New Delhi: India’s crude oil imports from Iran jumped a whopping 43.72 per cent to 2.07 Million Tonne (MT) in August this year. India is among the largest importers of Iranian crude oil and the jump in imports comes amid increasing pressure from the United States (US) on Iran’s oil customers to cut purchases.Cumulatively, oil imports by India from Iran in the first five months (April to August) of the current financial year increased 43.69 per cent to 13.32 MT as compared to 9.26 MT imported in the corresponding period a year ago, fresh data sourced from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), an arm of the ministry of commerce and industries showed.In value terms, India imported $1.08 billion worth of crude oil from Iran in August alone, as compared to $0.52 billion worth of crude imported in the corresponding month last year. India's oil import from Iran in value terms during the five month period doubled to $6.82 billion from $3.27 billion worth of imports in the corresponding period last year.US had in May walked out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and re-imposed economic sanctions on the country. The sanctions prohibit other nations to enter into new contracts with Iran immediately and provide a six-month period ending 4 November to wind-down existing commitments with the country, especially with Iranian oil companies.Economic Times had last week reported Indian refiners will pay for oil from Iran in Rupee, using UCO Bank and IDBI Bank channels, beginning 4 November when petroleum-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic take effect. Also, India has offered to cut its oil purchase from Iran significantly to secure a waiver from the US to continue its imports.Indian refiners are currently using State Bank of India (SBI) and Germany-based Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG to buy Iranian oil in Euros, according to a Reuters report.Iran’s petroleum minister Bijan Zanganeh today said removing Iran’s oil from the market was not a possibility in the mid-term and USA’s plans of bringing Iran’s oil exports to zero in the short term, even for a month, will not happen, according to that nation’s news agency SHANA.Zanganeh added that some countries have lowered their oil import from Iran following US pullout of the JCPOA in May, but no country other than South Korea have stopped imports from Iran since then.India meets over 82 per cent of its crude requirement through imports. Around 10-12 per cent of these shipments are sourced from Iran. Indian refiners prefer Iranian crude owing to better pricing and credit terms. The 3-month credit period offered by Iran results in lower working capital for domestic Indian refiners leading to lower borrowings and increased floating money.The US sanctions have made Iran wary of losing market share to other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) and has continuously warned OPEC members against increasing production unilaterally.Moreover, Iran has been threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian crude oil exports get no buyers due to US sanctions. More than 18 million barrels a day of crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to about two thirds of the world’s maritime oil trade.Iran’s OPEC governor Hussein Kazempour Ardebily on Sunday said that no production increase was discussed during Sunday’s meeting of the Joint OPEC – Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMCC) in Algiers.OPEC -- together with a group of non-OPEC producers including Russia -- started withholding oil supplies up to 1.8 Million barrels per day since 2017 to prop up prices and reduce oil inventories. The cuts, which deepened to 2.8 million barrels per day for the month of May, coupled with economic sanctions on Iran and Venezuela lifted prices from lows of around $42.20 per barrel in November 2016 to highs of around $80 dollar per barrel in May 2018.Subsequently, in June this year the cartel along with its non-OPEC members decided to not to over-comply on production cuts beginning July this year.Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports to India declined 1.07 per cent to 3.03 MT in August. For the first five months of the current fiscal, Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to India rose 8.53 per cent to 15.67 MT, DGCIS data showed.The Arab nation’s overall crude oil exports in April-July 2018 period increased 4.15 per cent to 1,19,328 Thousand Metric Tonne (KMT), according to information published by JODI-Oil World Database. Iraq ’s oil exports to India in August decreased 9.60 per cent to 3.38 MT. Cumulatively, oil exports to India in the first five months of the present financial year increased 7.26 per cent to 19 MT. Iraq overtook Saudi Arabia to become the largest crude oil exporter to India last financial year ended March 2018.Overall, Iraq’s crude oil exports in the April-July 2018 period increased marginally to 62,285 KMT.India’s crude oil imports from Nigeria increased 8.42 per cent to 1.09 MT in August as compared to 1 MT of crude oil imported in the corresponding month of the previous financial year. Cumulatively, crude oil imports from Nigeria in the April-August period decreased 20.34 per cent to 5.81 MT.Nigeria’s crude oil production and exports have been on a decline in the past few months owing to increased internal conflict in the nation.Similarly, India’s crude oil imports from Venezuela fell over 91 per cent in August this year to 0.18 MT. Cumulatively, India’s crude oil imports from Venezuela in the first five months of the current fiscal fell 11.36 per cent to 7.63 MT.Venezuela’s crude oil production is at its lowest point in 60 years on the back of lack of investments.In an indication of increasing appetite for US crude, India’s crude oil imports from the US during the first five months of 2018-19 rose nine times to 2.60 MT as compared to 0.28 MT of crude imported in the corresponding period last fiscal.USA has been significantly increasing its crude oil production and exports since 2016 amid increase in crude oil prices and tightening of supply market.