Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has signed a deal to buy 3 million tonnes of crude worth $1.5 billion from the United States during the next fiscal.
The deal, which is the first ever by an Indian firm, is seen as an attempt to strengthen strategic energy cooperation between the two nations and reduce the trade deficit.
While the oil deal will help the state-owned refiner to diversify its crude sources, analysts see this as a prelude to cut the quantum of oil import from Iran when the Trump administration takes up the Iran sanction waiver for review.
