India will buy oil from Venezuela, says minister

New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS) 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.