Indian Oil buys US crude to part replace Iran cargoes

Indian Oil Corp has bought 6 million barrels of US crude for delivery in November to January, a company official said, as the nation's top refiner scouts for alternatives to Iranian oil ahead of impending US sanctions.

This was the company's first purchase through a mini-term tender to buy US oil, IOC's Director of Finance A.K. Sharma said on Wednesday.

IOC will buy 2 million barrels of Mars oil in November, a combination cargo containing 1 million barrels each of Eagle Ford and Mars in December and 2 million barrels of Louisiana Light Sweet (LLS) in January, Sharma said.

Sharma did not identify the sellers or the price.

India has asked refiners to prepare for a drastic cut or even zero imports from Iran after the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and announced a renewal of sanctions on Tehran.

While some sanctions started from Aug. 6, others, most notably in the petroleum sector, will be applied from Nov. 4.