Indian refiners resume imports of Venezuelan oil, RIL seeks direct deal

Indian refiners have resumed buying Venezuelan oil through intermediaries, with Reliance set to meet executives from state firm PDVSA next week to discuss oil sales following the easing of U.S. sanctions on the South American country, people familiar with the matter said.

The resumption in trade between the OPEC producer and what it was its second largest destination for oil exports comes after Washington in October temporarily lifted sanctions banning Venezuelan oil exports, prompting a flurry of spot sales of crude and fuel through middlemen and traders, mostly to China.

But Venezuela's oil output has been volatile, limiting what it can offer for exports.

India last imported Venezuelan crude in 2020. Access to Venezuela's heavy oil could cap import costs for India, which has become a major Russian oil buyer, and further reduce its reliance on the Middle East.

Three Indian refiners have bought some 4 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for February delivery at between $7.50 and $8 per barrel below dated Brent on a delivered ex-ship basis, five trade sources said.

Of those, trading house Vitol sold 1.5 million barrels to Indian Oil Corp and 500,000 barrels to HPCL-Mittal Energy (HMEL), a joint venture between state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mittal Energy Investment, the sources added.