Kamal Ghorui
The United States has told India it can soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to reduce its reliance on Russian crude, Reuters reported. India had pledged to slash Russian oil imports after Washington imposed higher tariffs linked to those purchases.The move is part of a broader US effort to redirect India’s oil imports away from Russia while reshaping energy ties between the two countries. According to sources quoted by Reuters, India is now on track to cut Russian crude imports by several hundred thousand barrels per day in the coming months.The US decision to pitch Venezualan oil to India comes amid broader diplomatic engagement between New Delhi and Caracas. Venezuela interim president Delcy Rodríguez on Friday said she had agreed with India on energy cooperation during a telephone call with PM Modi, a day after Venezuela opened its hydrocarbons sector to private companies. PM Modi also in a post on X said they “agreed to further deepen and expand our bilateral partnership in all areas, with a shared vision of taking India‑Venezuela relations to new heights in the years ahead.”Venezuela, which sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, recently reformed laws to open the sector to private investment, a major shift from decades of state control designed to attract foreign capital and revive its battered oil industry.
US sanctions and Venezuelan oil
President Donald Trump imposed 25 % tariffs in March 2025 on countries buying Venezuelan oil, including India, as his administration intensified its campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. US forces captured Maduro on January 3, after which Washington began directing the Caracas government and announced plans to control Venezuela’s oil industry indefinitely.
India’s declining Russian oil imports
India became a major buyer of Russian oil after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered Western sanctions that pushed prices lower. However, growing US pressure and rising trade costs have driven India to diversify its crude supply. Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said last week that India is expanding its sources as Russian imports decline.Two sources said India is preparing to reduce Russian oil imports to below one million barrels per day soon. Imports were around 1.2 million bpd in January and are expected to fall to about 1 million bpd in February and around 800,000 bpd in March, one source said. Another source said imports could eventually decline to about 500,000–600,000 bpd, helping India clinch a trade deal with the United States.US tariffs on Indian goods reached 50% in August after Washington added an extra 25% levy over purchases of Russian oil. Operational challenges created by Western sanctions have also prompted Indian refiners to increase imports from other suppliers.Trade data showed India’s Russian oil imports fell to their lowest level in two years in December, lifting OPEC’s share of Indian imports to an 11-month high. Refiners have stepped up purchases from Middle Eastern, African and South American producers to offset reduced Russian supplies.Several refiners have already cut ties with Russian crude. State-run Hindustan Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, along with private refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy, have stopped buying Russian oil. Other state refiners, including Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, have slowed purchases, officials said at the India Energy Week conference this week. A private operator of the world’s largest refining complex plans to buy up to 150,000 bpd of Russian oil from February, a company source said.The effort to supply Venezuelan crude to India also aligns with Washington’s goal of cutting Russian oil revenues that are funding the war in Ukraine. Reuters sources did not say whether the Venezuelan oil would be sold through trading houses such as Vitol or Trafigura or directly by Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA.
