Iran offered India extra crude supplies on revised terms as international sanctions tighten the Middle East producer's circle of oil customers, according to three people with knowledge of the talks.

Indian refiners have yet to decide on whether they will take up Iran's offer of additional shipments, the people said, declining to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak with the media. The South Asian nation's government is open to increasing oil imports from the Persian Gulf state, according to two of the people.

The people declined to give details on the terms offered by Iran. They may not necessarily involve lower prices, and could include more flexibility in the grades offered and loading dates, and an increase in the number of days of credit before India is required to pay, one of the people said. Iran hasn't offered India a discount for its crude, one of the people said.

"Make no mistake, the party that's getting hammered left, right and center at the moment is Iran," said Praveen Kumar, an analyst at Facts Global Energy in Singapore. "They are sitting on about 400,000 barrels a day of excess crude, and it's fair to say the Asian buyers have the upper hand at the moment."

Iran's offer to India follows a suspension of oil exports by the Persian Gulf nation to French and British buyers and the growing risk of losing market share to Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The European Union and US have imposed sanctions to protest Iran's nuclear programme, restricting trade and financial transactions. The US and its allies say they suspect the programme is a cover for developing atomic weapons, a charge Iran has repeatedly denied, maintaining it is for civilian purposes. "Iran is being clever," Kumar said. "It has cut supplies to Europe earlier than big buyers there expected and is now turning to its Asian customers. But still, even if India and China take up some extra supplies, Iran is still going to be left with some crude."

Iran won't cede its "right" to peaceful atomic energy and has mastered the full nuclear-fuel cycle, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday.

A team of officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, arrived in Tehran on Monday for two days of meetings.

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com