India has reportedly purchased its first liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cargo from Iran in six years after United States President Donald Trump announced a 30-day waiver on sanctions to keep the flow of oil and gas intact and their prices in check.
According to a report by Reuters, citing data from LSEG, the tanker, Aurora, was originally heading to China but rerouted to India.
The tanker is expected to arrive at the west coast port of Mangalore. Moreover, New Delhi is also considering purchasing additional shipments of LPG to ease the domestic pressure, triggered by the West Asia crisis and the Strait of Hormuz's effective closure.
India stopped its imports from Tehran in 2019 after the United States imposed sanctions on Iranian oil and gas. The development could help India avert the crisis in the strait. Although Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi clarified that the crucial chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman remains open for India, buying an Iranian shipment could ensure India's energy security in the region.
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The LPG from Aurora is said to be distributed among three state-run retailers, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).
However, there was no official word on the shipment. In fact, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the federal shipping ministry, on Wednesday, said, "(There are) no loaded cargoes from Iran, we have not heard of that".
So far, India has managed to get four tankers - Jag Vasant, Pine Gas, Shivalik and Nanda Devi - transit through the volatile Strait of Hormuz. India has also started loading the empty vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf