India today paid USD 400 million to Iran, taking the total oil payments made to the Persian Gulf nation towards past dues to USD 1.3 billion.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, the nation's largest buyer in the public sector, paid USD 154 million (about Rs 950 crore), while private sector Essar Oil paid about USD 201 million, industry sources said.
Of the reminder amount, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) paid USD 42 million and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) USD 3 million.
The payments made today were in addition to USD 500 million sent out on November 5 and USD 400 million India paid on October 21.
The USD 1.3 billion payment last one month is on top of USD 1.65 billion the refiners had paid in June/July. Cumulatively, refiners owe about USD 6 billion to Iran in past oil dues.
Sources said the payments since October were part of an international deal that allowed Iran access to USD 2.8 billion in dues from oil buyers, in addition to USD 4.2 billion paid between January and July.
On November 5, MRPL had paid about USD 217 million while almost an equal amount was paid by private sector Essar Oil.
In the first instalment on October 21, MRPL had paid about USD 183 million, Essar Oil USD 172 million, IOC USD 41 million and HPCL USD 4 million.
The United States and five other world powers had in July granted Iran access to USD 2.8 billion of its funds held in foreign banks. This was in addition to USD 4.2 billion Iran had received between January and July.
Of the USD 2.8 billion, about half was to come from India, sources said.
Iran and the United States, China, France, Germany, UK and Russia had in July agreed to extend a six-month interim accord until November 24 pending a long-term deal to end their nuclear dispute.
Sources said USD 1.3 billion had to flow out before November 24.
Indian refiners had paid the previous USD 1.65 billion in three equal instalments of USD 550 million each - first on June 26, second on July 8 and third on July 24.
Since February 2013, when the US blocked payment channels to Iran for its nuclear programme, India has been paying 45 per cent of its Iran oil bill in rupees through a UCO Bank branch in Kolkata. For the remainder, it had been waiting for a way to make the payment.
Since July 2011, India had been paying in euros for 55 per cent of its purchases of Iranian oil through Ankara-based Halkbank. The remaining 45 per cent was remitted in rupees through UCO Bank.
The euro payments ceased from February 6, 2013, but the portion of rupee payments continued through Uco Bank.
