WASHINGTON, Oct 5: The arrival of first American oil shipment in Odisha this week marks a significant milestone in India-US partnership, the Trump administration said today.
The first of a series of new shipments of crude oil from the United States arrived in Odisha on October 2.
“We consider the increased Indian purchases of US crude oil to be a direct outcome of the June visit of the Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi to the White House,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference.
The leaders at that point talked about expanding and elevating the bilateral energy cooperation through a Strategic Energy Partnership, she noted.
“So, we look at that event as marking a significant milestone in the growing partnership between the United States and India,” Nauert said in response to a question.
In one of the first shipments to India since the United States stopped oil exports in 1975, India received shipment of US crude oil with state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) importing a 1.6 million barrels parcel at Paradip.
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) have also placed orders for about 2.95 million barrels and 1 million barrels of US crude respectively for their Kochi and Vizag refineries.
According to a US Embassy statement, the US crude oil shipments to India have the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to USD 2 billion.
Next month, Nauert would join President Donald Trump’s daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump on a trip to India.
Ivanka would be leading a high-level US delegation to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad. (PTI)
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