IANS | 15 Dec, 2023
India will purchase oil from Venezuela as the sanctions against the
Latin American country have been lifted, Minister for Petroleum and
Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.
“India is willing to buy oil from any country that is not
sanctioned and if Venezuelan oil comes to the market we welcome it,"
Puri told journalists.
He said that many refineries, including
Indian Oil’s Paradip unit are capable of using the heavy Venezuelan oil.
“And we will buy it the minister said.
The minister said some
Indian money is locked up in Venezuela, referring to ONGC’s pending $500
million in dividends since 2014 as the returns on its stake in
Venezuelan oil and gas projects.
Indian refining companies such as
Indian Oil and Reliance Industries have already started buying oil from
Venezuelan after the U.S lifted sanctions in October as part of
Washington’s strategy to squeeze out Russian oil from the market.
Indian
oil companies have been making large purchases of Russian oil after the
Ukraine war broke out as it is available at a discounted price. In
fact, Russia accounts for over one-third of India’s oil imports.
India
imports more than 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement and is
currently the third largest consumer in the world. Buying oil from
diversified sources helps oil companies to get it at a lower price.
Puri
said that the Indian companies currently refine five million barrels of
oil per day and the country's refining capacity is increasing.
