Indian Oil, HPCL buy 2 million barrels Venezuelan oil from Trafigura, sources say

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - India's state refiners Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS and Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS have together bought 2 million barrels of Merey crude from Venezuela for delivery in the second half of April, two trade sources aware of the deal said.

The crude will be carried on a single very large crude carrier with IOC taking about 1.5 million barrels and HPCL about 500,000 barrels and is set to arrive on India's east coast, the sources said, adding the seller was Trafigura.

The purchase highlights Indian refiners' effort to diversify their imports to partly replace Russian oil, which they are avoiding to help New Delhi seal a trade deal with Washington. CRU/TENDA

The purchase of Venezuelan oil is the first by HPCL, with IOC, the country's top refiner, having previously bought Venezuelan oil in 2024, data compiled by Reuters shows.

Indian companies do not comment on spot tenders due to confidentiality agreements. Trafigura declined to comment.

HPCL said in January it was seeking Venezuelan oil to process at its 300,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Visakhapatnam in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, which was recently upgraded to process heavy oil. IOC previously processed Merey at its Paradip refinery in the eastern state of Odisha.

The Merey is priced against the Dubai benchmark and reflects similar rates at which Reliance Industries RELI.NS bought Venezuelan oil from trader Vitol, said one of the two trade sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity.

Reliance, the operator of the world's biggest refining complex, bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil for April delivery from Vitol at a discount of around $6.50-$7 per barrel to ICE Brent, sources previously told Reuters.

Vitol and Trafigura were granted U.S. licences to sell Venezuelan oil after last month's U.S. military operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro .

Oil refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast are struggling to absorb a rapid increase in Venezuelan shipments, leaving some volumes unsold, according to traders and shipping data.

The U.S. and India have moved closer to a trade pact , announcing a framework for a deal they hope to conclude by March that would lower tariffs and deepen economic cooperation.

Although a U.S.-India statement on the trade framework did not mention Russian oil, President Donald Trump rescinded his 25% tariffs on Indian goods, imposed over Russian oil purchases, because, he said, New Delhi had "committed to stop directly or indirectly" importing Russian oil.

New Delhi has not officially announced plans to halt Russian oil imports.