NEW DELHI India, Dec.7, Reuter: India accepted payment in crude oil for projects carried out in Libya and has so far lost half a million dollars in the process, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jagdish Tytler told Parliament on Monday.
In a written answer in the Lok Sabha (Lower House), he said the International Airports Authority of India (IAAT) had carried out airport constriction work in Libya between 1982.and 1986 worth 9.8 million Libyan Dinars (16 million dollars).
The Libyan government agreed. To settle part of the account in the form of crude oil in two shipments.
The first, of 500,000 barrels, was paid to India at an agreed price of 18.52 dollars per barrel.
Tytler said the crude was not suitable for Indian refineries, so that IAAI had sold it on the open market. The best offer it got was 17.51 dollars per barrel from a Swiss company, thus incurring a loss of 1.01 dollars per barrel.
He said the second shipment, valued at 2.8 million dinars (4.7 million dollars), was yet to be released by the Libyan government, “The crude oil, when released, will be sold at the most competitive price with minimal loss to IAAI”, Tytler told the House.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 11, 1987
