India set for largest Venezuelan crude imports in years: Report

Amid disruption in the energy supply due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, India is set to import the most oil from Venezuela in almost six years, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. More than 12 million barrels are headed to India's west coast this month from the South American producer, the most since February 2020, the report said, citing data from Kpler.

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The April-arriving cargoes were likely secured before the recent disruptions in supplies from West Asia, underscoring a longer-term strategic shift rather than a purely reactive move, said Sumit Ritolia, a lead research analyst at Kpler.

India, which imports  88% of its crude, has been seeking alternatives after the Iran war disrupted flows through Hormuz, which typically transits almost 40% of the country's oil supplies.

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India used to be a major buyer from Venezuela before the trade was curbed by US sanctions, which Washington eased after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January.

The Ottoman Sincerity - a Suezmax tanker carrying almost 1 million barrels of asphaltic Boscan crude loaded using ship-to-ship transfers off the Caribbean island of Aruba - has already arrived at Reliance Industries Ltd.'s Sikka port, and is the first Venezuelan cargo to reach India in a year, the report said.

Reliance, which has a US license to buy directly from PDVSA, also loaded its first cargo from the state-owned producer on the Bahama-flagged very large crude carrier Helios this week, moving away from earlier purchases routed via Vitol Group and Trafigura.

In addition, Reliance also loaded its first cargo from PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela SA) on the Helios, a Bahama-flagged very large crude carrier, moving away from previous purchases routed through intermediaries such as Vitol Group and Trafigura.

Reliance holds a US license to purchase Venezuelan crude directly from PDVSA.

This return to Venezuelan crude is part of India's strategy to diversify its oil supply sources, especially in light of the disruptions in West Asia. While India continues to import significant volumes from the Gulf region, increasing purchases from Russia and Venezuela give Indian refiners more leverage in a tightening global market.