U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss refining Western energy supplies with Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries when he visits the company's plant in Jamnagar, Gujarat — the world's largest single-site refinery.
The U.S. is looking to "work together more closely" with Reliance for refining energy from the "Western Hemisphere," Rubio said in an interview with India's Network 18, which is owned by Reliance. "I think that's helpful to India, but it's also helpful to us," he added.
Reliance's Jamnagar refinery, which Rubio will visit on Wednesday, has a crude processing capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day. Reliance has also emerged as the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude outside of the U.S., as of end-September.
The company's "extraordinary" refining capacity could help India diversify its energy supplies, Rubio said, hinting at possibly greater offtake of Venezuelan crude.
"We think there's an opportunity for them [Reliance Industries] to continue to help India diversify its supply chain, its supply of energy," Rubio said, adding that Venezuela was ramping up energy production, and that "India has had a long history of being able to refine some of that."