India: It is Still Too Early to Predict the Impact of Sanctions on Oil Imports from Iran

India's oil minister expressed concern over rising oil prices but stated that it is still too early to predict the impact of U.S. sanctions on India's oil imports from Iran. Dharmendra Pradhan, who is visiting the United Arab Emirates, told Reuters on Saturday, May 11, that "these types of geopolitical tensions affect both consumer and producer countries. We must deal with the realities and current geopolitical conditions." Last Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran and announced that he would reinstate nuclear sanctions against the OPEC member. The nuclear agreement had led to the lifting of sanctions related to Tehran's nuclear program. Meanwhile, oil prices have recently been on the rise, reaching their highest levels in recent years, although on Friday, Brent crude was traded at $77.12 per barrel, which is 35 cents lower than the previous day's price. The Indian oil minister stated that he does not have much concern about the impact of rising oil prices on consumer countries and does not believe that oil reserves will become an issue. He said, "Let's see how the situation develops. It is still too early to predict. We are closely monitoring the situation." Iran is the third-largest oil producer in OPEC. Since the lifting of sanctions in 2016, Iran has increased its oil production, reaching 3.81 million barrels per day in March 2018. Experts believe that following Washington's announcement to withdraw from the JCPOA, Iran's oil production may decrease by about 200,000 barrels per day, although the situation will depend on the policies of other countries involved in the nuclear agreement. India has averaged about 500,000 barrels of oil purchased from Iran daily this year.