DAVOS (SWITZERLAND): Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), S M Vaidya, said that Indian refineries are “robust” and can process Venezuelan crude if it becomes available.
Speaking with ANI, Vaidya said that Indian Oil has processed Venezuelan crude before and can process it again in advised form.
“If at all things start settling down, if at all a lot of crude starts coming out of Venezuela, then can’t we import oil from Venezuela? As Indian Oil, we have processed Venezuelan crude earlier when it was available, like 10 years back or eight years back when it used to be there in the market,” he told ANI at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
“So, our refineries are varied, our refineries are robust. They can process in an advised manner, but we can process Venezuelan crude if and when it is made available,” he added.
This comes after the US captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation and agreed on a deal to send 30 million barrels of oil, worth USD 52 billion, with the interim government.
Additionally, S M Vaidya said that stable global crude oil prices and India’s strong economic growth are creating a favourable environment for both oil producers and consumers, while underlining the company’s long-term focus on cleaner forms of energy.
“India is growing at a phenomenal rate, and everybody is interested in talking about doing business with India,” he said.
Vaidya added, “Crude has been trading in the range of USD 60-65 per barrel over the past several months. For the better part of the last six months, they were at USD 60 or below. This is a good zone where economic growth is also happening and sellers of crude are comfortable.”
Highlighting India’s dependence on imports, he said, “India remains heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, with IOCL importing about 85-87 per cent of its crude oil requirements. The current price band is supportive for economic stability,” he said.
On refining margins, Sahney clarified that margins are not determined solely by crude prices.
“Refining margin is a very broad term. It is finally affected by the cracks in the international market. Today, cracks are working fine. They have returned to normalcy but are still in a healthy zone,” he said.
Sahney said that the government has provided adequate support to the energy sector. “There is no problem on the policy side.”