Indian refiners can process Venezuelan oil and the nation may buy it provided that it is available cheaply, India’s oil minister said on Wednesday, days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela’s oil sector.
India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, ships over 80 per cent of its oil needs from overseas and wants to cut its crude import bill.
“It is always good when more supplies come to market,” Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at an industry event, speaking about Venezuelan oil, and added: “We will buy from wherever we can get cheaper oil.”
