Oil from Venezuela to India thanks to the mediation of Vitol

Indian refiners are waiting for tankers of Venezuelan crude from Vitol, media reported on Tuesday, after Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for delivery of November.

This is part of a larger trend as India continues to increase imports from Venezuela after the US Treasury allowed transactions under specific conditions, despite ongoing sanctions against President Nicolas Maduro's regime.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's largest refiner, will receive 1.2 million barrels of crude, while MRPL will receive 800,000 barrels of the heavy Merey crude. While MRPL does not typically purchase this type of heavy, sour oil , the change suggests that Indian refiners are adapting their strategies to meet both processing needs and cost management in the current market. Vitol, IOC and MRPL did not comment on the details of the deal, and it is unclear whether Vitol has a license or whether it bought the crude from someone else with a license and is reselling it.

This is not the first time India has moved quickly to secure Venezuelan crude. Earlier this year, Reliance Industries, India's largest private refiner, resumed buying Venezuelan oil after receiving a license from the United States. The deal involves swapping heavy naphtha, a key diluent, for Venezuelan crude. As long as these exemptions remain in place, Indian refiners are expected to continue buying Venezuelan oil to ensure a steady supply to their refineries, which are built to process heavier crudes.

For India, the world's third largest importer of crude oil , Venezuelan crude represents a valid option to keep refineries efficient. Most Indian refiners have resumed buying Venezuelan crude through middlemen, and in March, Reliance reportedly sought to discuss direct sales with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.

Venezuelan crude is cheaper, but presents various processing difficulties, as well as the problem of sanctions imposed by Western countries.

The article Oil from Venezuela to India thanks to the mediation of Vitol comes from Economic Scenarios .

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/petrolio-dal-venezuela-allindia-grazie-alla-mediazione-di-vitol/ on Wed, 09 Oct 2024 09:00:10 +0000.