Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is seeking discounts of $10-12 per barrel for purchases of Venezuelan crude to ensure commercial viability, two senior officials said. If approved, the purchase would mark BPCL's first-ever procurement of Venezuelan crude, for which Indian refiners are seeking steeper discounts because of its high viscosity and acidity that complicate processing. Officials indicated that assessment of viability depends on the specific grades offered and on results from earlier sampling.

Refinery upgrades have enhanced the complexity of BPCL's operations and now enable processing of heavy Venezuelan crude at the Kochi refinery in Kerala and the Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh. The company expects its upcoming Andhra Pradesh refinery to have similar capability. BPCL officials said blending and processing strategies will be refined once the grades and discount levels are finalised.

Other state-run refiners such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Indian Oil have also confirmed capabilities to process Venezuelan crude and plan to blend heavy grades with lighter ones to make them suitable for their units. Before US sanctions, Reliance Industries Limited and Nayara Energy were among the principal Indian buyers of Venezuelan barrels, and global trading houses including Vitol and Trafigura obtained licences to load and export Venezuelan oil. Market sources said Indian refiners are pressing for steeper discounts because of logistics and quality-related processing costs.

In a related development BPCL signed a crude oil supply agreement with commodities group Trafigura at the India Energy Week event, under which Trafigura will supply Basrah and Oman crude on a term basis with delivery beginning in April 2026. The deal was described by BPCL as a strategic milestone intended to bolster reliable and cost-effective supply for its refining system. Venezuela currently accounts for zero point eight per cent of global crude output despite holding 18 per cent of the world's oil reserves, reflecting years of underinvestment and infrastructure constraints. BPCL had not responded to queries on the potential Venezuelan purchase at the time the officials spoke.