The trip, which came as Washington and New Delhi edge closer to a long-awaited trade deal, offered a clear view of the Trump administration’s priorities in India, with energy, and Venezuelan crude in particular, at the top. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday concluded a two-day India visit that departed from diplomatic convention, bypassing New Delhi for Mumbai and the Reliance Industries’ vast refinery complex in Jamnagar.
The government even brokered an agreement giving it a major ownership stake in NABEP, an energy firm that has been handed control of oil fields holding 65 billion barrels of proven reserves. Reliance accounted for an estimated 76% of India’s crude oil imports from Venezuela in September this year, according to analytics firm Kpler.
Reliance said the visit centred on the firm’s massive refinery in the city, upcoming new energy giga-factories and data centres. Rubio said he would discuss Venezuela with Reliance and even spoke of India’s position as a “refining superpower”. On the trade deal, Rubio asserted the two sides are “very, very close” with just a few remaining details left to be ironed out.
Washington has made clear that it wants India to purchase more energy from Venezuela in the aftermath of an American military operation that toppled President Nicolas Maduro in January this year. India has ramped up crude oil imports from Venezuela in recent months, with much of the energy heading to Reliance’s refinery in Jamnagar.
Over the last year, the Trump administration has played an increasingly large role in running Venezuela’s highly lucrative oil sector. On Wednesday, the US Secretary of State focused on meetings with India’s largest business houses, meeting Tata chief N Chandrasekaran and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani before heading to Jamnagar for a tour with Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani.
