MUMBAI: Reliance Industries (RIL), India’s top private refiner, has stated that it has not sidestepped US sanctions in supplying refined oil products to Venezuela. RIL runs one of the largest refining complexes with a capacity to process 1.24 million barrels per stream day that includes an SEZ refinery from where it exports refined products.
“Since the imposition of US sanctions, Reliance has been in continuous communication with the US Department of State regarding its activities in Venezuela. Reliance has been transparent with US authorities and has also provided detailed feedback to the US Department of State as they were formulating and adjusting US policy regarding product shipments to Venezuela,” RIL said in a statement on Friday.
The statement from Reliance followed a report by Reuters that the group was selling fuels to Venezuela, routing them through Europe from its refinery in India to sidestep US sanctions that bars companies from dealing with Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, SA). RIL was supplying diluent naphtha and other fuels to Venezuela before the US sanctions against the country, meant to curb its oil trade and warn its president Nicolas Maduro. On Friday, US president Donald Trump had warned of tougher sanctions.
Reliance said that it has not only complied with the US sanctions laws, “but has also done its best to adjust its dealings with Venezuela on a voluntary basis to reflect the ongoing changes in the US policy”.
It had also reduced its intake of crude from Venezuela below the contracted levels and stopped shipments of diluent naphtha. RIL said the fuels refined in India and shipped to Venezuela were offsets for crude oil receipts that were in transit when there were no restrictions due to sanctions.
“Reliance will continue its transactions in full compliance of prevailing sanctions,” RIL said.
RIL had in 2012 entered into a 15-year contract with Venezuela to buy around 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 bpd of heavy crude from PDVSA. Lower production in Venezuela in 2018 meant lower purchase, and Reuters said ship tracking data showed RIL’s average purchases from Venezuela were less than 3,00,000 bpd in 2018 and in the first two months of the fiscal.
RIL, due to its exposure business and financial exposure to the US, has also been following the US sanctions on Iran strictly. In October last year, it said that it had stopped all crude purchases from Iran ahead of the sanctions.