NEW DELHI, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- New Delhi said it may want to pay for Iranian crude oil in its national currency out of fear sanctions pressure would hurt its energy sector, an official said.
New Delhi is paying about $1 billion per month through Turkish channels for the estimated 370,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude, a major oil supplier to India and the world's fourth-largest oil producer.
Western pressure on Tehran exerted as punishment for a controversial nuclear program targets banking channels Iran uses to process oil payments. India, an official told the Economic Times of India on condition of anonymity, wants Iran to open an account in India to help facilitate oil payments.
"There are chances that Turkey may come under pressure after a fresh round of U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran," the official said.
The Reserve Bank of India in 2010 expressed reservations about Iranian transactions. Russian officials last month said they didn't want to process the transactions because of the "complexities" involved, the Times notes.
New Delhi had been processing Iranian crude oil payments through banks in Turkey, a key U.S. ally in the region. Authorities in India said, however, they didn't fear a major crisis unless Iran decided to close shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, something Iran has never done.
