India Reliance says continues to buy Iran crude

Reuters: India's Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest oil refining complex, on Friday said it continues to source crude from Iran after a company official said this week it had stopped oil links with the Islamic Republic. NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (Reuters) – India's Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest oil refining complex, on Friday said it continues to source crude from Iran after a company official said this week it had stopped oil links with the Islamic Republic.

"Reliance continues to import crude oil from Iran," a company spokesman said.

Reliance's senior vice-president Maurice Bannayan on Wednesday told Reuters his firm had stopped buying crude oil from Iran and was looking for cheap oil from Venezuela and other countries.

The company spokesman said Reliance considered technical suitability and relative commercial competitiveness of various grades while sourcing crude.

"Supplies from Iran will continue to be part of such crude sourcing strategy of Reliance Industries," he said.

Last December, Reliance commissioned its new 580,000 bpd refinery, next to its old 660,00 bpd plant at Jamnagar in western Gujarat state. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by James Jukwey)