Reliance was a regular buyer of Venezuelan crude before the US slapped sanctions on Nicolas Maduro's regime in 2019-20. That agreement has led to the US dropping punitive 25 per cent tariffs imposed on Indian goods for the import of Russian oil. “Reliance Industries’s Jamnagar refinery has not received any cargo of Russian oil at its refinery in the past three weeks, approx. Heavy crude with high residual content can be broken down into valuable petrochemical feedstocks. Access to cheaper Venezuelan heavy crude supports better petchem margins when converted into polymers and speciality chemicals.

Source: The Telegraph February 13, 2026 11:02 UTC