According to Reuters, the United States has informed India that it may soon resume purchasing Venezuelan crude oil to reduce India's reliance on Russian crude oil.

This move is part of a broader U.S. effort to redirect India's oil imports from Russia to other countries and reshape energy relations between the two nations.

Sources cited by Reuters indicated that India plans to reduce its Russian crude oil imports by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day in the coming months.

The decision by the U.S. to offer Venezuelan oil to India was made as part of extensive diplomatic cooperation between New Delhi and Caracas, the 'Times of India' reported on the 31st (local time).

Delcy Rodríguez, interim president of Venezuela, stated that she had a phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi and reached an agreement on energy cooperation, the day after Venezuela opened its oil and gas sector to private companies.

Prime Minister Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that "We agreed to further deepen and expand cooperation between the two countries in all fields, and shared a common vision to take India-Venezuela relations to new heights in the coming years."

Venezuela has officially abandoned its oil nationalization policy, which it had maintained for over 20 years, and has fully transitioned to privatization by attracting private and foreign capital. This move occurred dramatically as U.S. oil companies expressed their intention to enter Venezuela following the Trump administration's swift action against Nicolás Maduro.

According to an announcement by the Venezuelan government on the 29th (Thursday), foreign companies will be allowed to directly operate oil fields and share profits with the state-owned company PDVSA. It also includes a reduction in royalty rates from 33% to 15% for large-scale investments.

President Trump had imposed a 25% tariff on buyers of Venezuelan oil in March 2025 as a measure to pressure the Maduro regime at the time.

As oil prices fell following Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India became a major buyer of Russian crude oil. However, due to increasing U.S. pressure and rising trade costs, India is showing a move to diversify its crude oil sources.

Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated last week that India is expanding its supply months in response to reduced Russian crude oil imports. This also came after President Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on countries importing Russian crude oil, including China and India, in August of last year, and implemented sanctions against companies related to Russian oil.

The Times of India, citing two sources, reported that India is preparing to reduce its Russian crude oil imports to less than 1 million barrels per day soon. One source said that imports were about 1.2 million barrels per day in January, expected to decrease to about 1 million barrels in February and about 800,000 barrels in March. Another source said that imports could ultimately be reduced to 500,000 to 600,000 barrels per day, which could help India reach a trade agreement with the U.S.

The effort to supply Venezuelan crude oil to India also aligns with Washington's goal of reducing Russia's oil exports, which are used to finance the war in Ukraine. Recently, Russia announced that it would halt attacks on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, until the 1st of next month, accepting a 'personal request' from Trump.

NNP Chief Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Correspondent of this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com