Venezuela oil (AP photo)
NEW DELHI: Amid claims by the US that India has agreed to stop purchasing Russian crude, the govt reiterated Thursday that diversifying energy sourcing in line with market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of India’s energy security strategy. In keeping with the same, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) added it is open to exploring the possibility of crude supplies from Venezuela.US President Donald Trump had said earlier this week that India had agreed to buy a lot more energy from the US and also potentially from Venezuela.The MEA said Venezuela had been a long-standing partner of India in the energy sector, encompassing trade and investments.“The country was among India’s major sources of crude oil until FY 2019-20, which were discontinued following sanctions. Imports from Venezuela resumed in FY 2023-24, before being halted again due to the re-imposition of sanctions,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, adding that Indian PSUs have had a partnership with Venezuela’s national oil company and have been maintaining a presence in Venezuela since 2008.“Consistent with India’s approach to energy security, India remains open to exploring the commercial merits of any new crude supply options, including from Venezuela,” said the official. On India’s energy sourcing, the official recalled that govt had stated publicly on several occasions that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians was the supreme priority of govt.“Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s actions are taken and will be taken with this in mind,” he said.Announcing a trade deal with India, the White House had said this week that the US was bringing down its tariff on India from 50% to 18%. The official recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had noted ‘Made-in-India’ products will now be exported to the US at a reduced tariff of 18%.“This trade agreement will give a major boost to India’s export, labour intensive industries, job creation, growth and bring prosperity to our people. The US side has also clarified that the final figure of tariff is 18%,” said Jaiswal.
