Marco Rubio tours Reliance Jamnagar refinery as US courts India's refining power

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Reliance Industries' flagship refinery complex in Jamnagar on Wednesday, underscoring Washington's push to tap India's immense downstream capacity to stabilise global energy markets.

The visit to Gujarat followed high-level diplomatic and corporate engagements in Mumbai, where Rubio met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran. After describing India as a crude oil refining "superpower", Rubio used the Jamnagar stop to discuss expanding energy trade, processing heavier grades of crude, and advancing clean-energy manufacturing.

What happened at Jamnagar

Rubio was received at Jamnagar by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, alongside Nita Ambani, Isha Ambani, and Anant Ambani. The delegation inspected the facility that anchors India's export capabilities, with Washington actively encouraging Indian refiners to handle higher volumes of Western Hemisphere crude, particularly from Venezuela.

"Reliance has done so in the past, they have the capability to refine heavy crude," Rubio said ahead of the visit, noting that as additional Venezuelan barrels enter the market, Indian processing can offer crucial flexibility. India's imports of Venezuelan crude rose to roughly 358,000 barrels per day in August 2026, making the country India's third-largest supplier that month.

Beyond traditional refining, the tour encompassed Reliance's 5,000-acre Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, a Rs 75,000 crore development dedicated to solar panels, energy storage, fuel cells, and electrolysers, as well as the Vantara wildlife rescue sanctuary.

Deepening industrial and trade ties

The visit showcases India's expanding role not merely as an energy consumer, but as an indispensable refining and manufacturing hub for the global economy. Reliance is also extending its footprint onto American soil, partnering to develop a 168,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Brownsville, Texas—designed to process domestic light shale oil as the first major new refinery in the United States in five decades.

Earlier in Mumbai, Rubio's talks with Gautam Adani centred on logistics, port infrastructure, and renewable investments critical to resilient international supply chains. His meeting with N Chandrasekaran addressed electronics, advanced manufacturing, and semiconductor supply lines where the Tata Group is directing substantial capital.

Rubio stated that Washington and New Delhi are close to concluding a bilateral trade agreement, with only "a small number of items" remaining unresolved. Addressing concerns over shifting energy flows, Rubio commended New Delhi's steady diversification of its oil suppliers, emphasising that India's robust refining infrastructure serves as a major pillar of international supply stability.