Rubio visits Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery as U.S. promotes Venezuelan oil

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat on Wednesday as Washington encouraged India to increase purchases of Venezuelan crude and deepen energy cooperation with the United States.

Reliance said Rubio and members of the Ambani family discussed global energy and data centres during the visit. Before touring the complex, Rubio described India as a “refining superpower” and said Reliance could help diversify the country’s energy supplies by processing more crude from the Western Hemisphere, particularly Venezuela.

The Jamnagar complex, described as the world’s largest single-site refining operation, can process about 1.4 million barrels of crude a day. Its facilities are equipped to handle heavy, sulphur-rich grades, including Venezuelan oil, that many refineries cannot process efficiently. Reliance was the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude outside the United States as of the end of September, according to CNBC.

The U.S. has also pressed India to reduce its purchases of Russian oil. However, Indian refiners base procurement decisions on factors including price, quality, freight costs, payment terms and supply reliability. Industry experts cited by The Indian Express said technical and commercial constraints could limit a substantial, sustained increase in Venezuelan imports, particularly because India is already a leading destination for those shipments outside the U.S.