Describing Reliance as a prominent energy company with a large investment in the US, Marco Rubio said: “This is a company…that has the capability to refine the heavy crude that’s produced in the western hemisphere, including from Venezuela".
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.
Before heading to Gujarat, Rubio met Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran in Mumbai. There were no formal readouts from the US side on these meetings.
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”.
Rubio has already described India as a “refining superpower” while speaking to reporters in Mumbai, and said RIL could process larger volumes of Venezuelan crude as the country’s oil production increased. “We will talk with Reliance about refining more Venezuelan crude,” he said.
Rubio met External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday and said the two countries were “very, very close” to finalising a bilateral trade deal.
According to an RIL statement, 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.
“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.”
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