IOC, HPCL buy Venezuelan oil in second deal since imports resumed

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have jointly bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil - the second deal that Indian refiners have struck since oil restarted flowing into international markets.

The two firms have bought 2 million barrels of Merey crude from Trafigura for delivery in the second half of April, sources said. 1.5 million barrels of oil will be delivered to IOC's Paradip refinery in Odisha and rest 500,000 barrels to HPCL's Visakhapatnam unit in Andhra Pradesh.

This is the second deal for Venezuelan crude after Reliance Industries bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil for April delivery from Vitol.

 

The world's third-largest oil consumer halted Venezuelan crude purchases after US sanctions were reimposed. It has resumed imports after the US granted Vitol and Trafigura a licence to sell Venezuelan oil after President Nicolas Maduro was seized in a military operation and Washington asserted control over the nation's energy industry.

India imported Venezuelan crude until 2019-20 before US sanctions on the South American country's state oil company PDVSA stopped that. It resumed purchases in 2023-24 but halted them again when Washington reimposed restrictions on Venezuela's oil sector.

US President Donald Trump last week said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and purchase more oil from the US, and possibly Venezuela, following a key US trade deal with India.

IOC and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (a unit of HPCL) last took Venezuelan oil in 2024.