Reliance Industries Gets U.S. Approval to Import Venezuelan Oil

India’s Reliance Industries has received approval from the United States to resume importing oil from Venezuela despite existing sanctions on the South American oil sector.

This development comes after Washington re-imposed sanctions in April in response to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet election commitments.

However, the U.S. has allowed certain firms to continue trading and operating in Venezuela under specific conditions.

Response from Authorities and Companies:

The U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment on the matter, and Reliance Industries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bloomberg first reported the news of the approval.

Reliance’s Historical Role and Recent Developments:

Before U.S. sanctions were imposed on Venezuela in 2019, Reliance was the second-largest individual buyer of Venezuelan crude oil, following China’s CNPC.

In May, Reliance re-submitted a request to the U.S. government for authorization to import Venezuelan crude oil after previous attempts were denied.

The sanctions were briefly eased in October, but U.S. authorities reinstated them in June, causing a halt in direct purchases.

Other Indian Interests in Venezuelan Oil:

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has also sought a waiver from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to lift crude oil from Venezuela.

Indian refiners, including Reliance, had been purchasing Venezuelan oil through intermediaries before the re-imposition of sanctions.