OpeOluwani Akintayo
17 February 2019, Sweetcrude, Lagos — India has signaled an attempt to run against the newly issued threat by the United States, warning countries to stay away from oil trade with Venezuela.
The U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, last week, had warned countries and companies not to buy crude oil from Venezuela. His warning came following Latin American country’s Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo said during a visit to India that Venezuela wants to sell more oil to the Indian market.
However, Raveesh Kumar, the spokesman of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said at a press briefing on Thursday, as carried by Sputnik:In a tweet with a Bloomberg article on Venezuelan-Indian oil relations attached, Bolton wrote: “Nations and firms that support Maduro’s theft of Venezuelan resources will not be forgotten. The United States will continue to use all of its powers to preserve the Venezuelan people’s assets and we encourage all nations to work together to do the same.
“Venezuela is the chair of OPEC and GECF. We don’t have any barter system with Venezuela; commercial considerations and related factors will determine the value of trade which we have with any country.”
While Venezuela has 300, 878 million barrels sitting atop a top-20 EIA list, the U.S came on the 10th position with 39,230 million barrels.
Indian refiners are still one of the major buyers of Indian oil with more than 400,000 bpd order.
The US and many European nations have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela.
However, India has not made its true position known- only a statement released; “We are of the view that it is for the people of Venezuela to find a political solution to resolve their differences through constructive dialogue and discussion without resorting to violence.”
“We believe democracy, peace, and security in Venezuela are of paramount importance for the progress and prosperity of the people of Venezuela. India and Venezuela enjoy a measure of closeness.”