State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) have together bought 2 million barrels of Merey crude from Venezuela for delivery in the second half of April, two trade sources aware of the deal said. The purchase of Venezuelan oil is the first by HPCL, with IOC, the country's top refiner, having previously bought Venezuelan oil in 2024, data compiled by Reuters shows. Vitol and Trafigura were granted US licences to sell Venezuelan oil after last month's US military operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro. Although a US-India statement on the trade framework did not mention Russian oil, President Donald Trump rescinded his 25% tariffs on Indian goods, imposed over Russian oil purchases, because, he said, New Delhi had "committed to stop directly or indirectly" importing Russian oil. New Delhi has not officially announced plans to halt Russian oil imports.

Source: The Telegraph February 09, 2026 14:11 UTC