New Delhi: Venezuela is set to sail in India by entering a list of India’s crude oil suppliers amid the ongoing middle east crisis.
According to a report by Moneycontrol India is expected to receive about 10-12 million barrels of crude oil in April from Venezuela.
It would be the first time in the year that India would be buying Venezuelan oil. Since the United States imposed sanctions on the South American country in 2019 Indian refiners shied away from Venezuelan oil.
As per the commodity analytics firm Kpler, the deal was already done in late February even before the war broke out with Venezuelan cargoes.
Before the sanctions, Venezuela used to be the major supplier of crude to India which almost contributed 6.7% to India’s total crude oil imports in FY18.
According to the Kpler data, Venezuelan crude imports averaged 1.9 million barrels before American sanctions put a stop to them.
Certain cargoes are anticipated to reach Cochin port for unloading, which also hosts Bharat Petroleum Corporation’s (BPCL) refinery. BPCL previously mentioned its willingness to source oil from various suppliers, including Venezuela.
Since the onset of the conflict in West Asia, the availability of crude oil has significantly declined as the opposing factions targeted each other’s energy resources in the area. Additionally, Iran has limited the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict, further intensifying the energy crisis.
Countries reliant on imports, such as India, have been seeking to diversify their crude sources to lessen reliance on nations affected by conflict.
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