Indian refiner Reliance Industries Ltd. has received a general license from the US government that will allow it to purchase Venezuelan oil directly, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Reliance, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, applied for the permit last month and received it from the Treasury Department a few days ago, the person said, asking not to be named as the matter is not public.
The move comes immediately on the heels of a trade deal with the US that slashes punitive tariffs for Indian exports but demands that the country stop importing discounted Russian oil. The Indian government has asked state-owned refiners to consider buying more Venezuelan crude, as well as oil from the US.
Venezuela is unlikely to produce large volumes of crude anytime soon, but even limited supplies provide a fallback option for India’s largest refiner.
The US — which has stepped up involvement in Venezuela’s oil sector after capturing the country’s president last month — has been considering general licenses to permit purchases, trading and investment in a sprawling but threadbare industry. Reliance is the first Indian refiner to receive clearance in the current push.
Reliance has historically been an important consumer of the country’s heavy crude, having struck a term deal to secure as much as 400,000 barrels a day from Petroleos de Venezuela SA in 2012. It is among only a handful of refiners in India that have the capacity to process the high-viscosity, sour oil, which is difficult to extract and refine without diluent.
The Indian refining giant took about 25% of Venezuela’s exports in 2019, before its term deal got suspended in 2019 due to US sanctions. It last received a general license in 2024 and took crude until that expired last year, and was not renewed.
Reuters first reported the issuance of the license earlier on Friday.
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