India Ramps Up Venezuelan Crude Imports to 6-Year High Amid Hormuz Crisis

India is on course to import more Venezuelan crude this month than at any point in nearly six years, as the country casts its net wider in search of alternatives to Gulf supplies disrupted by the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran.

More than 12mn barrels are headed to India's west coast from the South American producer in April — the highest volume since February 2020 — according to data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler, Bloomberg reported.

The timing is significant: the cargoes were likely secured before the worst of the Hormuz disruptions took hold, suggesting the shift towards Venezuelan crude reflects a longer-term strategic repositioning rather than a purely reactive scramble for available barrels.

India imports around 90% of its crude oil requirements, and the Strait of Hormuz typically carries close to 40% of its total supply. The near-closure of that route following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict has forced refiners to look further afield, and Venezuela — which produces sulphur-rich heavy blends similar in character to the Gulf grades India's refineries are built to process — presents a natural fit.

India had been a significant buyer of Venezuelan crude before US sanctions curtailed the trade. Washington's easing of those sanctions following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January has reopened the door, and Indian refiners have moved quickly to walk through it. The

Ottoman Sincerity, a Suezmax tanker carrying close to one million barrels of asphaltic Boscan crude loaded via ship-to-ship transfers off the Caribbean island of Aruba, has already arrived at Reliance Industries' Sikka port — the first Venezuelan cargo to reach India in a year, the report noted.

Reliance, which has a 15‐year crude supply contract with PDVSA and obtained OFAC license from the US Treasury in July 2024 for crude imports from Venezuela, also loaded its first direct cargo from the producer this week aboard the very large crude carrier Helios, moving away from earlier purchases routed through trading houses Vitol Group and Trafigura.

The commercial logic extends beyond simply filling the gap left by lost Gulf supplies. Venezuelan heavy barrels yield higher proportions of middle distillates — diesel and jet fuel in particular — which matters considerably in a market where both remain structurally tight, Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst at Kpler told Bloomberg. Most of the arriving crude is Venezuela's flagship Merey blend.