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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Jamnagar, Gujarat, on Wednesday to visit Reliance Industries' oil refinery, with discussions expected to focus on the company's capacity to process more Venezuelan crude and opportunities for wider energy cooperation between India and the United States.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai before departing for Gujarat, Rubio said Reliance's extensive refining capabilities, including its ability to process heavy crude oil from Venezuela, would be among the subjects discussed during his meeting with the company. He also indicated that the visit would explore opportunities for further cooperation and highlighted Reliance's existing investments in the United States. "I think for us, it's more an opportunity to see their operations and 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. This is a very large and prominent energy company. They also have a pretty large investment already in the United States. They have extensive refining capacity," he said "As I highlighted to you yesterday, this is a company, for example, that has the capability to refine the heavy crude that's produced in the Western Hemisphere, including from Venezuela, so I'm sure that's a topic we'll discuss. And I think through our conversations, we'll hopefully identify other opportunities to partner and work together," he added. The visit centres on Reliance's Jamnagar refining complex, which has a combined crude-processing capacity of around 1.4 million barrels per day, making it the world's largest single-site refining facility. Its ability to process heavy, high-sulphur crude makes it particularly relevant to discussions around Venezuelan oil supplies. Rubio's visit comes as Washington seeks to strengthen energy cooperation with India and encourage Reliance to process greater volumes of Venezuelan crude. The discussions also take place against the backdrop of wider US-India engagement on energy and investment. Rubio did not specify any targeted volume of Venezuelan crude imports or a particular investment commitment expected from Reliance, saying the details of any specific energy-related request would involve the US Department of Energy. (ANI)
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