India on Friday reiterated that it is exploring the possibility of buying crude oil from Venezuela if it is commercially viable, reaffirming the government’s previously stated position in response to comments by the United States envoy.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified New Delhi’s position after remarks made earlier in the day by US envoy Sergio Gor.
In an official statement, the MEA said, “On Russian oil and on Venezuelan oil, we have issued statements and have made our position very clear. I would once again request you to look at what we have said in the last few weeks on both these subjects. On Venezuela, we had said that if it is commercially viable, then we are exploring buying oil from Venezuela. We clarified our position on Venezuelan oil as also on the other question that you asked. Our position remains the same.”
The clarification followed Gor’s comment that the United States had “seen India diversify the sourcing of oil” and that there were “active negotiations” underway for the potential sale of Venezuelan crude to India. He also said that a final interim trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington would be signed soon.
Separately, Reuters has reported that state-run firms including Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation, as well as private refiners Reliance Industries and HPCL-Mittal Energy, have ordered Venezuelan crude.