Venezuelan oil finds home in India as US shuns shipments
HOUSTON: India is feasting on Venezuelan oil, after the US imposed a de facto ban on crude imports from the Latin American nation.
While flows to the US came to a halt, India became the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude in the first half of February, with imports jumping 66% to 620,000 barrels a day.
Indian refiners Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy Ltd, which is backed by Rosneft Oil Co. PJSC, are driving the boost.
Still, Venezuelan crude exports have plunged since US President Donald Trump ratcheted up sanctions against the country’s oil company.
Shipments of oil, the commodity that bankrolls the regime of embattled president Nicolas Maduro, fell to 1.12 million barrels daily in the first half of February, down 9.2% compared with the same period in January. No Us-bound vessels have left Venezuelan ports in that time.
Seven Venezuelan oil-laden vessels loaded for US refiners Valero Energy Corp. and Chevron Corp. have been stranded since sanctions were announced on January 28, as state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA demands upfront payment for the cargoes.
Meanwhile, shipments to long-time ally China, which is struggling to recover at least $50
INDIA BECAME THE NO. 1 BUYER OF VENEZUELAN OIL IN THE FIRST HALF OF FEB, WITH IMPORTS JUMPING 66% TO 620,000 BARRELS A DAY
billion it loaned to Venezuela over the past 12 years, have slowed down. Imports fell by 50% to 120,000 barrels daily.
On Monday, oil traded near a three-month high in New York as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec’s) output curbs tightened global supply while trade talks between the US and China lifted financial markets.
Futures rose as much as 1.3% to the highest since November 20, after advancing 5.4% last week.
Trump said talks with China were “very productive” as his team returned from Beijing and readied for another round of discussions in Washington this week, raising hopes that a trade war between the world’s largest economies will ease.
Saudi Arabia and other members of the Opec have made a strong start to their production cuts while Russia is accelerating its curbs, pushing crude 24% higher this year.