Boat on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:45 pm 

    Mak

    Keep up with world affairs. It’s India and China in conflict. So Russia sells missile defense systems to India and the US goes on boating expeditions with India in the China Sea. Is China happy?

  47. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:54 pm 

    Financial catastrophe resulting from resource depletion and a debasement of value of fiat currencies. Then a 12-month window of tyranny and government lockdown on citizens, followed by a 6-month window of absolute carnage and death. Then, a period of about 6 months of slow die-off and that’s pretty much that. Oh, and starting sometime within the next 5 years or so…

    https://imgur.com/a/pYxKa
    https://imgur.com/a/rBtIrfg

  48. Boat on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:55 pm 

    Mak

    Does it boil your German blood to know Israel is the 7th largest weapons producer in the world and most of it goes to India? Yes, to counter China.

  49. Boat on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 8:58 pm 

    Mm

    Didn’t you just post 2040? Maybe like two dudes on reefer make it to 2040.

  50. MASTERMIND on Tue, 3rd Jul 2018 9:09 pm 

    Madkat is German? No wonder he is so callus..Those Germans are an ugly and smug bunch..

1 2

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *