Reliance forced to halt exports of petrol to Iran: reports

Reliance Industries (RIL), which won a contract to supply up to 50,000 barrels of petrol per day to Iran until the end of this year, is reported to have temporarily halted exports to that country.

RIL, India's largest private sector oil company, is believed to have stopped petroleum exports to Iran under pressure from the United States.

US lawmakers in April introduced a bill that seeks to ban companies involved in the Iranian energy sector from doing business in the United States. 

The US authorities also called on the Export-Import Bank of the United States to suspend its $900 million assistance package to Reliance.

RIL, which won a contract from state-owned National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) to supply 95-octane gasoline or petrol, is expected to have shipped a few cargoes under the contract.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, lacks refining capacity to meet domestic demand. Iranian imported an average 120,000-140,000 barrels a day of gasoline in May and June.

Some US senators had proposed giving president Barack Obama the authority to impose sanctions against companies supplying gasoline to Iran.

The US also played a role in New Delhi's decision to exit the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.