India Resumes Venezuelan Crude Imports After U.S. Market Opening
India's largest private refiner, Reliance Industries, has restarted purchasing Venezuelan crude, securing a 2 million barrel cargo. This marks the first Indian oil purchase from Venezuela since the U.S. opened the market last month. The move enables India to substitute Russian crude, aligning with a U.S. trade deal that mandates reduced Russian oil imports for favorable tariffs on Indian goods. Other Indian refiners, like MRPL, are also exploring Venezuelan crude, with major traders facilitating sales for upcoming deliveries.
India has recommenced its imports of Venezuelan crude oil, with its largest private refiner, Reliance Industries, completing the first purchase since the United States eased sanctions and opened the Venezuelan oil market last month. Reliance has secured an initial cargo of approximately 2 million barrels. This strategic shift follows a period where Reliance had halted all purchases from Russia's Rosneft in the wake of U.S. sanctions, having previously been the biggest buyer of Russian crude. The decision to resume Venezuelan imports is pivotal for India, enabling it to fulfill the terms of a trade agreement with the U.S. This deal offers lower tariffs on Indian goods, contingent upon India significantly reducing its reliance on Russian crude oil.State-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) is also actively exploring opportunities to purchase Venezuelan crude, assessing the commercial viability and freight rates. The market for Venezuelan oil to India and China is being facilitated by independent traders Vitol and Trafigura, who secured U.S. licenses to market the crude and are now offering it for March and April delivery. This concerted effort by Indian refiners to pivot towards Venezuelan supplies underscores a broader strategic repositioning in response to geopolitical pressures and trade incentives.
