India, Venezuela move to deepen energy ties during Rodriguez visit

NEW DELHI: India and Venezuela moved on Thursday to expand cooperation in the energy sector as Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to India that comes against the backdrop of supply disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis.

According to Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East) in India’s foreign ministry, the discussions covered cooperation in both upstream and downstream energy projects. He told a media briefing after the talks that Caracas viewed New Delhi as a preferred partner in the energy sector.

Tandon said Rodriguez was in India with a large ministerial delegation and that her visit would continue until June 7. During the trip, he said, she was due to visit oil refining facilities in India. Reuters also reported that she was expected to meet leading figures from India’s energy industry in Mumbai.

Speaking after the talks, Tandon said India was engaging with a friendly government that wanted a partnership with New Delhi.

“We are working with a government that is friendly, that wants a partnership with India,” Tandon said. “We want to reciprocate that. Venezuela has traditionally been a close friend. We have collaborated very closely at the international level, so we are just going back to normal.”

Oil trade and supply shifts

India remained a major buyer of Venezuelan crude. Reuters reported that India was the second-largest importer of Venezuelan oil in May, purchasing 427,000 barrels per day, behind only the United States.

Reliance Industries has in recent months become one of the three biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude, while data from Kpler showed Venezuela was on track to become India’s fourth-largest oil supplier in May.

The outreach comes as India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, faces supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran. The conflict had virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route that carried more than 40 per cent of India’s crude oil imports.

Sanctions and resumed purchases

India had halted purchases of Venezuelan oil last year after US President Donald Trump authorised a 25pc discretionary tariff on countries importing crude from Venezuela. Those purchases resumed after sanctions were eased in February following an oil supply agreement between Washington and Caracas.

Under that arrangement, reached after the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January, proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales are controlled by Washington through bank accounts administered by the Treasury Department, with commercial terms also guided by the United States.