India’s oil imports from Iran surged to a record high last year as some refiners resumed purchases following the lifting of sanctions against Tehran.

The figures were revealed from ship tracking data.

The sharp increase has propelled Iran into fourth place among India’s supplier last year.

It is up from seventh position in 2015.

Before sanctions, it used to be India’s biggest supplier.

For the year, the world’s third biggest oil consumer bought about 473,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran to feed expanding refining capacity, up from 208,300 bpd in 2015, the data showed.

In December, imports from Iran trebled from a year earlier to about 546,600 bpd.

In 2015 refiners slowed purchases due to sanctions which choked payment routes, insurance and halved Iran’s exports.