Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday it was too early to predict the impact of U.S. sanctions on his country's imports of Iranian oil.

Pradhan told Reuters during a visit to the United Arab Emirates that he was "a little bit concerned" about the impact of an oil price rise on consuming countries but that he did not think oil supply will be an issue.

"Let’s see how things are moving. It's too early to predict in one way. We are watching very carefully."

"This kind of geopolitical (tension) affects both consuming and producing countries. We have to live with the reality of the present geopolitics," Pradhan said.

The oil minister added that there was a consensus between Saudi state oil giant Aramco, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ADNOC and Indian companies to firm a joint venture for India's Ratnagiri oil refinery.

The planned $44 billion facility in western India will be one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the world at 1.2 million barrels per day.

Saudi Aramco in April signed a deal with India for a 50 percent stake in the project. Aramco may introduce at a later stage a strategic partner to share its 50 percent stake.

ADNOC wants to expand its downstream portfolio in markets where demand for oil is still growing, such as China and India, securing a new outlet for its crude.

First Published:May 12, 2018 5:25 PM IST