Venezuela can emerge as a key partner in India’s energy security and offers fresh opportunities in minerals, even as New Delhi looks to resolve pending dues and tap high discounts on crude, Former Ambassador of India to Venezuela, Deepak Bhojwani, said on Wednesday as acting President Delcy Rodriguez arrives in India for a five-day working visit.
Rodriguez will be here in India from June 3 to June 7, during which she is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Indian leadership, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
She arrived in India earlier today, with energy, trade and investment expected to be high on the agenda.
Speaking to ANI, Bhojwani said India would be keen to continue importing Venezuelan crude oil, particularly as some Indian refiners have developed the capability to process the country’s heavy crude.
“I don’t think Venezuela has been a very important partner of late in these recent years. The hope is that we will be able to continue to buy Venezuelan oil, which several of our refineries are increasingly able to use. It is a very thick and very difficult oil to refine, but there are companies, particularly Reliance, and the volumes have increased massively,” he said.
Highlighting the strategic significance of Venezuelan crude, Bhojwani noted that despite the geographical distance between the two countries, substantial discounts on Venezuelan oil make it commercially attractive for Indian refiners.
He noted that a key issue remains with ONGC’s investments in Venezuela, with dues of up to USD 600 million still unpaid by the Venezuelan government. If those are cleared, Bhojwani said that ONGC and other such companies can resume oil exploration activities and recover their investments.
“Despite the distance, the discounts on Venezuelan crude are very high. So it’s worth the while for our refineries. Now we have to see if Venezuela can become a significant partner in terms of our energy security, that is oil imports and if the investments that ONGC has there, for which they have not been paid up to USD 600 million by the Venezuelan government, will be able to be revitalised,” he said.
According to Bhojwani, the revival of Indian investments in Venezuela’s energy sector could pave the way for greater participation by Indian companies in oil exploration and production activities.
He also pointed to the possibility of expanding economic engagement beyond energy, particularly in the minerals sector.
“Let us see if there can be a larger trading relationship in terms of investments, perhaps in minerals and so on and so forth,” he said.
Describing Venezuela as a country rich in natural resources, Bhojwani said Indian companies have long shown interest in sectors such as iron ore, bauxite and gold mining but have been constrained by regulatory and political uncertainties.
“Venezuela is very mineral-rich. The problem has been because of the political regime over there. We have not been able to go in. We had proposals, and there are companies that would like to go in for iron ore or bauxite or even gold,” he said.
The former envoy noted that a new minerals law introduced by Rodriguez could improve the investment climate; however, he cautioned about past hurdles.
“Acting President Rodriguez has introduced a New Minerals Law, which should be investor-friendly, but we will have to see. Maybe there will be a prospect for that. There are also business possibilities in pharmaceuticals and so on and so forth, but Venezuela needs to have the money to buy all this,” he added.
Bhojwani said Rodriguez’s current trip marks her sixth visit to India, though it is her first in the capacity of Acting President.
Referring to the long-standing energy relationship between the two countries, he noted that India and Venezuela have maintained ties spanning several decades, particularly in crude oil trade and energy investments; however, US sanctions on the South American nation had suspended those deals.
“There are already long-term agreements in place. These agreements were suspended years ago by the US, which levied unilateral sanctions. The reason that the Indian companies have to go by these sanctions is that they need dollars for international dealings. If Indian companies had not complied with the sanctions, they would have had a problem accessing dollars and doing international dealings. Otherwise, we would be dealing with Venezuela for several years,” Bhojwani said.
“There were some waivers given in recent years, and we kept importing as long as the waivers were valid. We have also invested over 10 years ago in two very important fields in Venezuela,” he added.
“After the death of the former President Hugo Chavez in 2013, Nicolas Maduro took over, and there was a lot of political trouble,” he further remarked.
With Nicolas Maduro removed from office and Rodriguez taking over as acting president, Bhojwani said the political shift could impact energy and mineral cooperation, adding that Rodriguez has amended laws and allowed payments for Venezuelan oil exports to go to the US Treasury.
“With Maduro being removed from his office and her becoming the acting president, she has quite a bit of leverage, and it seems that the US has co-opted her. The US is keeping her there as long as she goes according to what they want… She amended the rules and the laws, and she is also allowing all the payments for Venezuelan oil, which is being exported, to go to the US Treasury,” the former envoy said.
“She is the acting President, and she will only stay acting president as long as she does what the US government tells her to, at least as far as the energy issue, minerals and so on are concerned…We have had a very, very long relationship of decades in purchasing oil and so on and even investing in Venezuela. Let’s see what this visit reveals,’ he added.
Rodriguez was earlier scheduled to visit India to participate in the International Big Cat Alliance Summit on June 1, which was subsequently deferred.
She will now undertake a formal working visit accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Venezuela’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Economy and Finance, Science and Technology, Communication and Information, and Transportation.
She will begin her engagements with the Indian side on June 4 with a meeting scheduled with Jaishankar, followed by official talks with the Prime Minister at Hyderabad House.
Rodriguez will also pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat as part of her itinerary.