India’s June oil imports from Venezuela touches highest in 7 quarters

India’s oil imports from surged to about 475,200 barrels per day (bpd) in June, more than double the previous month and highest in 21 months, data from shipping and industry sources showed.

Washington imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA in January to put pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro. These sanctions have driven away many customers of Venezuelan oil, leaving supplies for some refiners.

Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, part owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, are the only Indian buyers of Venezuelan oil. These companies had a term deal to buy oil from PDVSA, which predated the sanctions.