Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), a state-owned oil refiner, is reportedly exploring the possibility of purchasing oil from Venezuela after the US lifted sanctions in October.

What Happened: Sanjay Khanna, head of refineries at BPCL, announced the decision, stating that the company’s refineries can process Venezuelan oil, and the international trade department has approval for procurement, Economic Times reported.

Khanna assured that this move wouldn’t jeopardize BPCL’s imports of Russian oil. Reliance Industries, Indian Oil Corp and HPCL-Mittal Energy have already resumed buying Venezuelan oil since the sanctions were eased.

See Also: IT Minister Says Only ‘Trusted’ AI Models Will Have Access To India’s Data

Prior to U.S. sanctions on the South American country, India was a significant buyer of Venezuelan oil, acquiring about 10 million barrels monthly.

Since the temporary easing of sanctions, the Indian oil industry has been closely monitoring the potential resumption of oil imports from Venezuela.

Reliance Industries recently arranged for the bookings of two supertankers set to load crude oil shipments from Venezuela in December to early January. Another arrangement involves a very large crude carrier, hired by Reliance to transport Venezuelan crude to India in early December. These vessels collectively have the capacity to carry up to 6 million barrels of crude oil.

Read Next: Security Breach In Lok Sabha On Parliament Attack Anniversary