Iran receives $100 million in oil payments from India

Iran has received $100 million in payments from an Indian refiner through Union Bank of India Ltd. and Istanbul-based Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, the Press Trust of India reported, citing unidentified sources. Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) deposited an equivalent of $100 million in a rupee account in the New Delhi branch of Union Bank, which routed an equivalent amount of euros to the Turkish state-owned bank, according to the report. Halkbank, as the Turkish lender is called, transferred the money to the account of National Iranian Oil Co., PTI said. Other refiners such as Essar Oil Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. will also make payments through the banks, the report said. Several refiners in India, seeking to end an impasse over payments for Iranian crude, have opened accounts with state-owned Union Bank of India Ltd. to route money through a lender in Turkey, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on July 29. India owes $5 billion for crude, Iranian central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani said July 18. Iran is the second-largest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia.