A major development on oil sourcing has come to light during the trade deal talks between India and the US. The government has asked state-run oil companies to explore more crude oil from the US and Venezuela, while no official commitment was given on Russian oil. India’s clear focus is to diversify oil sources and strengthen energy security. But there is also a challenge: US oil is light, Indian refineries are designed for medium-heavy crude, on top of that the freight cost is also high. This may impact oil stocks like IOC, BPCL, HPCL. This move is being considered positive for ONGC and Oil India. Overall, India is adopting flexible strategy while managing pressure.