Govt slashes down claims: No Iranian oil diversion, says 'factually incorrect'

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The central government on Saturday dismissed reports and social media claims that Iranian crude oil was diverted from Vadinar, India, to China due to payment issues. The government termed these claims as "factually incorrect" and misleading.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas clarified that recent reports that India had lost a consignment of oil from Iran due to payment issues are completely false.

The government said India imports crude oil from more than 40 countries and oil companies have complete freedom to purchase oil from any supplier as per their business needs.

"Reports and social media posts about a cargo of Iranian crude oil being diverted to China from India's Vadinar port due to 'payment related issues' are factually incorrect," the ministry said in a post on X.

The post further said, “India imports crude oil from over 40 countries, with companies having complete freedom to source oil from different sources and geographies based on business considerations.”

The clarification comes after reports claimed that a tanker banned under US sanctions, named 'Ping Shun', carrying Iranian crude oil, changed its course from Vadinar in Gujarat to Dongying in China.

According to ship tracking data, the ship was initially headed towards India but later changed its destination, leading to speculation that this was due to payment issues.

Some market analysts had also said that stricter payment terms could be the reason for this change.

However, the government rejected these claims, saying there were no payment-related hurdles in oil imports from Iran and such reports were misleading.

The ministry also assured that despite the ongoing supply crisis in the Middle East, Indian refineries have already secured their crude oil requirements for the coming months, including supplies from Iran.

"The ship's rerouting is being misrepresented without understanding the nature of the oil trade. Bills of landing often indicate the intended destination, and ships at sea may change their destination due to commercial and operational reasons," the ministry said.

On various reports regarding LPG supply, the government also said that those reports were wrong.

The government confirmed that the LPG vessel named 'Sea Bird', which was carrying around 44 thousand metric tonnes of Iranian LPG, reached Mangalore on April 2 and is currently unloading its cargo.