Reliance  Industries has purchased a cargo of around 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, according to an anonymous source with knowledge of the deal who spoke to Bloomberg. The purchase marks the first Indian acquisition of oil from Venezuela since the U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil sales early last month.

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Reliance Industries last bought crude from Venezuela in the middle of 2025, under a special waiver from the U.S. Administration from mid-2024. The company said last month it would consider buying Venezuelan crude again if sales are permitted to non-U.S. buyers.

The latest purchase signals that India would be taking Venezuelan crude going forward as it looks to replace Russian supply. This move is tied to a trade deal with the United States, where lower U.S. tariffs on Indian goods are conditional upon India slashing its imports of Russian crude.

Before U.S. sanctions on Russia’s top producers Rosneft and Lukoil, Reliance Industries was the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil, importing more than 500,000 barrels per day under a long-term deal with Rosneft. The Indian refiner halted all Rosneft purchases following the sanctions.

Indian state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) is also exploring potential purchases of crude from Venezuela after stopping imports of Russian oil. “MRPL is actively weighing the opportunity to buy Venezuelan crude oil if the commercial terms, including freight rates, are favorable,” MRPL’s head of finance Devendra Kumar said in January.

Two of the world’s biggest independent traders, Vitol and Trafigura, are offering Venezuelan oil to India and China for March and April delivery. The firms were tapped by the U.S. last month to help market Venezuela’s crude.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform