New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries has received a license from the US to buy Venezuelan crude oil. According to reports, the country’s largest private refiner (Private Refiner Company) can import Venezuelan crude oil without any middleman. No official statement has been released by Reliance so far.
The fact that Reliance has received the license has come to light after the agreement with the US. US President Donald Trump, while announcing the trade deal, had said that India would completely stop buying oil from Russia. It is said that Reliance has received this license in the wake of this statement.
Reliance gets license for some companies
Reliance Industries, owned by industrialist Mukesh Ambani, operates the world’s largest processing complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat. According to some media reports, the US has granted a license to a few international companies, including India’s Reliance Industries, to buy oil directly from Venezuela at the end of January.
Reliance’s profit margin will increase
Venezuela is one of the countries with a huge amount of crude oil. The processing complex in Jamnagar has the capacity to process such crude oil easily. Economists estimate that this will further increase Reliance’s profit margin. Earlier, many oil companies had sought US license to buy crude oil from Venezuela.
The Indian government has asked the US to consider allowing state-owned oil companies to buy more crude from Venezuela, Bloomberg reported. The information comes after a recent deal with the US. US President Donald Trump has promised that India will completely stop importing oil from Russia.
India can import about 400,000 barrels of oil per day from the US. The import volume has increased by 225,000 barrels per day from last year. There are plans to increase this volume further. As usual, the petroleum ministry and state-owned oil companies have refused to comment officially on the issue of the license granted to Reliance.
The US imposed sanctions in 2019
Venezuela is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It has the world’s largest oil reserves, but it supplies only 1% of global supply. In 2019, the US imposed sanctions on the purchase of Venezuelan oil. As a result, many countries, including India, stopped buying oil from Venezuela.