India’s state-owned refiners Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation have jointly agreed to buy 2 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey crude oil for delivery in the second half of April. The cargo will be loaded on a single very large crude carrier (VLCC), with IOC taking about 1.5 million barrels and HPCL about 500,000 barrels, and is expected to arrive on India’s east coast. The seller in the deal was the trading firm Trafigura.
This move is part of a broader strategy by Indian refiners to diversify oil import sources, including a shift away from heavy reliance on Russian crude. The purchases from Venezuela come amid efforts by New Delhi to balance geopolitical considerations, particularly in the context of its emerging trade negotiations with the United States, while securing competitive supply options.
Indian refiners historically processed Venezuelan heavy crude, and recent eased sanctions on Venezuelan oil have reopened supply channels. These imports reflect India’s opportunistic approach to securing more diversified and commercially viable crude sources at discounted pricing compared with some other global grades.
