Venezuela's oil exports hit a record high! China bought almost no oil, while another country seized the opportunity to swoop in and grab it all/
According to Bloomberg, in March 2026, Venezuela's oil exports reached a new peak over the past six years, with crude oil exports averaging 890,000 barrels per day—the highest level since December 2019. However, China imported zero barrels of oil from Venezuela that month.
Reuters pointed out that Indian refiners quickly filled the gap, becoming the largest buyers of Venezuelan crude. According to Reuters, Indian refiners' imports from Venezuela surged more than fourfold in March, exceeding their exports to the United States. Companies including Reliance Industries and Hindustan Petroleum collectively purchased 343,000 barrels of crude oil per day during the month.
After the U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil exports, it attempted to sell to China at $45 per barrel—nearly a 50% increase from the previous $31 price. China did not accept this arrangement. CNPC had already notified traders in early January to stop purchasing crude oil from Venezuela.
Seeing that Venezuela’s oil couldn’t be sold, the U.S. became anxious. But unexpectedly, Indian companies swiftly moved in to take advantage of the situation.
Dao Ge believes India’s move was aimed at easing U.S. dissatisfaction over India’s large-scale imports of Russian oil. Indeed, as the U.S. approved India’s purchase of Venezuelan crude, it also lowered tariffs on certain Indian goods.
Dao Ge doesn’t know how to evaluate the behavior of Indian oil companies, but he can only say that China should be very unhappy about this.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861339609188364/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.