A view of the installations at the Puerto La Cruz oil refinery of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, January 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Samir Aponte
India’s top refiner, Indian
Oil Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp have
together bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude Merey from
trader Trafigura for delivery in the second half of April, trade
sources said.
The purchase of Venezuelan oil is the first by HPCL, with
IOC having previously bought Venezuelan oil in 2024
The pricing of Merey is linked to the Dubai benchmark and
reflects similar rates at which Reliance Industries
bought Venezuelan oil from trader Vitol, said one of the
sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity.
Published on February 9, 2026
