MRPL Q1 Jumps 6 Folds, Company Hopes To Get Continued Supply Of Iranian Crude.

NEW DELHI: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical (MRPL), a subsidiary ofONGC, has reported a six-fold jump in its net profit in the first quarter of current fiscal year due to increased refining output, chairmanAK Hazarika said.

The company has posted Rs 173 crore net profit in the first quarter compared to Rs 28 crore in same quarter previous year.

Hazarika ruled out any problem in crude oil supply to the refinery due to payment crisis with Iran. "Probably we may find some solution to this (payment) problem," he told reporters after declaring company's quarterly result.

MRPL, India's biggest importer of Iranian crude oil, said that it owed $2.9 billion to Iran since payment crisis started about seven months ago.

India's crude oil imports from Iran faced an impasse since Decemberlast year after under pressure from the US, the Reserve Bank of India declared that a regional clearinghouse that involved the Iranian central bank could no longer be used to settle oil and gas transactions between the two countries.Major importers of Iranian crude are MRPL, Essar Oil and HPCL.MRPL, which has a annual contract to import 7.1 million tonne.

"The total outstanding is $2.9 billion. But not all of this is due for payment now as Iran gives us 90-days credit. Only $1.9 billion is payable immediately,"MRPL managing director UK Basu told reporters. India's total outstanding is about $7 billion and Iran.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com