India’s Nayara Energy has been using Russian giant Rosneft as an intermediary to acquire Venezuelan oil, paying it in fuel rather than cash to avoid violating US sanctions, three sources with knowledge of the transactions said.
The United States in January prohibited US-dollar transactions for oil sales from Venezuela’s PDVSA or its units, a measure intended to cut off cash flows and increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, whose 2018 re-election has been dismissed as a sham by Washington.
The sanctions have made some banks wary of processing any transaction for Venezuelan oil, even if the seller is not the state-run company. They have also scared away some of PDVSA’s customers, while prompting others to buy Venezuelan crude from intermediaries like Rosneft, the sources said.
