New Delhi: State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) have jointly secured 2 million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela, marking the second purchase by Indian refiners since the country’s oil re-entered international markets.
Reports said the companies bought 2 million barrels of Merey crude from global trader Trafigura, with deliveries scheduled for the second half of April. Of the total volume, around 1.5 million barrels will be shipped to IOC’s Paradip refinery in Odisha, while the remaining 500,000 barrels will be supplied to HPCL’s Visakhapatnam refinery in Andhra Pradesh.
The deal follows a similar transaction earlier this month, when Reliance Industries acquired 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for April delivery from Vitol. Indian refiners had largely stayed away from Venezuelan oil after the United States reimposed sanctions on state-run PDVSA, disrupting exports.
India had been importing crude from Venezuela until 2019-20, before sanctions halted the trade. Purchases briefly resumed in 2023-24 but were again paused when restrictions tightened. Supplies have restarted after Washington allowed select traders, including Vitol and Trafigura, to market Venezuelan crude under special licences.
IOC and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of HPCL, had last processed Venezuelan oil in 2024, underscoring the tentative nature of India’s renewed engagement with Venezuelan supplies.
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