00:20India is quietly rewriting the rules of global oil trade.
00:24For the first time in years, Indian refiners are buying Iranian crude,
00:28but not in dollars. Instead, payments are being routed in Chinese yuan through ICICI Bank's
00:36Shanghai branch, sidestepping traditional financial channels shaped by U.S. sanctions.
00:41This shift comes after Washington introduced a temporary 30-day sanctions waiver, allowing
00:47countries to purchase Iranian and Russian oil in an effort to stabilize global prices amid rising
00:53geopolitical tensions. Taking advantage of that brief window, state-run Indian Oil Corporation
00:59secured around 2 million barrels of Iranian crude, a deal valued at roughly $200 million.
01:07It marked India's first Iranian oil purchase in nearly seven years. At the same time,
01:13Reliance Industries also moved quickly, with multiple shipments of Iranian oil arriving at Indian ports.
01:19But it's not just the purchases that stand out. It's how these deals are being structured.
01:25Sources say payments are being made as soon as the oil tanker enters Indian waters,
01:30based on a notice of readiness. That means up to 95% of the cargo value is paid even before
01:37delivery
01:37is completed, a highly unusual practice, especially when dealing with sanctioned oil. Traditionally,
01:44Indian refiners settle such payments only after the oil is fully discharged. So why the change?
01:51Longstanding sanctions on Iran have made dollar transactions difficult, forcing buyers and sellers
01:56to find alternative routes. And this isn't entirely new for India. The country has already used Yuan for
02:03some of its Russian oil purchases since Western sanctions reshaped global energy flows after the Ukraine war.
02:10But extending that approach to Iranian oil signals something bigger. It reflects a gradual shift
02:16away from dollar-dominated trade systems, at least in sensitive, high-risk markets. Still,
02:22this window may be closing fast. US officials have made it clear the sanctions waiver will not be extended,
02:29with the exemption on Iranian oil set to expire soon. Indian oil is not expected to make further
02:35purchases once the waiver ends, which means these deals may remain rare and short-lived. But their
02:41significance goes beyond volume, and quietly reshaping the rules of global trade.
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