Bharat Petroleum Corp, an Indian public sector oil and gas company, has reportedly made its first-ever purchase of Venezuelan oil, news agency Reuters reported, citing its sources on Thursday. As per the report, besides Bharat Petroleum, private refiner HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) has bought the South American country's crude for the first time in two years, three sources familiar with the trade told the news agency on Wednesday.

Million barrels Venezuelan oil purchased

The two refiners have bought a million barrels each of Venezuela's Merey crude grade, according to the report. The heavy oil, purchased through two separate deals, is planned to be co-loaded on a very large crude carrier to save on shipping cost, and will boost India's imports of Venezuelan crude to at least 6 million barrels through April, the sources told Reuters.

Bharat Petroleum and HMEL purchased the Venezuelan oil from trader Vitol, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential details. The price details were not immediately known.

ALSO READ: 'Not Necessarily Agree On Everything': Jaishankar's Big Remark On Russian Oil Purchase Issue Days After Trump's Claim

As of the writing of this article, BPCL and HMEL have not responded to the report. Vitol declined to comment.

HMEL, a joint venture of state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp and steel tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, previously received Venezuelan oil in February 2024, trade flow data from LSEG and Kpler showed.

Why Indian refineries are buying Venezuelan oil

Indian refiners have been buying Venezuelan oil to diversify their supply mix as they reduce Russian oil imports.

HMEL suspended Russian oil imports in October. New Delhi has not officially announced any plans to end oil imports from Russia, but Indian refiners have been avoiding Russian oil.

ALSO READ: Has India Stopped Russian Oil Purchase? Fresh Data Shows Significant Drop In Merchandise Imports From Moscow | Details

Reliance Industries, Indian Oil Corp and HPCL have previously bought Venezuelan oil at around USD 6.5-$7 per barrel below the Dubai crude oil benchmark. Traders Vitol and Trafigura have been marketing and selling the South American country's oil since January under licenses granted by the US as part of a supply deal between Caracas and Washington.

BPCL will split the cargo equally for discharge at Kochi port in the southern state of Kerala for its 3,10,000 barrel-per-day Kochi refinery, and at Sikka port in western Gujarat state for its 156,000-bpd Bina refinery in central India.

Exports of Venezuelan oil to the US are also expected to pick up in April, with refiner Valero Energy set to receive up to 6.5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude in March, Chevron rapidly boosting shipments from the country to the US. and other US refiners seeking direct purchases from Venezuela, sources have told Reuters.

(With inputs from Reuters)

You may also like to watch: