India's Reliance buys Venezuelan oil directly from PDVSA

A unit of India’s refiner Reliance Industries has begun loading a 2-million-barrel ​cargo of Venezuelan heavy crude directly bought from state-run energy ‌company PDVSA, according to a company document and shipping data on Monday.

Since Caracas signed a flagship oil supply deal with Washington after the US capture of ​President Nicolas Maduro in January, only a small group ​of companies have been able to buy cargoes directly from ⁠PDVSA.

Oil proceeds from any sales remain controlled by the ​United States through bank accounts administered by the Treasury Department, and commercial ​terms must follow US guidance, according to US licenses granted for the trade so far.

On Monday, the Bahamas-flagged supertanker Helios, chartered by Reliance’s unit RIL ​USA, docked at PDVSA’s Jose terminal on Venezuela’s eastern coast and ​began loading its cargo of Merey heavy crude bound for India’s Sikka port, ‌according ⁠to the document and ship tracking data from LSEG.

Reliance and PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Venezuela’s crude exports to India, which resumed in late February after a 10-month pause ​through sales made ​by US oil company ⁠Chevron and trading houses Vitol and Trafigura to several Indian refiners, have helped drain millions of ​barrels of oil inventories in recent weeks, the shipping ​data showed.

⁠The supertankers bound for India also are helping load cargoes faster at Jose, the country’s main oil port, accelerating overall crude exports.

Venezuela’s ⁠oil exports ​to India rose to some 342,000 barrels ​per day (bpd) in March, from 35,000 bpd in February, according to vessel tracking data.