State owned oil and gas company, Indian Oil, was thought to be planning on purchasing 6 million barrels of Iranian oil next month, while Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals were set to buy 3 million barrels, Reuters reported on Friday, citing two unidentified industry sources.
In the previous round of U.S. sanctions on Iran from 2012 to 2015, India continued to purchase Iran's oil although it was forced to dramatically reduce its purchases to protect its wider exposure to the U.S. financial system.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at around $83.38 on Monday, down nearly 1 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at around $73.81, around 0.7 percent lower.