Jamnagar: 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 on wider energy cooperation between India and the United States, ANI reported.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai before departing for Gujarat, Rubio said: "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."

"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, ANI reported.

The Jamnagar refining complex has a combined crude-processing capacity of around 1.4 million barrels per day — yaani about 14 lakh barrels a day — making it the world's largest single-site refining facility, and its ability to process heavy, high-sulphur crude makes it particularly relevant to discussions on Venezuelan oil, ANI noted. Upstox, in its report, said Rubio also flagged that potential impediments arising from US sanctions would need to be worked through, and that in a separate interview he described the visit as aimed at helping India diversify its energy supplies. Livemint reported that Rubio was also set to meet Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani during the Jamnagar leg.

No refining agreement or new commitment by Reliance was announced in Rubio's remarks. The visit follows his Mumbai talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday, where trade, energy and defence cooperation were discussed — a development Awaaz Punjab has covered separately.

Sources: ANI via Daily Prabhat, ANI via Devdiscourse, Livemint, Upstox.