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Reliance to swap diesel for Venezuelan crude oil

New Delhi: Reliance Industries will pay for Venezuelan crude oil via exports of diesel in a barter arrangement as it resumed taking supplies from the US sanctions-hit Latin American nation after a gap of four months.

Although US oil sanctions imposed on Venezuela in January 2019 have no direct secondary component, oil companies such as Reliance Industries (RIL) that have a significant US presence have curtailed their commercial ties with the Opec nation.

Reliance had in March capped oil purchases from the Latin and halted selling diluent.

"RIL has been supplying permitted products like diesel to Venezuela and, hence, is able to recommence crude sourcing. These are actions compliant to US-sanctions as crude sourcing against the supply of permitted products is allowed," a company spokesperson said.

Following US sanctions, companies had shunned direct purchases in favour of secondary market sourcing through Russia's state-controlled Rosneft, which is now the primary supplier of Venezuelan oil.

US President Donald Trump had in January slapped oil sanctions on Venezuela in a bid to put pressure on its socialist President Maduro to step down.

The sanctions, however, do not ban importing crude oil from Venezuela, but barred supply from the US of the diluents that must be blended with the extra-heavy oil from Venezuela's Orinoco Belt so it could flow through pipelines.

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