In announcing his new trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Trump said India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, purchases that are helping bankroll the war in Ukraine, and would instead "buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela." On paper, Venezuela's oil is a logical replacement: its heavy, sour crude is a lot like Russia's, is well-suited to making the derivatives India needs, and fits India's refineries better than America's light, sweet oil. Venezuela currently pumps just over 1 million barrels a day, well short of the 1.5 million India gets from Russia, and its run-down industry would need years and tens of billions of dollars in investment to ramp up.
Author: Arden Dier with Newser.AI
Published at: 2026-02-03 22:17:20
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