The United States has granted India’s Reliance Industries Ltd a general licence allowing the refiner to buy Venezuelan oil directly, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday, a move that could accelerate Venezuelan exports and help Reliance cut costs, according to Reuters.
The licence, issued by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), permits the purchase, export, sale and refining of Venezuelan-origin crude that has already been extracted without breaching Washington’s sanctions regime, the sources said.
Reliance, which operates the world’s largest refining complex at Jamnagar in western India with a capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day, applied for the authorisation in early January. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the US regulator had no immediate comment outside regular hours.
The licence comes after the United States eased sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector following Washington’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, a development that has prompted talks between the two governments on oil sales and broader energy cooperation.
US officials have unveiled plans for a $2 billion oil supply deal and a wide-ranging $100 billion effort to rebuild Venezuela’s deteriorated oil industry.
The general licence could lower crude costs for Reliance, as Venezuelan heavy oil is typically sold at a discount to other grades, one source said.
It also opens the way for the company to resume direct purchases of Venezuelan crude that it had largely stopped after sanctions tightened in 2019 and 2020 under successive US administrations.
Earlier this month, Reliance bought around 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil from trader Vitol, which along with Trafigura has already been granted US licences to market and sell Venezuelan crude following Maduro’s capture.
Direct access to Venezuelan supplies could help Reliance replace Russian oil in its feedstock mix, as Indian refiners have been moving away from Russian crude amid Western pressure and in an effort to strengthen ties with the United States.
The United States has been gradually easing restrictions on Venezuelan oil exports. Last month, Washington issued general licences allowing US companies to trade, transport, store and refine Venezuelan crude, though sanctions on production and payment terms such as debt-for-oil swaps remain in place.
The broader policy shift aims to facilitate Venezuelan exports and investment while limiting ties with Chinese, Russian and Iranian interests.
Reliance was a regular buyer of Venezuelan crude before the sanctions tightened, often benefiting from its heavy crude’s suitability for the complex distillation units at Jamnagar.
The company’s renewed direct access could support its refining margins and bolster supplies at a time of volatile global oil markets.
India is heavily dependent on oil imports to meet its energy needs, importing about 80 per cent of its crude, with major suppliers including Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The addition of Venezuelan barrels at discounted prices could help diversify India’s import basket.
The timing of the licence follows broader geopolitical and trade shifts, including US incentives for India to reduce purchases of Russian crude.
Last month, US President Donald Trump removed a punitive tariff on Indian imports and urged New Delhi to increase oil buying from the United States and potentially from Venezuela to strengthen economic ties.
While the licence clears a regulatory path for direct Venezuelan crude purchases, uncertainties remain over logistics, pricing and future sanctions policy, particularly as buyers and banks have shown caution amid evolving US rules.
Nevertheless, the authorisation marks a notable development in India’s energy procurement strategy and in Venezuela’s efforts to expand its oil exports after years of contracting output due to sanctions and underinvestment.
