Iran says India, China driving forces in world energy markets

Tehran: India and China are responsible for the momentum in the global crude oil market, says a top Iranian oil official, and his country will be focusing its energies in cultivating both these nations.

Describing India and China as driving forces in world energy markets, Mohsen Ghamsari, a director at the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC), said, "So we should allocate a larger portion of our exports to the two countries, while preserving the Asian and European markets."

He was speaking to Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Ghamsari said New Delhi was getting 400,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran per day. Both sides, however, have faced payment issues because of economic sanctions imposed on Iran.

The NIOC had said there were no problems with selling crude oil to India "except cash transfer limitations," IRNA added.

There is considerable speculation about China's growth momentum, with Beijing importing less crude in recent months. According to a report in The Independent, a London newspaper, Chinese oil imports for June were 11.5 per cent less than the same time last year.

(See: India, Iran crude payments row: Riyadh fishing in troubled waters )