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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 9, 2026

 

MUMBAI – India is likely to receive 12.4 million barrels of Venezuelan-origin crude this month, according to S&P Global. This oil is in transit and likely to be discharged at the port of Sikka in Gujarat, it said in a report Wednesday. An additional 5.7 million barrels of crude is scheduled for arrival in May, it said. The figures are based on S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

 

"India has turned to Venezuelan crude for near-term cargoes to fill part of the vacuum created by the disruption of supplies from the Middle East (West Asia), but volumes from the South American supplier may not increase significantly as those heavier grades can only be used by some complex refineries," the report said, quoting trade sources and analysts.

 

"Further upside remains capped by refinery configuration. Heavier Venezuelan grades such as Merey-16 fit best in India's most complex refineries. In the near term, the ongoing Middle East crude supply disruption adds diversification pressure on Indian refiners. However, this is also balanced against a 30-day US waiver for Russian oil as an alternative feedstock. That could cap additional Venezuelan growth if Russian barrels clear more competitively on delivered economics," it said, quoting Benjamin Tang, head of liquid bulk, Commodities at Sea, S&P Global.

 

Venezuelan grades such as Merey-16 will face direct competition from alternatives such as Iraqi Basrah Heavy and Canadian Cold Lake, the report quoted Tang as saying. "For complex refining systems like India, Venezuelan heavy crude is not an incremental supply. It is optionality," the report quoted B. Anand, industry expert and former chief executive officer of Nayara Energy, as saying.

 

However, the crude oil is best suited for some Indian refineries. "Venezuelan crude is a great opportunity for refiners like Reliance Industries Ltd. They have great blending facilities and complex operations, and they can yield good margins by processing those heavier grades," D.L.N. Sastri, former director of refining at the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry, was quoted as saying in the report. "Even some state refining units, like MRPL (Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.) and the Paradip Refinery of Indian Oil Corp., can process Venezuelan grades," he said.  End

 

Reported by Abhijit Doshi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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