India-Venezuela energy ties: Puri meets acting president to boost crude imports
Synopsis
India's monthly crude imports from Venezuela have surged roughly 16-fold in the opening months of FY 2026-27, and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's meeting with Venezuela's Acting President in New Delhi makes clear this is no accident — it is a deliberate strategic pivot as Gulf supply disruptions reshape India's energy calculus.
Key Takeaways
Hardeep Singh Puri met Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez in New Delhi on 5 June 2025 to discuss long-term energy cooperation.
India's average monthly crude imports from Venezuela jumped from 64.027 TMT in FY 2025-26 to 1,047.148 TMT in April–May of FY 2026-27.
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves and is a traditional supplier of heavy crude to India.
Acting President Rodríguez Gómez invited an Indian delegation to visit Venezuela to explore investment and supply opportunities.
The meeting comes amid geopolitical disruptions affecting India's Gulf crude imports , accelerating its energy diversification push.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri met Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez in New Delhi on 5 June 2025 to explore a long-term energy partnership, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The meeting signals India's intent to deepen crude oil ties with Caracas as geopolitical disruptions continue to strain Gulf supply chains.
What Was Discussed
Minister Puri reaffirmed India's support for Venezuela's energy reconstruction and conveyed that Indian public sector oil companies are ready to expand their footprint in the South American nation. He underscored Venezuela's centrality to India's energy diversification strategy, stressing New Delhi's keenness to grow bilateral energy trade.
Acting President Rodríguez Gómez acknowledged India as a reliable partner and welcomed Indian firms to participate actively in Venezuela's reformed oil and gas sector. She also highlighted sectoral complementarities between the two countries and extended a formal invitation for an Indian delegation to visit Venezuela to explore enhanced collaboration.
Why Venezuela Matters to India
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves and has historically been a key crude supplier to India. India's sophisticated refining infrastructure is particularly well-suited to processing Venezuela's heavy crude — a technical advantage that few other buyers can match.
This comes amid mounting pressure on India's crude import basket. Geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions in the Gulf have accelerated New Delhi's push to diversify sourcing. Venezuela's re-emergence as a major supplier is a direct consequence of that pivot.
The Import Surge
The scale of the shift is striking. India's average monthly crude imports from Venezuela surged from 64.027 TMT during FY 2025-26 to 1,047.148 TMT in April–May of FY 2026-27 — a roughly 16-fold increase. Venezuela ranked among India's largest crude suppliers in both April and May 2026.
Who Was Present
Senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and chairpersons of several public sector oil companies attended the meeting, indicating the institutional depth behind the engagement rather than a purely diplomatic exchange.
With an Indian delegation visit to Venezuela now on the table, the next step will be translating high-level intent into binding supply agreements and investment commitments from Indian upstream players.
Point of View
Not just diplomats. India's refining advantage with heavy crude gives it rare leverage in Caracas, but the relationship carries geopolitical risk given Venezuela's contested political landscape and US sanctions exposure. Whether Indian companies can formalise upstream stakes — rather than just buy spot cargoes — will determine if this is a durable energy partnership or an opportunistic import surge.
NationPress
10 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did India's Petroleum Minister meet Venezuela's Acting President?
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri met Acting President Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez in New Delhi on 5 June 2025 to explore a long-term energy partnership, including deeper participation by Indian oil companies in Venezuela's reformed oil and gas sector. The meeting was driven by India's need to diversify crude sources amid Gulf supply disruptions.
How much has India increased crude oil imports from Venezuela?
India's average monthly crude imports from Venezuela rose from 64.027 TMT in FY 2025-26 to 1,047.148 TMT in April–May of FY 2026-27 — a roughly 16-fold increase. Venezuela was among India's largest crude suppliers in both April and May 2026.
Why is Venezuela strategically important for India's energy needs?
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves and produces heavy crude that India's sophisticated refineries are specifically equipped to process. This gives India a technical and commercial edge in sourcing Venezuelan oil that most other buyers lack.
What is the next step after this meeting?
Venezuela's Acting President invited an Indian delegation to visit the country to explore investment and collaboration opportunities. The expectation is that the visit will move discussions toward binding supply agreements and potential upstream investments by Indian public sector oil companies.
How does Gulf supply disruption affect India's crude import strategy?
Geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions in the Gulf have pressured India's traditional crude import basket, prompting New Delhi to accelerate energy diversification. Venezuela's re-emergence as a major supplier is a direct response to that pressure, with the import surge in FY 2026-27 reflecting the strategic pivot already underway.
