The United States has issued a general license to India's Reliance Industries Ltd that will allow the refiner to buy Venezuelan oil directly without violating sanctions, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, US officials said Washington would ease sanctions imposed on Venezuela's energy industry to facilitate a $2 billion oil supply deal between Caracas and Washington and an ambitious $100 billion reconstruction plan for the country's oil industry.
A general license authorizes the purchase, exportation, and sale of Venezuelan-origin oil that has already been extracted, including the refining of such oil.
Handing a license to Reliance could speed up Venezuela's oil exports and reduce crude costs for the operator of the world's biggest refining complex.
