US-India Talks Eye Venezuelan Oil to Diversify Crude Mix
US-India Talks Eye Venezuelan Oil to Diversify Crude Mix
US-India talks on Venezuelan oil could diversify India’s crude sources as a final trade deal nears, with tariff tweaks and April rollout on the horizon.
The United States is in active negotiation over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India to help diversify its sources of crude, U.S. envoy Sergio Gor said on Friday in New Delhi during a Pax Silica event aimed at building a silicon supply chain for high-tech products. The move comes as part of a broader push to diversify away from Russian oil, which Washington has linked to tariff reductions on Indian goods as a condition for improving trade terms. The Department of Energy is speaking with India's Ministry of Energy, and officials hope to have news soon as discussions progress. An interim trade pact between the two countries is expected to become operational in April, with a formal notification anticipated to reduce tariffs on Indian imports to 18 percent this month, according to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
The two sides have emphasized that the oil dimension remains open, with India already diversifying its oil purchases but still maintaining a close eye on how to balance its needs. The U.S. has previously used sanctions on Russia’s energy sector to push Western allies toward alternative suppliers, and India’s shifting purchases have drawn scrutiny from Western nations. U.S. officials have suggested that India could buy more oil from the United States and potentially from Venezuela as part of broader diversification efforts.
Gor noted that a final trade agreement is likely to be signed sooner than later, albeit after a few tweaking points are addressed. He added that President Trump has been invited to visit India by Prime Minister Modi, underscoring the personal remains of the evolving relationship. In recent months, India has joined the U.S.-led Pax Silica coalition, signaling its willingness to deepen cooperation on strategic supply chains while managing its own energy mix and geopolitical alignments.
As negotiations continue, observers will watch how the oil component aligns with the April rollout of the interim pact and the broader goal of reducing dependence on Russian crude, while balancing India’s growing energy appetite with Western expectations on sanctions and geopolitical risk.
