Venezuala's state-owned oil company Pequiven Petroquimica de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) said Wednesday it was exploring long-term contracts for oil supplies to Indian firms.
"We are talking to both private and public sector companies," Aires Barreto, vice president of PDVSA told a news conference.
The company has a monopoly in the Venezuelan oil sector, which is the second largest in the world after Saudi Arabia.
PDVSA sold its first load of crude oil to India last year when domestic firm Reliance Petroleum bought 1.07 million barrels.
Subsequently, the state-owned company sold 7.4 million barrels to Indian companies. Barreto said the first few sales has widened the scope for long-term oil supply contracts with India.
He said bilateral relations were expected to increase and Reliance Petroelum as well as the Nagarjuna group were looking at business opportunities in Venezuela's oil sector.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
