Cheaper Venezuelan crude may return to India from Feb

Cheaper Venezuelan crude oil may start flowing to India from next month-a gap of three years-as domestic refiners move away from Russia to cheaper energy imports after sanctions-hit Moscow drastically reduced discounts to around $2 per barrel, three people aware of the development said.

- Rajeev Jayaswal

In contrast, Venezuelan crude can be bought with effective discounts of around $8-10 per barrel after the US eased sanctions against the country mid-October, they said, requesting anonymity.

Discounts are generally with reference to the benchmark Brent crude, which fell about 1% to $78.56 a barrel on Friday. The downward trend continued on Monday as Brent fell by 0.22% at $78.39 in morning trade.