US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Wednesday toured Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, home to the world’s largest single-site oil refinery, after telling reporters earlier in the day that conversations between US authorities and the conglomerate were aimed at identifying opportunities to partner and work together in energy.
RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani and executive director Anant Ambani hosted Rubio, who also visited the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex and Vantara, the company’s animal rescue and conservation centre, and is staying overnight at the RIL township near Jamnagar. US ambassador to India Sergio Gor accompanied him.
The visitors toured the refinery, which can process 1.4 million barrels of crude a day and has a complexity index of 21.1, which the company describes as the world’s highest and which allows it to process even the heaviest crude oils, according to an RIL statement. The visit comes as the Trump administration grapples with high diesel prices ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3. Days before Rubio’s visit, President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs under the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a week after announcing a deal with Russia to release roughly 5 million tonnes of Russian diesel onto the world market.
“The visit included wide-ranging discussions on the global energy landscape and opportunities for commercial partnerships across conventional and new energy,” the statement said. “The exchange covered reliable and affordable energy supplies, technological advances, resilient supply chains and the investment required to meet growing demand.
Officials said Rubio was expected to discuss Venezuelan crude and RIL’s proposed refinery project in the US during the visit. The US State Department said in a post on X that Rubio’s second visit to India this year, focused on Mumbai and Jamnagar, underscored Washington’s commitment to commercial investment, energy cooperation and the strategic partnership between the two countries. Asked by reporters before the visit whether he was seeking an investment commitment from Reliance or an agreement to refine more Venezuelan crude, Rubio said he aimed to have a “broader discussion about their presence globally at a time in which energy is featuring prominently in many of the geopolitical decisions that are being made”. Describing Reliance as a prominent energy company with a large investment in the US, he said: “This is a company…that has the capability to refine the heavy crude that’s produced in the western hemisphere, including from Venezuela…I think through our conversations, we’ll hopefully identify other opportunities to partner and work together. Rubio also met external affairs minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday and said the two countries were “very, very close” to finalising a bilateral trade deal.
