Reliance Industries has bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil from trader Vitol, Reuters reported. This is Reliance Industries’ first purchase from the South American nation in nearly a year.
Financial Express could not independently verify the news.
Reliance Industries’ Venezuelan oil buy
Reliance, which operates the world’s biggest refining complex, has bought Venezuelan crude for April delivery at a discount of around $6.5-$7 per barrel to ICE Brent, the Reuters report said.
Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were granted US licenses to market and sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following the US military operation last month to capture President Nicolas
Maduro, and a subsequent supply agreement with interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
India open to buying Venezuelan oil: Foreign Ministry
In another related development on Venezuelan oil purchases, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India is open to buying oil from nations, including Venezuela, depending on commercial viability.
“There is a history of engagement with Venezuela. We have a long-standing energy partnership with them, and we remain open to exploring options of availability of crude oil from Venezuela and other places, depending on its commercial viability,” Randhir Jaiswal said.
India’s oil diversification
Jaiswal said ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the “supreme priority” of the government.
“Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s actions are taken and will be taken with this in mind,” he said on India’s plans to halt Russian oil imports.
Earlier last week, US President Donald Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% as part of a broader trade deal, and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil.
Trump also said India will buy more oil from the US and ‘potentially Venezuela’.
Modi, however, did not comment on India’s plan to halt Russian oil imports in his message welcoming the trade deal.