Context
According to reports in the Indian media, Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to Indian consortium, OGNC Videsh, to sign the contract for developing gas fields in the Persian Gulf. These fields were discovered in 2006. The Oil India Ltd. and refiner-marketer Indian Oil Corporation had promised in 2011 to develop the offshore fields with an investment of $5 billion.
The delay has been attributed to western threat of black listing India under the 1996 Iran-Libya sanctions. The sanctions banned any entity from investing more than $20 million over a 12-month time frame.
Meanwhile, India has refused to endorse the new EU-US sanctions on import of oil from Iran. 12% of India’s crude oil is imported from Iran.
