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India To Buy Venezuelan Crude Oil  | How It Will Benefit India

Indian refiners can process Venezuelan oil and the nation may buy it provided that it is available cheaply, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday, days after the US...

Indian refiners can process Venezuelan oil and the nation may buy it provided that it is available cheaply, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday, days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela’s oil sector.

India To Buy Venezuelan Crude Oil  How It Will Benefit India

Why In News

  • Indian refiners can process Venezuelan oil and the nation may buy it provided that it is available cheaply, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday, days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela’s oil sector.
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Venezuela Oil Market

  • Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves and production from it at a large scale will have a dampening effect on global oil prices, Mr Puri said.
  • Crude from Venezuela made up about 5-7% of India’s oil imports up to 2019.
  • The South American country had been under crushing sanctions since 2019. These were broadly lifted by the US two weeks ago in response to a deal reached between the Venezuelan government and opposition parties for the 2024 election.
  • A new general licence issued by the US Treasury Department authorises Venezuela to produce and export oil to its chosen markets for the next six months without limitation.
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How It Will Benefit India

  • India Is The 3rd Largest Oil Consumer And Importer In The World.
  • India’s efforts to secure its oil supplies and reduce its dependence on West Asia demonstrate a prudent approach to navigating the complex and unpredictable global oil market.
  • As the conflict in West Asia escalates, India is actively preparing for potential supply disruptions in the oil market, a situation that could have far-reaching consequences.
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  • The region is experiencing a deepening crisis, with no end in sight, and India is taking steps to secure its energy needs.
  • If the refining economics would favor Venezuelan crude in the future, Indian refiners may need to displace crude from their existing sources, which might include Middle Eastern, Latin American and US crudes.
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Current Oil Market In India

  • During January-September, India’s oil demand rose 5.6% on year to 171.34 million tonne, or 4.9 million bpd, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.
  • Over the same period, diesel and gasoline demand rose 6.5% and 7.4% on year, respectively.
  • Demand for jet fuel increased 20.5% on the year, while it was up 3.7% year on year for naphtha over January-September.
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  • India has diversified its oil import sources in the past few years and post-February 2022, Russia has emerged as the top seller of crude to India as it supplied oil at discounted prices amid western restrictions.
  • In FY22, Russian oil accounted for only 2% of India’s total oil imports; in FY23, it made up around one-fourth of the 235.52 million tonnes of crude oil imported by India.
  • The other major suppliers to India include Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UAE.
  • India’s crude oil imports from Russia fell to 1.57 million barrels a day in October from 1.78 million bpd in September, as per data from Kpler. Imports from Saudi Arabia, however, jumped almost 65% on month to 7,96,659 bpd.
  • Of India’s overall imports of 4.50 million bpd in October, Russian crude accounted for nearly 35% of total imports followed by Iraq with 21% share and Saudi Arabia at 18%.
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Conclusion

  • Oil imports from Venezuela to India can have a sobering effect in the market, said oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri amidst a rising concern of dwindling Russian discounts on oil and talks of India reconsidering Venezuela as a key importer.
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