India's Reliance emerges as top Venezuelan oil buyer outside U.S.
Reliance Industries has become the largest non-U.S. buyer of Venezuelan crude oil, utilizing its massive Jamnagar refinery to process the heavy oil. This development coincides with reports of a significant, though unconfirmed, investment deal between Reliance and the U.S. government.
Why it matters
The situation highlights the complex intersection of global energy trade, U.S. sanctions policy, and the shifting geopolitical alliances between India and the United States.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries , which is investing in a historic U.S. oil refinery project proposed by President Donald Trump, has now emerged as the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude outside the U.S.
Trump has been pushing India to buy more Venezuelan oil , but while state-owned oil companies are making opportunistic purchases, Reliance has been the primary buyer, according to Kpler data shared with CNBC. It shows that outside the U.S., India is the biggest destination for these supplies, with Reliance purchasing the bulk of that crude.
"Reliance's Jamnagar complex has been the main destination for Venezuelan crude in India, and we expect it to remain the primary buyer," Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at Kpler, told CNBC.
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